Whincup takes out SVG1:31
Supercars: Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen collide 12 laps into race 26 in New Zealand
Live: Supercars ITM Auckland SuperSprint at Pukekohe, Sunday
MARK Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup claimed the race wins at Pukekohe Park but series leader Shane van Gisbergen wore the biggest smile after emerging from the weekend with an iron grasp on his first Supercars title.
Van Gisbergen and Whincup shared the victories at Pukekohe on Saturday, each notching one win and a second apiece as the Red Bull duo left their rivals in the dust.
The two title contenders entered the final day of racing tied on points for the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, while the home crowd’s hero maintains a 148-point lead in the standings.
See how the drama unfolded below.
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FULL REPORT
Mark Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup claimed the race wins at Pukekohe Park but series leader Shane van Gisbergen wore the biggest smile after emerging from the weekend with an iron grasp on his first Supercars title.
The Aucklander lapped up the affection from his home crowd as he claimed the Jason Richards Trophy for best points haul from the New Zealand meet, roaring to a 191-point championship lead with just two season-ending Homebush races to come.
Van Gisbergen will need only to finish 16th in each Sydney race to claim the crown, the first for a Kiwi since Jim Richards did so in a Nissan in 1991. For perspective, the 27-year-old hasn’t done so badly at a meet since Perth in 2014.
But there was a moment in Auckland when the title race hung in the balance. Desperately seeking any improvement in his championship deficit, Whincup dive- bombed his teammate around the turn eight hairpin, t-boning van Gisbergen. Both Red Bulls spun into the grass.
Van Gisbergen re-emerged in eighth, steadily climbing through the pack to finish third.
Highlights: Race 271:30
Supercars: Highlights from race 27
Whincup redressed behind his teammate and was served a drive-through penalty and finished 25th, ceding another 49 points to his sole title rival. If the racing was explosive, the meeting of the two teammates in pit lane afterwards was anything but.
Whincup meekly apologised for his misstep, and van Gisbergen quickly accepted - along with the huge advantage in the title race it gave him. Team boss Roland Dane told Fox Sports he wasn’t surprised to see Whincup resort to the most desperate of measures, given the six-time champion was guaranteed second place in the overall standings.
“It was going to happen at some point ... Jamie probably felt he had nothing to lose,” he said.
After sharing a pair of race wins and one-two results on Saturday, the dominant Red Bulls combined again for another one-two in Sunday’s second race. Scott McLaughlin claimed third place.
The Volvo man’s duel with Craig Lowndes for third place in the overall standings will be one of the hottest contests at Homebush.
Frosty takes out race 26 1:51
Supercars: Mark Winterbottom capitalises on a Red Bull collision to take out race 26 in New Zealand
McLaughlin arrived 76 points in arrears to the 42-year-old but cut the deficit to just 21 points after besting the veteran in three of the four New Zealand races.
Winterbottom claimed Sunday’s opening race after powering from the second row of the grid past van Gisbergen and Scott Pye.
“I might be old but I do alright off the line,” the reigning champion said. Pye went on to finish second, DJR Team Penske’s best result in the series in two years.
Results from Race 4 in the Auckland, the 13th round of the series, at Pukekohe Park Raceway (circuit: 2.915km) today:
Race 4 (35 laps) 1. Jamie Whincup (Holden) 37mins37.1619sec 2. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden) 37:45.8985 3. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) 37:56.6399 4. Chaz Mostert (Ford) 37:57.0606 5. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 37:57.8116 6. Craig Lowndes (Holden) 37:58.2968 7. Garth Tander (Holden) 37:59.0881 8. Fabian Coulthard (Ford) 38:00.7310 9. Scott Pye (Ford) 38:01.5646 10. James Moffat (Volvo) 38:02.5212 11. Todd Kelly (Nissan) 38:03.1037 12. Michael Caruso (Nissan) 38:05.5570 13. Will Davison (Holden) 38:08.2376 14. James Courtney (Holden) 38:08.8822 15. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 38:09.2918 16. Tim Slade (Holden) 38:12.3505 17. Cameron Waters (Ford) 38:14.4354 18. Dale Wood (Nissan) 38:14.9670 19. Jason Bright (Holden) 38:22.3422 20. Tim Blanchard (Holden) 38:23.0351 21. Nick Percat (Holden) 38:23.4807 22. Chris Pither (Ford) 38:33.3017 23. Shae Davies (Holden) +1 Lap 24. Rick Kelly (Nissan) +1 Lap 25. David Reynolds (Holden) +2 Laps 26. Andre Heimgartner (Holden) DNF
Results from Race 3 in the Auckland, the 13th round of the series, at Pukekohe Park Raceway (circuit: 2.915km) today:
Race 3 (35 laps) 1. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 38mins6.2689sec 2. Scott Pye (Ford) 38:16.4185 3. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden) 38:19.2616 4. Craig Lowndes (Holden) 38:20.1635 5. Fabian Coulthard (Ford) 38:21.6818 6. Chaz Mostert (Ford) 38:22.5722 7. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) 38:24.3027 8. Will Davison (Holden) 38:26.8415 9. Rick Kelly (Nissan) 38:27.1280 10. Garth Tander (Holden) 38:27.9822 11. James Courtney (Holden) 38:28.8614 12. James Moffat (Volvo) 38:29.6880 13. Michael Caruso (Nissan) 38:30.1005 14. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 38:30.5888 15. Todd Kelly (Nissan) 38:31.4737 16. Jason Bright (Holden) 38:35.3428 17. David Reynolds (Holden) 38:36.0480 18. Nick Percat (Holden) 38:36.4103 19. Tim Slade (Holden) 38:36.7392 20. Cameron Waters (Ford) 38:40.6786 21. Dale Wood (Nissan) 38:44.1541 22. Andre Heimgartner (Holden) 38:44.9879 23. Chris Pither (Ford) 38:50.5895 24. Shae Davies (Holden) 39:01.1118 25. Jamie Whincup (Holden) +1 Lap 26. Tim Blanchard (Holden) +1 Lap
— AAP
Originally published as SVG closes on title despite Whincup drama