DARWIN, Australia — Shane van Gisbergen may not have had the advantage off the start of Sunday’s 200 km finale to the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown, but he was out front when it counted and came away with his second win of the 2016 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship season.
Van Gisbergen powered past teammate Craig Lowndes when the three-time champion went wide at turn one on a lap 15 restart, and only gave up the top spot for eight laps the rest of the way during a green-flag pit cycle. Once he resumed command on lap 40 of the 70-lap affair, he never looked back and motored to a 1.5655-second victory over Tim Slade despite a late-race caution that set up a restart with nine to go.
“This is an amazing day,” said van Gisbergen of his 13th career series victory and second at Hidden Valley Raceway. “Things have been awesome all weekend long. The car’s been awesome and to come back with a win today after I made a mistake in (Saturday’s) race is awesome.”
“It was tough on the start because we had no grip at all, but then the car came to us and we were able to drive away. I tried to drift the track (to celebrate) like I did back in 2011, but I’m not as good (at it) as I used to be at it. Still stoked to win though.”
The race started out with complete chaos, as two separate incidents on the first lap triggered a caution flag and safety car period that set the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.
First, contact throughout the field sent Lee Holdsworth spinning going through the first corner, ending with a hard shunt for the Charlie Schwerkolt Racing/Preston Hire-sponsored Holden on the passenger’s side as he pounded the barriers. Holdsworth’s car went off on the flatbed and he was one of two drivers who failed to complete a lap on the day.
Second, contact between the Ford FG X Falcons of Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard at turn five, in the midst of a three-wide situation, sent both drivers off-course and left them with massive damage that forced Coulthard to retire and Mostert to spend extensive time in the paddock before he returned to competition many laps down.
The early yellow drew most of the field down pit lane for service, forcing double- and triple-stacking situations that led to additional madness before Lowndes came away with the lead at lap two. The Team Vortex driver led through the next restart before Scott Pye was turned by Rick Kelly on the eighth round at the hairpin, drawing a second safety car period two laps later when Pye stalled on the frontstretch.
