Photo: Holden Racing Team

James Courtney claims emotional win in fuel saving Gold Coast race

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James Courtney with co-driver Jack Perkins scored an emotional victory in the final V8 Supercars race of the Gold Coast 600 weekend thanks to a daring fuel strategy.

The Holden Racing Team duo started 11th and worked their way up through the field. But it was not until the final safety car session, to clear debris on track, the ground for their jump to the top of the field was secured. While other teams opted to pit for a quick splash of fuel at the end of the race, Courtney remained out to save fuel, a call proving to be victorious.

The victory was especially emotional for Courtney in his return after the freak injury at Sydney Motorsport Park earlier this year and for Perkins with it being his first ever V8 Supercars victory.

The first half of the race saw the battle for the lead standing between the Triple Eight Race Engineering duo of Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards and the Volvo Polestar Racing duo of Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat.

Prémat started the race from pole position but was outdragged into the first corner by Richards. The duo followed each other through the race and McLaughlin closed in on Lowndes at mid-point of the race. But the Volvo driver never got close enough and both drivers lost out on having to pit for fuel at the end of the race, dropping to fourth and sixth respectively.

Another duo taking advantage of a daring fuel strategy was Nissan Motorsport’s Rick Kelly and David Russell, staying out while the others pitted to finish second, just two seconds behind Courtney.

Holden Racing Team claimed a double podium with Garth Tander and Warren Luff finishing third.

Shane van Gisbergen looked to be set for a podium finish, but lost vital ground in his final stop when he had to wait on other cars to pass him in the pit lane. The Tekno Autosports driver finished fifth, with reigning champion Jamie Whincup finishing seventh behind McLaughlin.

Championship leader Mark Winterbottom had another tough race to finish eleventh from fifth on the grid. With main title rival Lowndes finishing fourth, the gap in the championship has been further reduced to 258 points with three race weekends remaining of the 2015 V8 Supercars championship.