Scott McLaughlin moves closer to title with win as Jamie Whincup drops 78 points behind
Scott McLaughlin won the maiden Supercars championship race at the brand new Newcastle street circuit, moving closer to claiming the title as main rival Jamie Whincup finished 21st after an incident on the first lap.
The DJR Team Penske driver only has to finish eleventh in the second race tomorrow to claim the title, no matter where Triple Eight driver Whincup finishes. McLaughlin was 30 points behind Whincup before the race weekend and currently holds a 78-point lead.
Whincup’s hopes for a strong result in this race was ended on the opening lap when he made contact with Nissan driver Michael Caruso, damaging his front suspension and forcing him to pit for repairs. The repairs dropped him down the order, 13 laps behind the leaders.
The first lap saw a major incident at Turn Eight that forced the safety car on track as Dale Wood, Taz Douglas, Jason Bright and Tim Blanchard made contact, coming to a halt on the track.
McLaughlin started from pole position and was in the top of the field throughout the race to claim victory after 91 laps by 2.4 seconds ahead of team-mate Fabian Coulthard, making it a DJR Team Penske 1-2.
Tim Slade claimed the final podium spot for Brad Jones racing, crossing the line just seven tenths of a second ahead of Charlie Schwerkolt Racing driver Lee Holdsworth.
Whincup’s team-mate Shane van Gisbergen had a tough race as well, receiving a 15-second penalty for an incident with David Reynolds at Turn Eight. The penalty dropped him from the top to finish 16th. Reynolds went on to finish fifth.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering team had a tough day as Craig Lowndes hit the wall on lap 63, retiring from the race.
Another victim of the tough street circuit was Nissan Motorsport driver Simona de Silvestro who looked set for a top five finish until she ran wide after a safety car restart and dropped down to 20th position.
