Shane van Gisbergen nets first victory with new Holden Commodore
Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Shane van Gisbergen won the first Supercars championship race of 2018 in Adelaide, securing a debut victory for the new Holden ZB Commodore.
The Kiwi started the race from pole position but lost two positions to DJR Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin and Walkinshaw Andretti United driver James Courtney after a slow getaway.
Van Gisbergen shadowed the duo and opted for a different pit stop strategy, emerging in the lead after his second and final stop.
Courtney drove a strong race to finish second, pulling away from Ford rival McLaughlin toward the end of the race. McLaughlin crossed the line in third position, close to 3.5 seconds from winning driver van Gisbergen.
There was a safety car intervention during the final part of the race due to debris on track after contract between three newcomers in the form of Richie Stanaway, James Golding and Todd Hazelwood.
The race restarted with 16 laps left as David Reynolds put hard pressure on McLaughlin for third. The Erebus Motorsport driver finished fourth but was under investigation by the stewards for turning reigning champion Jamie Whincup into a spin earlier in the race.
The stewards decided to not penalise Reynolds for the incident with Whincup recovering to finish sixth behind Tickford Racing driver Mark Winterbottom in fifth.
McLaughlin’s DJR Team Penske team-mate Fabian Coulthard had a dreadful race, finishing 21st after sustaining front suspension damage from an incident with fellow Ford driver Richie Stanaway.
