Scott McLaughlin handed Newcastle Race 1 win and hefty points lead after Triple Eight penalty

DJR Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin has inherited the win of the first race at Newcastle, following a 25-second penalty being handed to the Triple Eight Holden Commodore of race winner Shane van Gisbergen at this weekend’s Supercars Championship finale.

McLaughlin had run out of fuel on the final lap, with van Gisbergen stealing the win and a two-point championship lead on Saturday, but it soon became clear the New Zealander’s win was under threat following an investigation into his pit stop.

It was deemed the car was dropped off its jacks while the refuelling hose was still connected, in breach of the championship’s sporting regulations.

The officials have applied a pit lane drive-through penalty, which has been converted to a 25-second penalty, which drops van Gisbergen from the victory to fifth position in the race. Althought the stewards sought to apply a team penalty only, precedent has dictated the application of a driver penalty as well.

Van Gisbergen now goes from the lead of the championship, to trailing McLaughlin by 53 points, going into Sunday’s final race of the season.