MOTORSPORT: Three different Supercars winners in Darwin

The Merlin Darwin Triple Challenge at Hidden Valley Raceway proved that Shane van Gisbergen can be beaten, with three different winners emerging from a trio of action-packed Supercars races.

A highlight of the event proved to be the sprint to the chequered flag in the finale, when a late safety car bunched the field on the tail of Chaz Mostert, who was nursing used tyres on his Optus Commodore after leapfrogging the field following an early pit stop.

The bold strategic move ultimately paid dividends when he fended off the advances of Anton De Pasquale and Cameron Waters, with the Ford Mustang mounted duo claiming the two earlier race wins.

“What an amazing day. [I’m] so proud of everyone here. That’s probably one of the most satisfying wins of my career! I’m stoked,” said Mostert.

“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t enjoy hearing what tyres everyone behind me had on at the restart, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.”

The event was a rollercoaster ride for Mostert who was disqualified from both the second practice session and the first race for respective tyre and starting grid protocol issues, with the team’s appeal of the latter knocked back due to the late filing of paperwork.

The biggest loser in the final race scrap was Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, who was relegated to 21st on the results sheet after contact with Will Davison at the restart, with the event the first of the six contested to date in 2022 in which the title leader hasn’t won at least one race.

Earlier in the weekend, SVG claimed a pair of third-place results.

For De Pasquale, victory in the opening race was achieved after fending off the advances of his Shell V-Power Racing teammate Davison, while he finished fourth on Sunday morning, consolidating his second place in the standings.

“It was a really good weekend for the Shell V-Power Racing Team. We were on the podium, either Will or I in every race, a one-two yesterday, a couple of front-row lockouts. We’re all pretty happy,” said De Pasquale.

“I think our race car has come a long way throughout the year, so we will try to carry that into Townsville. It’s a very different circuit, we had some success there last year, so [I’m] looking forward to it.”

Davison on the other side of the DJR garage celebrated his 500th Supercar race at the event, and left the Top End with two poles, two second places, and a fourth.

Waters meanwhile was pushed hard to the finish of the Sunday morning race by Davison, after starting the shortened encounter from pole position in his Monster Mustang.

The biggest incident of the weekend came at the start of the second race, when 2010 champion James Courtney was tapped into a lurid spin, which ended in significant contact with Scott Pye, Thomas Randle and Todd Hazelwood.

Miraculously, Courtney’s Tickford Racing squad were able to repair the battered Mustang in time for the finale, although the damage to Pye’s Commodore saw it sidelined for the third race.

The event was the first Supercars Indigenous Round to be contested, with all cars carrying Indigenous-themed liveries, with multiple activities recognising the First Nation’s people.

Next up on the Repco Supercars Championship calendar is the NTI Townsville 500 from July 8-10.

Race 1 – 38 laps

Race 2 – 37 laps

Race 3 – 38 laps

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