MOTORSPORT: Whincup drama, McLaughlin joy
Safety car controversy overshadows win record for Ford Mustang driverAnother Jamie Whincup safety car fracas overshadowed Scott Mclaughlin’s record-breaking 17th Supercars race victory in a single season on home soil at Pukekohe on New Zealand yesterday.
Confronted with a Supercar flashing orange lights, which means stay behind, Whincup instead drove past in his Red Bull Holden Commodore ZB, just as he did at Bathurst in 2015.
And just as his action cost him a penalty and potential race victory that day, so it did again at Pukekohe.
The trouble was yesterday a bunch of other drivers were artificially dropped down the order and a bunch more artificially moved up by the imbroglio.
The biggest loser was Lee Holdsworth, who narrowly missed his first pole position since 2010 and appeared set for his first podium finish since 2014. Instead he trundled home 15th in The Bottle-O Ford Mustang.
Afterwards there was plenty of finger pointing and blame being cast about. Whincup’s spray aimed at race control was epic.
“You’ve got people making decisions that are, you know, cruising back, have a few glasses of red each night, you know, rock up to the track and their brains not with it.”
It was a double-banger penalty weekend for Whincup, who was dumped from second to sixth post-race courtesy of a time penalty for spinning Nick Percat’s Holden early in Saturday’s 200km race.
Whincup’s teammate Shane van Gisbergen won on Saturday from pole, demonstrating fresh aero changes for the Commodore are working ahead of the big race at Bathurst next month.
McLaughlin’s win in Sunday’s 200km race in his Shell V-Power Mustang was aided slightly by the safety car confusion, as was van Gisbergen’s second place.
But McLaughlin was still proud as punch – as he should be – of knocking off Craig Lowndes’ record that has stood since 1996.
“Wow. Breaking that Lowndes record is very special, but doing it here in New Zealand makes it even more special,” he said.
McLaughlin now has 3003 championships points, van Gisbergen has 2410 and Tickford Racing’s Chaz Mostert 2327.
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