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Queensland Raceway once again provided the backdrop for another intriguing instalment of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.
Read through our shortlist of contenders below and cast your vote for the Coates Hire Ipswich Super Sprint’s most impressive driver in this week’s Pirtek Poll.
Scott McLaughlin: (Race 15 Q: 1st F: 1st, Race 16 Q: 1st F: 2nd)
The DJR Team Penske driver has opened up a gap on the field in the title race after scoring his sixth victory of the season.
McLaughlin once again showcased his qualifying prowess by netting two pole positions to bring his season tally to 11 while posting the fastest ever Supercar lap around the 3.12km circuit.
The Kiwi, who has finished either first or second in the last six races, made the most of Jamie Whincup’s Race 15 misfortune to extend his championship lead to 129 points.
Only Chaz Mostert’s impressive drive on Sunday denied McLaughlin a perfect weekend.
Chaz Mostert: (Race 15 Q: 3rd F: 2nd, Race 16 Q: 2nd F: 1st)
Chaz Mostert provided a reminder that he is still a force in the Supercars title race after his best performances of the season.
The Queenslander extracted the most from his Prodrive Ford to offer a challenge to Triple Eight and DJR Team Penske.
Mostert drove supremely on Saturday to finish second following a late pass on Tim Slade.
This was followed by a faultless display to take on Jamie Whincup and then withstand pressure from Scott McLaughlin, after a Safety Car restart, to score his second win of the year.
He remains the only driver outside of Triple Eight and DJR Team Penske to win a race this season.
Shane van Gisbergen: (Race 15 Q: 7th F: 3rd, Race 16 Q: 5th F: 3rd)
The reigning champion was keen to improve his consistency heading into the weekend and will leave Queensland Raceway satisfied with a pair of podium results.
Van Gisbergen was unable to match the car pace of Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert particularly in qualifying, but made the most of strategy in the races.
Two fighting drives saw the Kiwi scythe his way through the field, armed with fresher rubber, late in the races to snatch third on Saturday and Sunday.
His drives were highlighted by slick, measured overtaking moves, including an impressive final lap pass on Slade on Saturday.
Craig Lowndes: (Race 15 Q: 2nd F: 5th, Race 16 Q: 7th F: 6th)
Queensland Raceway saw a return to the front row of the grid for Craig Lowndes.
The three-time series champion has struggled to produce one lap pace on the new Dunlop tyre this season, with a sixth at Symmons Plains his previous best starting berth this year.
It was almost a year to the date since his last front row start.
Lowndes challenged Scott McLaughlin for the win in Race 15 having held the lead twice before dropping to fifth.
A solid drive on Sunday saw the TeamVortex Commodore come home in sixth.
Tim Slade: (Race 15 Q: 4th F: 4th, Race 16 Q: 16th F: 7th)
Tim Slade produced a head turning performance in Race 15 qualifying to muscle his way onto the second row.
The Brad Jones Racing driver drove solidly in the race to occupy a podium spot right up until the final lap when he lost out to a charging Shane van Gisbergen.
Slade made the most of his car speed and strategy to climb from 16th to seventh in Race 16, scoring back-to-back top 10 finishes for the first time this season.
Nick Percat: (Race 15 Q: 11th F: 7th, Race 16 Q: 8th F: 24th)
Nick Percat was able to display similar speed to that of his team-mate Tim Slade from his Brad Jones Racing Holden.
After narrowly missing out on the top 10 in qualifying, the South Australian rose to seventh on Saturday.
He was on course for another solid top 10, running as high as fourth on Sunday, before a puncture ended his hopes.
Todd Hazelwood: (Race 15 Q: 20th F: 22nd, Race 16 Q: 21st F: 18th)
The Dunlop Super2 Series leader impressed throughout on his maiden start in the Supercars Championship as a wildcard runner.
Hazelwood showed solid pace and proved more than capable of mixing it with far more experienced and established full-time Supercars drivers.
He opened the weekend by topping the additional driver practice in the #21 Brad Jones Racing Holden he will share with Tim Blanchard.
The 21-year-old was ninth in final practice before qualifying as the fastest of the four wildcards for both races.
Hazelwood drove smartly in wheel-to-wheel combat finishing ahead of several full-time drivers.
