Red Bull HRT goes one-two in Pirtek Enduro Cup

The Red Bull Holden Racing Team finished one-two in the Pirtek Enduro Cup despite Shane van Gisbergen’s mechanical failure at Sandown.

The Banyo team in fact took out five out of the six races which made up this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup, with points also on offer in the sprints which set the starting grid for the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes won out in the end with 878 points out of a possible 950, having claimed one of the Gold Coast races, the Sandown 500 itself, and the 20-lappers which preceded it.

The latter two victories had moved them ahead of team-mates van Gisbergen and Garth Tander and Car #888 would have remained there in the standings even if Whincup had taken the chequered flag in second spot in Race 30.

However, despite plummeting from a comfortable race lead to a finish of 17th, van Gisbergen/Tander held on to second position in the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

When asked if he was satisfied with his team’s performance in the three enduro events, Triple Eight boss Roland Dane said shortly after Race 30, “Of course, we’ve won the Enduro Cup.

“I think we’re probably one-two, even without it (Car #97 win), but we’ve won it again, we’ve won it more than anyone else, and we won it because the cars were good and the drivers were good, and I think the team did a great job all-round.”

The overall victory is the fifth for Triple Eight in seven editions of the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

While the team defended the title for a second time, Lowndes became the first driver to do so after winning last year with Steven Richards.

Shell V-Power Racing Team’s Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Premat won this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup opener, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Pirtek Enduro Cup standings