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Shane van Gisbergen secured weekend honours for the Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge at Albert Park after fending off a determined Fabian Coulthard in Race 4.
Van Gisbergen controlled the double-file rolling start from pole and led every one of the 12 laps to take his third race win of the weekend.
While the previous two heats had been all Triple Eight affairs at the front, Coulthard and DJR Team Penske proved the wildcard in today’s battle.
Coulthard swept around the outside of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes into Turn 1 on the opening lap to settle into second.
The Detroit backed Ford driver kept the pressure on his countryman for the bulk of the race before Van Gisbergen edged away in the closing stages.
“Yesterday we tried something that didn’t really work, so we tried another thing today to keep up with the track,” said Van Gisbergen.
“In the first few laps I thought we were in a bit of trouble. It took me a while to get the bars right but once the tyres came up I was able to drive away.
“Fabian was really pacey in those first couple of laps. I was enjoying holding him off. It was a good fight.”
Lowndes finished third after Whincup was forced to pull off the road at Turn 11 in the early laps with a mechanical issue.
James Courtney came home fourth after a spirited battle with Michael Caruso. The pair rubbed panels at Turn 1 on the final lap in a move that saw the Holden Racing Team driver take the place.
Garth Tander, Scott Pye, Rick Kelly, Chaz Mostert and Tim Slade completed the top 10.
Tander and Mostert were shuffled back when they made contact at Turn 4 on the second lap after the HRT driver attempted a lunge on Whincup for fourth.
Trying to make the most of Tander’s resulting loss of momentum, Mostert dived to the inside, resulting in side-to-side contact and a wild slide for the Ford.
Along with Whincup, David Reynolds was the race’s other retirement, pitting after contact with Chris Pither at Turn 1 on the opening lap.
“I held my line and he turned in hard from the outside,” said Reynolds.
“The impact broke a wheel and bent several things on the car. There was nothing to gain staying out there”
Result: V8 Supercars Race 4, Albert Park
1 | Red Bull Racing Australia | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 23:53.83 | 01:58.47 |
2 | DJR Team Penske | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG/X | 23:55.09 | 01:58.53 |
3 | Team Vortex | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 23:56.62 | 01:58.56 |
4 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 23:57.84 | 01:58.67 |
5 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 23:58.37 | 01:58.50 |
6 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 24:00.24 | 01:58.54 |
7 | DJR Team Penske | Scott Pye | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:01.12 | 01:58.63 |
8 | Nissan Motorsport | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 24:01.52 | 01:58.57 |
9 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:03.87 | 01:58.51 |
10 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 24:04.22 | 01:58.91 |
11 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:05.69 | 01:58.93 |
12 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Scott McLaughlin | Volvo S60 | 24:07.69 | 01:58.98 |
13 | Team Darrell Lea STIX | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 24:08.11 | 01:59.27 |
14 | Prodrive Racing Australia | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:10.27 | 01:59.43 |
15 | LD Motorsports | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 24:15.01 | 01:59.63 |
16 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Volvo S60 | 24:18.88 | 01:59.25 |
17 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VF | 24:19.46 | 01:59.81 |
18 | GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Nissan Altima | 24:20.31 | 01:59.85 |
19 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 24:20.83 | 01:59.68 |
20 | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 24:21.43 | 01:59.97 |
21 | Team Cooldrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 24:22.11 | 02:00.00 |
22 | LD Motorsports | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore VF | 24:22.49 | 02:00.16 |
23 | Superblack Racing | Chris Pither | Ford Falcon FG/X | 24:23.19 | 01:59.77 |
24 | Plus Fitness Racing | Aaren Russell | Holden Commodore VF | 24:29.73 | 02:00.57 |
DNF | Red Bull Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 04:03.17 | 01:59.24 |
DNF | Erebus Motorsport Penrite | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF |
