Advantage McLaughlin as van Gisbergen handed late penalty
Related Story: Jamie Whincup wins Supercars title after dramatic Newcastle 500 Related Story: Craig Lowndes wins his seventh Bathurst 1000 in final year of full-time driving
The blockbuster climax to the tightest Supercars season in a decade took yet another dramatic twist this morning when Shane van Gisbergen had yesterday's dramatic win at the Newcastle 500 stripped from him by the stewards.
Van Gisbergen secured a remarkable victory on Saturday afternoon, hauling in championship leader Scott McLaughlin — who was struggling with fuel issues — on the final lap of a gripping race one, to cut his Ford rival's series lead to just two points with one race to go.
But the Kiwi challenger was handed a 25-second time penalty after stewards met this morning, who judged his car was lowered to the ground with the fuel hose still attached during the third pit-stop.
The stewards met after the deputy race director on Saturday, "determined a breach of the rules has been established".
The decision relegated the Holden driver from first place to fifth, giving McLaughlin a huge leg up in his hunt for a maiden overall championship.
The penalty meant that instead of carrying a two-point lead into the final, 250km race around the streets of Newcastle, McLaughlin will have a 53-point cushion.
There are 150 points available for winning Sunday's race, but McLaughlin will now only need to finish in sixth, should van Gisbergen win the race, cruelling fans' hopes of a winner-takes-all battle between the two fierce rivals.
Pit-stop penalties have been a hot topic in recent weeks, with van Gisbergen benefiting from a controversial ruling in New Zealand earlier this month.
Van Gisbergen managed to controversially escape a penalty for spinning his wheels during a pit stop at the Auckland SuperSprint at Pukekohe, a race the Red Bull Holden driver won by just half a second from McLaughlin.
The luckless David Reynolds was punished for the same offence at this year's Bathurst, as he duelled for the lead with Craig Lowndes on the mountain, before eventually retiring with cramp.
Van Gisbergen was judged by most to be extremely lucky to avoid a penalty in that instance, but it appears his luck may have run out in Newcastle.
That will be music to McLaughlin's ears, after his 2017 title challenge was cruelly derailed after being handed a drive-through penalty last year in Newcastle.
McLaughlin has a chance to put those demons to bed when race two gets underway at 3:40pm [AEDT].
[contf]
[contfnew]
ABC .net
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
