Shane van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb have taken a dominant victory at the Castrol Gold Coast 600 today, while Championship leader Mark Winterbottom had a disaster run.
The TEKNO Commodore blazed in the opening laps with co-driver Webb behind the wheel and held a comfortable lead for the majority of the 102-lap race, with van Gisbergen earning his first win for 2015 and converting his ARMOR ALL Pole Position.
David Reynolds and Dean Canto – winners at the Gold Coast in 2013 – came home second after a hard-fought battle with this year’s Bathurst champions Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards.
“It wasn’t just me, we came in with a ten-second lead, the car was amazing. To do those times lap after lap, the car was just fantastic,” van Gisbergen, who won by 1.6 seconds, said.
While the Pepsi Max Crew has been a strong force this season, both cars had a disastrous run in the pits, with Mark Winterbottom released from a pit stop to run right into Garth Tander.
The Ford Falcon FG X suffered significant damage, leaving Winterbottom to finish 24th after extensive work to the Falcon and earning a drive through penalty. Teammates Cam Waters and Russell Ingall were forced to take a drive through penalty after spinning wheels during their pit stop.
There were plenty other hard luck stories with Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell and Scott McLaughlin/Alex Premat suffering from damage to the front splitter of their V8 Supercars. The Volvo also suffered a power steering issue that had them in the garage after a strong run at the front while car #1 faces a post-race investigation after contact with Taz Douglas’s Nissan.
Strategies played out throughout 102-lap the race, with Rick Kelly’s Jack Daniel’s Nissan on an alternate strategy using soft Dunlop tyres in the middle stint and rotating and reusing them for the end, when most rivals were on fresh softs.
A late race safety car spiced up the final stages – the Holden Racing Team Commodores battled hard for the top five, while other Walkinshaw cars were damaged, dented and fell down the order.
Tander and Warren Luff finished fourth and take the lead of the Pirtek Enduro Cup from Winterbottom/Steve Owen.
Winterbottom continues leading the Championship, but the gap is now 306 points back to Red Bull rival Lowndes.
Another 300km race will play out tomorrow on the streets of the Gold Coast.
