Townsville Supercars: Van Gisbergen beats Whincup in opener
It modified into Whincup that bought the precise of the originate, the seven-time series champ leaping polesitter van Gisbergen on the prolonged term through Turn 1 and into Turn 2.
In the help of the two Crimson Bull Holdens the immense winner on the first lap modified into James Courtney, who barged his draw down the within of both Dick Johnson Racing vehicles at Turn 2 to retract third field.
Whincup then gradually edged faraway from his teammate across the first stint, the gap stabilising at around three seconds.
Courtney, within the period in-between, didn’t pretty originate it to the waste of the first stint in third field. Having shadowed van Gisbergen within the early levels, his bound dropped off dramatically around the Lap 20 designate.
That brought Anton De Pasquale into the sport, the DJR Mustang sliding down the within of the Tickford Ford at Turn 13 on Lap 23.
Courtney then dropped at the help of Percat sooner than taking his first waste on Lap 27, a lock-up on his out-lap then taking him appropriate out of competition.
Whincup took his first waste on Lap 29, while van Gisbergen stretched his first stint till Lap 33, took on more gas and dropped help to third at the help of De Pasquale. He wasn’t there for prolonged, although, van Gisbergen reclaiming second field on Lap 36.
By then Whincup modified into more than 9s down the street, nonetheless the gap didn’t final. Van Gisbergen modified into ready to streak Whincup down across the second stint, real 2s between them when Whincup made his second waste on Lap 58.
Van Gisbergen ran prolonged every other time, his second service approaching Lap 64. Whincup at the origin had a 4s lead after his teammate’s waste, nonetheless, with better tyre situation, van Gisbergen posthaste made in-roads.
Within about a laps the gap modified into within a second, van Gisbergen then sliding down the within of his teammate at Turn 11 on Lap 70.
With more than a quarter of a minute to the remainder of the sphere, the T8 drivers may maybe maybe then cruise to a happy one-two, 7.3s maintaining apart them at the produce.
Van Gisbergen’s ideal difficulty at the produce modified into his smartly being, as he persisted to enhance from a collarbone damage sustained earlier within the year.
“I’m gorgeous wrecked, nonetheless I’ll net mounted up and rush every other time tomorrow,” he said. “That modified into genuinely physical.
“Our vehicles had been awesome, that modified into tall frigid. It modified into real enjoyable, I knew I had one shot to [pass Jamie] sooner than the tyres cooked, and I purchased him.”
De Pasquale performed a lonely third forward of Percat. David Reynolds modified into fifth, no topic spending quite a lot of the third stint with mirrors plump of Tim Slade.
Will Davison had been operating in a happy fifth till three laps from the waste, when he modified into forced to originate a third waste ensuing from a miscalculation on the minimal gas fall. That left him ninth at the chequered flag.
“It’s clearly disappointing, I’m gutted for the team,” said Davison. “It’s such a sexy line and they also enact such a real job. Nonetheless that is absolutely the most lifelike draw it goes.”
The Townsville 500 continues with a second 250-kilometre bustle tomorrow.