Queensland V8 Supercars: Nissan/Volvo collision hands Whincup win
Jamie Whincup claimed his second win of the V8 Supercars weekend at Ipswich's Queensland Raceway after erstwhile race leader Scott McLaughlin was shoved off-track by Michael Caruso
McLaughlin led proceedings from the off, beating fellow front row starter Caruso as they entered Turn 1 for the first time, and was in command of the race until it reached mid-distance.
The Volvo driver then began to lose pace and was forced to hold off his determined Nissan rival, but their battle reached a disappointing conclusion on lap 23 of 33 when Caruso punted McLaughlin in a desperate move at Turn 6.
The Kiwi then dropped down the order to finish 19th, while Caruso was issued with a drive-through penalty for his misdemeanor and fell to 24th.
"I don't blame the bloke for having a go," said McLaughlin at the finish. "It's just racing and I would have done the same. Everyone makes mistakes."
Their pain was Whincup's gain as he inherited the lead and cruised to his ninth win of the season, ahead of Triple Eight team-mate Craig Lowndes, who had a fairly anonymous race.
Chaz Mostert claimed the final podium position having disposed of Shane van Gisbergen and Rick Kelly, who all finished ahead of championship leader Mark Winterbottom in sixth.
The FPR Ford driver started 11th and made little gain in the first third of the race, but as others appeared to struggle on the soft Dunlop tyre, Winterbottom was largely unaffected and began making his way through the field.
Saturday's results mean he still sits at the top of the standings, but his advantage has been halved from 96 to 48 points heading into Sunday's final race of the weekend.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 39m06.3767s 2. Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden +0.5082s 3. Chaz Mostert FPR Ford +12.2514s 4. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden +18.1787s 5. Rick Kelly Nissan +20.1221s 6. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford +20.2262s 7. Nick Percat Walkinshaw/HRT Holden +20.6873s 8. Garth Tander HRT Holden +21.0530s 9. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden +21.8395s 10. James Courtney HRT Holden +23.3215s 11. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden +23.6496s 12. Scott Pye Dick Johnson Ford +24.0745s 13. James Moffat Nissan +24.4578s 14. Will Davison Erebus Mercedes +26.5404s 15. David Reynolds Rosenberg/FPR Ford +27.9958s 16. Todd Kelly Nissan +28.7512s 17. Tim Slade Rosenberg/HRT Holden +29.3832s 18. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes +30.1287s 19. Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo +31.8068s 20. David Wall Dick Johnson Ford +32.0593s 21. Russell Ingall Dumbrell Holden +32.4490s 22. Robert Dahlgren GRM Volvo +34.1866s 23. Dale Wood Britek/BJR Holden +34.6911s 24. Michael Caruso Nissan +37.1855s 25. Jack Perkins Schwerkolt/FPR Ford +40.3829s
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