V8SC – Van Gisbergen starts with a double in Melbourne

Starting second in the first round behind pole sitter Michael Caruso (Nissan – Norton), Shane Van Gisbergen got rid of his opponent on the first lap to win his Tekno Autosports Holden Commodore unopposed in this opening race of the meeting. you from Melbourne, contested on the sidelines of the Grand Prix of F1 from Australia.

Behind Van Gisbergen, we were obviously waiting for the outgoing champion Jamie Whincup at the wheel of his Holden du Red Bull Racing Australia. Despite an excellent start which saw him challenge for leadership, Whincup was unable to take the advantage in the first moments of the race, leaving Van Gisbergen to take off. The Holden Red Bull will never be able to catch up. On the other hand, the fight with Scott McLaughlin, and his Polestar Racing Volvo S60, definitely on pace at the start of the season, gave us some great battles... or even a little too much! Indeed, Whincup received a 5-place penalty on the grid for the second race for having pushed the Volvo heavily into the pit straight. If the 2013 champion retained his 2nd place at the finish, his chances of victory for the second round vanished. McLaughlin finished 3rd ahead of pole sitter Caruso and Fabian Couthard who completed the top 5.

For the second round, Shane Van Gisbergen, starting from pole, had to face an early attack from McLaughlin, but the Volvo driver went too wide and made a mistake, before returning to the track in 5th position. Behind the leader, Craig Lowndes (Holden – Red Bull Racing Australia), who we had seen little of in the first round, was very pressing on Van Gisbergen throughout the race, but the Holden flanked by the red bull never made a comeback. will manage to dislodge its sister from Tekno Autosports. At the end of 12 laps, Van Gisbergen completed the double in front of Lowndes, Fabian Coulthard, Michael Caruso and Scott McLaughlin. Jamie Whincup, penalized after the first race, ultimately finished 7th.

There are still two rounds to go for this Melbourne weekend in V8 Supercars.