Supercars-C1: Van Gisbergen and Prémat win at Surfers Paradise

Nothing could prevent Shane van Gisbergen and Alexandre Prémat to win the first race of the Gold Coast 600 held in Surfers Paradise. The crew of Holden Commodore No. 97 of the Red Bull Racing Australia, overcame a 10″ penalty imposed on the Frenchman for an infraction of the restart rule behind the safety car, to win ahead of Scott McLaughlin and David Wall (GRM – Volvo S60).

Starting from pole position, the Franco-New Zealand duo overcame this sanction, with a final victorious charge from van Gisbergen to win with less than a second ahead of McLaughlin.

“It was an unlucky penalty, admits the Kiwi. We came back and the car was just fantastic. Alex was extremely fast and it was a great day. We will try to do as well tomorrow. »

With this success, van Gisbergen further consolidates his leadership position in the championship against Jamie Whincup, since the six-time champion “only” finished third in the event with his teammate Paul Dumbrell (Red Bull Racing Australia – Holden Commodore) .

The event was marked by the violent accident of Fabian Couthard (DJR Team Penske – Ford Falcon), after contact with Garth Tander (Holden Racing Team – Holden Commodore). Coulthard ultimately emerged without serious injuries from the incident while Tander was penalized for the first time in the race and will receive a 10-place grid penalty for tomorrow's event.

Red Bull Racing Australia / Triple Eight also won the Teams title at the end of this first race of the weekend.

Results Race 1