Van Gisbergen and McLaughlin taking Eseries down to the wire
McLaughlin and van Gisbergen battle at virtual Michigan |
The inaugural BP Supercars All Stars Eseries will go down to the very last race, with Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin splitting wins in the penultimate round this evening.
Round 9 featured three races, all at the famous Michigan International Oval Speedway with Van Gisbergen entering the round holding a 146-point lead.
Everything went to script early for the Red Bull Holden ace, winning the opening two races, McLaughlin finished 2nd and 3rd in those races.
However the 2016 Supercars Champion came unstuck in the final race of the night and McLaughlin pounced. The Shell Ford ace claimed victory while van Gisbergen finished back in 14th.
The result cut Van Gisbergen's overall Eseries lead to just 78 points with just one round remaining, next week's visits to iconic Australian circuits Oran Park and Mount Panorama.
As was the case heading in the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, McLaughlin and van Gisbergen will enter the final round of the competition with the winner taking the Series victory.
Fellow contenders Cam Waters, Anton De Pasquale and Chaz Mostert all fell out of contention for the Eseries title with mixed results tonight.
RACE 27 | RACE 28 | RACE 29 |
Shane van Gisbergen | Shane van Gisbergen | Scott McLaughlin |
Scott McLaughlin | Bryce Fullwood | Jack Le Brocq |
Anton De Pasquale | Scott McLaughlin | Jordan Boys |
PROVISIONAL COATES HIRE LEADERBOARD – ROUND NINE
POS | DRIVER | TEAM | TOTAL | BEHIND |
1 | Shane van Gisbergen | Red Bull Holden Racing Team | 2165 | -0 |
2 | Scott McLaughlin | Shell V-Power Racing Team | 2087 | -78 |
3 | Cameron Waters | Monster Energy Racing | 1842 | -323 |
4 | Anton De Pasquale | Penrite Racing | 1833 | -332 |
5 | Chaz Mostert | Mobil 1 Appliances Online Racing | 1675 | -490 |
6 | Andre Heimgartner | NED Racing | 1405 | -760 |
7 | Fabian Coulthard | Shell V-Power Racing Team | 1371 | -794 |
8 | Will Davison | Doric Racing | 1370 | -795 |
9 | Jack Le Brocq | Supercheap Auto Racing | 1340 | -825 |
10 | Lee Holdsworth | Truck Assist Racing | 1326 | -839 |
11 | Garry Jacobson | Yellow Cover Racing | 1257 | -908 |
12 | Bryce Fullwood | Mobil 1 Middy's Racing | 1251 | -914 |
13 | Todd Hazelwood | Brut Military Racing | 1134 | -1031 |
14 | Jake Kostecki | NTI Racing | 1096 | -1069 |
15 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | 1086 | -1079 |
16 | Zane Goddard | Unit Racing | 1045 | -1120 |
17 | Scott Pye | DeWalt Racing | 1042 | -1123 |
18 | Macauley Jones | Team CoolDrive | 960 | -1205 |
19 | Mark Winterbottom | Irwin Racing | 958 | -1207 |
20 | David Reynolds | Penrite Racing | 897 | -1268 |
21 | Alex Davison | Local Legends Racing | 882 | -1283 |
22 | Jamie Whincup | Red Bull Holden Racing Team | 816 | -1349 |
23 | Rick Kelly | Castrol Racing | 805 | -1360 |
24 | Chris Pither | Coca Cola Team Sydney | 587 | -1578 |
25 | Jack Smith | SCT Logistics | 491 | -1674 |
26 | James Courtney | Team Boost Racing | 119 | -1968 |