» Supercars: Whincup triumphs in Race 3

Jamie Whincup turned the tables on title rival Scott McLaughlin to claim victory in the final race of the Darwin Triple Crown.

The pair spent the entire race split by less than a second, with McLaughlin holding the early lead from pole position before getting jumped by Whincup during the compulsory pit stop cycle.

Whincup attempted to undercut McLaughlin by pitting first and was lucky to avoid being hit by McLaughlin’s teammate Fabian Coulthard as he exited his pit bay just as the DJR Team Penske driver was trying to turn into his. Coulthard was forced to slam on the brakes to avoid contact, and somehow Whincup escaped any sanction from the Race Stewards for an unsafe pit release.

McLaughlin suffered a fractionally slow tyre change when he pitted a lap later, which proved just enough for Whincup to claim the effective race lead.

Coulthard’s slower transition through the pit lane was enough to see him jumped by Chaz Mostert for fourth place, denying the DJR Team Penske driver the distinction of winning the Darwin Triple Crown round – he and Whincup finished equal on points, but the Red Bull Holden driver claimed the mantle on countback.

Whincup’s teammate Shane van Gisbergen completed the podium, although he nearly lost the position when he ran wide at Turn 1 in the final laps. Luckily for him, the Mostert/Coulthard battle was far enough behind.

Nick Percat finished sixth in his BJR Holden ahead of the Team 18 Holden of Mark Winterbottom, who opted for a long opening stint and a late pit stop to climb to seventh on fresher tyres in the final laps.

Jack Le Brocq (Tickford Racing Ford), David Reynolds (Erebus Holden) and Rick Kelly (Kelly Racing Ford) rounded out the top ten.

The Supercars field will remain in Darwin for a second SuperSprint round over the weekend of 22-23 August, with McLaughlin leading Whincup by 101 points in the Drivers’ Championship standings – the same margin the pair was separated by before this weekend.

2020 Australian Supercars Championship Darwin Triple Crown – Race 15 Final Classification (38 laps)
Pos	Driver	Team	Result
1.	Jamie Whincup	Red Bull Holden Racing Team	44:07.248
2.	Scott McLaughlin	Shell V-Power Racing Team	+ 2.122
3.	Shane van Gisbergen	Red Bull Holden Racing Team	+ 14.355
4.	Chaz Mostert	Mobil 1 TM Appliances	+ 17.258
5.	Fabian Coulthard	Shell V-Power Racing Team	+ 17.758
6.	Nick Percat	R&J Batteries	+ 22.614
7.	Mark Winterbottom	IRWIN Racing	+ 22.983
8.	Jack Le Brocq	Supercheap Auto Racing	+ 23.857
9.	David Reynolds	Penrite Racing	+ 25.468
10.	Rick Kelly	Castrol Racing	+ 26.690
11.	Cameron Waters	Monster Energy Racing	+ 28.475
12.	Lee Holdsworth	Truck Assist Racing	+ 29.520
13.	Garry Jacobson	Yellow Cover Racing	+ 29.905
14.	Jake Kostecki	UNIT Racing	+ 36.045
15.	Jack Smith	SCT Motor Sports	+ 39.938
16.	Andre Heimgartner	NED Whisky Racing	+ 40.951
17.	James Courtney	Boost Mobile Racing	+ 42.010
18.	Macauley Jones	Team CoolDrive	+ 42.453
19.	Bryce Fullwood	Mobil 1 TM Middy’s Racing	+ 42.785
20.	Todd Hazelwood	Brut Military Grade	+ 44.626
21.	Chris Pither	Team SYDNEY	+ 45.727
22.	Scott Pye	DEWALT Racing	+ 47.251
23.	Anton de Pasquale	Penrite Racing	+ 1:01.438
24.	Alex Davison	Local Legends Racing	2 laps behind