Van Gisbergen claims thrilling 2017 Clipsal 500 crown

Sunday's start with van Gisbergen on the pole in the #97 Red Bull Holden and Coulthard alongside

Defending Virgin Australia Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen has capped off a dominant weekend in Adelaide, claiming his second Clipsal 500 crown with a win in dramatic circumstances this afternoon.

It was another memorable Clipsal 500, with rising star Scott McLaughlin holding the lead until the 75th lap of 78. With Van Gisbergen closing in over the final laps, McLaughlin locked his brakes, allowing Van Gisbergen to pass and claim his second Clipsal 500 title.

“Just as I got to him, I saw his big moment," Van Gisbergen said.

The 28-year old says there is still plenty of improvement to make to his car following the opening round of racing.

“We had a pretty average test … we still had vibrations this week, but the car was fast."

Van Gisbergen started slowly from his ARMOR ALL Pole Position in today’s race and was made to work for his win in front of McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert who finished second and third in today’s race respectively.

McLaughlin didn’t hide his emotions after going within three laps of a dream debut with his new Shell V-Power Racing Team.

“I thought today could’ve been the day we got our first win, but there’s a lot of promise there," McLaughlin said.

“I’m feeling really confident, but I’m just gutted – you lead a whole race and then you lose it."

Defending Clipsal 500 champion and South Australian local Nick Percat was forced to retire early in the race due to mechanical problems, while the first female full-time driver in the Supercars era, Simona De Silvestro finished 23rd and Alex Rullo who is now the youngest driver in Supercars history finished in 25th following his first weekend of racing.

VASC teams will now prepare for the next event on the calendar, the non-championship round at the 2017 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix from March 23-26.

Results

Pos	Driver	Make	St	Laps	Behind	Points
1	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	1	78	0.0s	150
2	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Falcon FG/X	3	78	10.1	138
3	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG/X	4	78	19.5	129
4	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	5	78	21.2	120
5	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Falcon FG/X	2	78	29.5	111
6	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	10	78	31.4	102
7	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	9	78	33.9	96
8	Cameron Waters	Ford Falcon FG/X	7	78	40.7	90
9	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	16	78	42.2	84
10	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	15	78	43.8	78
11	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	8	78	44.8	72
12	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore VF	17	78	45.3	69
13	Will Davison	Holden Commodore VF	20	78	52.5	66
14	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG/X	11	78	55.2	63
15	Jason Bright	Ford Falcon FG/X	18	78	56.0	60
16	James Moffat	Holden Commodore VF	14	78	56.8	57
17	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	19	78	59.1	54
18	Lee Holdsworth	Holden Commodore VF	22	78	59.9	51
19	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore VF	13	78	01:17.0	48
20	Dale Wood	Holden Commodore VF	21	78	01:17.6	45
21	Tim Blanchard	Holden Commodore VF	23	77	1 Lap	42
22	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	12	77	1 Lap	39
23	Simona de Silvestro	Nissan Altima	26	77	1 Lap	36
24	Taz Douglas	Holden Commodore VF	24	76	2 Laps	33
25	Alex Rullo	Holden Commodore VF	25	75	3 Laps	30
DNF	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	6	0	DNF	0