Coulthard leads DJRTP 1-2 at Symmons Plains

Fabian Coulthard has spearheaded DJR Team Penske to an impressive 1-2 finish in Race 4 of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship at the Tyrepower Tasmania Super Sprint.

Coulthard produced a faultless drive from sixth, benefiting from a well executed pit strategy in a Safety Car impacted encounter on a damp Symmons Plains circuit.

The Kiwi led his countryman and team-mate Scott McLaughlin home for the DJRTP squad’s first Supercars championship race victory in its current guise.

Red Bull HRT driver Jamie Whincup came through to claim the final spot on the podium ahead of Triple Eight team-mate Craig Lowndes.

THE FINAL RACE OF THE 2023 REPCO SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP ON ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST STREET CIRCUITS.
GO ALL IN AT THE VAILO ADELAIDE 500, CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

“I didn’t think it was possible after quali but Scotty had a really quick car in the wet and we couldn’t quite match him but in the dry the thing was a jet,” said Coulthard.

“Shell V-Power Racing, they’ve done a fantastic job, great teamwork in the pits, and I can’t offer much more. It’s been a great day.”

Coulthard managed to rise to second after the second round of pit stops and inherited the lead once Prodrive’s Chaz Mostert made a mistake and ran wide at the final corner midway through the race.

A short fuel fill at his first stop gave Mostert track position for large periods of the race, but the error dropped him to seventh at the flag.

Once in the lead Coulthard came under pressure from McLaughlin but held firm despite two late Safety Cars to take the win.

Polesitter Whincup was left to settle for third having been unable to match the pace of the Shell Fords.

He led away from the start but found himself back in third following the first round of pit stops.

McLaughlin and Coulthard both managed find a away by the six-time champion as he settled for third.

Lowndes was involved in an eventful race, which included a feisty tussle with Cameron Waters, that was to be investigated after the race.

Waters had run as high as second in the early stages before dropping to sixth at the finish, behind Erebus Motorsport’s David Reynolds, who produced an impressive drive to fifth.

The top 10 was completed by Tim Slade (Brad Jones Racing), Shane van Gisbergen, who received a 15 second time penalty for turning Todd Kelly around at Turn 4, and Garth Tander (GRM).

Nick Percat brought his repaired BJR Commodore home in 11th ahead of Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom.

Alex Rullo sustained heavy damage to the rear of his Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Commodore which forced him into a late retirement.

He was joined on the retirement list by Tim Blanchard (Brad Jones Racing) and Jason Bright (Prodrive).

Bright caused the first Safety Car when his slick-shod Falcon fired off the road at Turn 6.

Blanchard spun into the pit wall on lap 43 bringing out the second Safety Car.

Offs for Lee Holdsworth and Todd Kelly brought out the final two Safety Cars in the closing stages.

The race finished eight laps short of its scheduled distance due to the stoppages.

Van Gisbergen leads the championship by 20 points from Coulthard heading into the WD-40 Phillip Island 500.

Result: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Tyrepower Tasmania Race 4

1	Shell V-Power Racing Team	Fabian Coulthard	Ford Falcon FG/X	76	01:23:36.5118
2	Shell V-Power Racing Team	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Falcon FG/X	76	01:23:37.2024
3	Red Bull Holden Racing Aust	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:37.6543
4	TeamVortex	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:38.0522
5	Erebus Penrite Racing	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:38.6916
6	Monster Energy Racing	Cameron Waters	Ford Falcon FG/X	76	01:23:39.3857
7	Supercheap Auto Racing	Chaz Mostert	Ford Falcon FG/X	76	01:23:39.7455
8	Freightliner Racing	Tim Slade	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:41.0680
9	Red Bull Holden Racing Aust	Shane Van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:41.3203
10	Wilson Security Racing GRM	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:41.8223
11	BIANTE 1:1	Nick Percat	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:42.0247
12	Mobil 1 HSV Racing	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:42.5606
13	The Bottle-O Racing Team	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG/X	76	01:23:43.1167
14	Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing	Dale Wood	Holden Commodore VF	76	01:23:44.0570
15	Team Harvey Norman	Simona De Silvestro	Nissan Altima	76	01:23:44.4366
16	Nissan Motorsport	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	75	01:23:45.7974
17	Preston Hire Racing	Lee Holdsworth	Holden Commodore VF	73	01:23:46.5556
18	carsales Racing	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	72	01:24:35.2831
19	Wilson Security Racing GRM	James Moffat	Holden Commodore VF	70	01:24:12.7333
DNF	Repair Management Aust Racing	Alex Rullo	Holden Commodore VF	62	01:09:26.6126
DNF	Team CoolDrive	Tim Blanchard	Holden Commodore VF	41	43:07.7190
DNF	MEGA Racing	Jason Bright	Ford Falcon FG/X	3	3:18.2164

Championship Standings

1	Shane Van Gisbergen	384
2	Fabian Coulthard	364
3	Jamie Whincup	333
4	Scott McLaughlin	330
5	Cameron Waters	312
6	Chaz Mostert	309
7	Craig Lowndes	288
8	James Courtney	249
9	Tim Slade	249
10	David Reynolds	231
11	Garth Tander	219
12	Mark Winterbottom	189
13	James Moffat	183
14	Scott Pye	174
15	Lee Holdsworth	171
16	Nick Percat	168
17	Michael Caruso	168
18	Rick Kelly	165
19	Simona De Silvestro	141
20	Todd Kelly	139
21	Dale Wood	108
22	Jason Bright	102
23	Tim Blanchard	90
24	Alex Rullo	66
25	Taz Douglas	66
26	Will Davison	66