Bathurst PIRTEK Challenge finalists set
Shell V-Power Racing has finished the regular PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge season on top, and leads a group of four teams into Bathurst's Grand Final.
Saturday's OTR SuperSprint race was the eighth and last points-scoring event before Mount Panorama hosts a televised showdown during the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 weekend.
There, the $20,000 major prize and PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge Golden Rattle Gun will be on the line.
While the top four teams in the points heading to South Australia all retained finals places, there was a major shake-up in the order.
Jamie Whincup's Red Bull Holden Racing Team entry sat atop the standings but had a pit-entry-to-exit time of 52.7748 seconds on Saturday, the slowest recorded.
That was due to Whincup double-stacking behind team-mate Shane van Gisbergen during the early Safety Car period.
Both were delayed slightly by van Gisbergen having to wait for Scott McLaughlin's Falcon to pass in the lane before leaving his pitbay.
It dropped Whincup from second to eighth in the race order, and he ultimately regrouped to finish fourth.
Scoring just two points dropped the #1 from first to fourth in the PIRTEK Challenge rankings, but the crew maintained a Bathurst spot.
McLaughlin's #17 was eighth-fastest in the lane, and moved from third to first in the end-of-season points.
Brad Jones Racing and Tickford Racing booked the other two Bathurst places with second and third in the order, through the entries of Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert.
Percat's X-Convenience/Mobil Commodore was 14th fastest at The Bend, with Mostert's Supercheap Auto Falcon second, behind 2017 winner Fabian Coulthard's #12 Falcon on 39.1775s.
In the end, nine points covered the top four crews of McLaughlin on 164, Percat on 163 and Mostert and Whincup on 155.
A further four back, James Courtney's Mobil 1 Boost Mobile crew was fifth in the standings, with Mark Winterbottom's Bottle-O entry sixth.
Full PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge order
POINTS
Position/Team | Points | Diff |
1 |
SVRT › Shell V-Power Racing Team ›
Scott McLaughlin
Ford Falcon FG-X
| 164 | 0 | |
2
XR › X-Convenience-Mobil Racing ›
Nick Percat
Holden Commodore ZB
| 163 | -1 | |
3
SAR › Supercheap Auto Racing ›
Chaz Mostert
Ford Falcon FG-X
| 155 | -9 | |
4
RBHRT › Red Bull Holden Racing Team ›
Jamie Whincup
Holden Commodore ZB
| 155 | -9 | |
5
M1BMR › Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing ›
James Courtney
Holden Commodore ZB
| 151 | -13 | |
6
TBRT › The Bottle-O Racing Team ›
Mark Winterbottom
Ford Falcon FG-X
| 150 | -14 | |
7
FR › Freightliner Racing ›
Tim Slade
Holden Commodore ZB
| 141 | -23 | |
8
CR › Castrol Racing ›
Rick Kelly
Nissan Altima
| 140 | -24 | |
9
SVRT › Shell V-Power Racing Team ›
Fabian Coulthard
Ford Falcon FG X
| 139 | -25 | |
10
M1BMR › Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing ›
Scott Pye
Holden Commodore ZB
| 123 | -41 | |
11
ALR › Autobarn Lowndes Racing ›
Craig Lowndes
Holden Commodore ZB
| 121 | -43 | |
12
NM › Nissan Motorsport ›
Michael Caruso
Nissan Altima
| 108 | -56 | |
13
RBHRT › Red Bull Holden Racing Team ›
Shane van Gisbergen
Holden Commodore ZB
| 105 | -59 | |
14
PHR › Preston Hire Racing ›
Lee Holdsworth
Holden Commodore ZB
| 99 | -65 | |
15
WSRG › Wilson Security Racing GRM ›
James Golding
Holden Commodore ZB
| 96 | -68 | |
16
MER › Monster Energy Racing ›
Cameron Waters
Ford Falcon FG X
| 94 | -70 | |
17
TA › Tekno Autosports ›
Jack Le Brocq
Holden Commodore ZB
| 87 | -77 | |
18
PFR › Plus Fitness Racing ›
Andre Heimgartner
Nissan Altima
| 85 | -79 | |
19
EPR › Erebus Penrite Racing ›
David Reynolds
Holden Commodore ZB
| 83 | -81 | |
20
THN › Team Harvey Norman ›
Simona De Silvestro
Nissan Altima
| 72 | -92 | |
21
TC › Team CoolDrive ›
Tim Blanchard
Holden Commodore ZB
| 70 | -94 | |
22
MR › Milwaukee Racing ›
Will Davison
Ford Falcon FG X
| 70 | -94 | |
23
WSRG › Wilson Security Racing GRM ›
Garth Tander
Holden Commodore ZB
| 67 | -97 | |
24
EPM › Erebus Penrite Motorsport ›
Anton de Pasquale
Holden Commodore ZB
| 58 | -106 | |
25
RR › RABBLE.club Racing ›
Richie Stanaway
Ford Falcon FG X
| 57 | -107 | |
26
BR › Bigmate Racing ›
Todd Hazelwood
Holden Commodore VF
| 49 | -115 |
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