Whincup cleared of unsafe pit release

Jamie Whincup will not be penalised following a tight moment with Fabian Coulthard in pitlane during the final race of the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown.

After a post-race review, officials have deemed the Red Bull Holden Racing Team did not breach the pitlane release rules during the moment in question.

Whincup and Coulthard had both been among those to pit on lap five of the race, with the former exiting his pitbox as the latter looked to turn into the Shell V-Power Racing bay.

Coulthard slowed up to avoid Whincup and, while television footage was inconclusive, Coulthard later said the two cars made contact.

"I think the witness mark on the front of my car, and the skid mark to stop to avoid him, is pretty clear,” he said.

“Blind Freddy could have seen that I was impeded.

"That cost me a position to Chaz [Mostert], if I'd stayed in front of Chaz the outcome would have been very different."

Whincup and Coulthard ended the weekend tied on points, with the Holden driver taking the Triple Crown honours courtesy of a higher finish in the final race.

Coulthard followed up his comments by posting to social media a photo showing a mark on the right-front corner of his car.

Whincup went on to win the race over Coulthard’s teammate Scott McLaughlin, having effectively jumped the #17 Shell Ford in the pitstops.

Post-race, Whincup cheekily claimed the Shell team had pitted Coulthard on the same lap in an attempt to get in his way.

“We’re pretty proud of ourselves that we didn’t get baulked by car #12 in the pits there,” he said.

“We had a crack and… well done to Team Penske for trying to get car #12 in the way to get #17 the win, but we just didn’t allow it.”