McLaughlin: Homegrown win 'bloody awesome'
A homegrown victory in Pukekohe’s final Supercars race has delighted Scott McLaughlin.
McLaughlin’s countryman Shane van Gisbergen scored two memorable wins on Sunday.
The finale saw van Gisbergen charge from eighth to score his 18th victory of the season.
The Aucklander completed the charge with a daring overtake on Cam Waters in front of the Turn 11 faithful.
The Race 29 win helped van Gisbergen equal McLaughlin’s record-breaking haul from 2019.
In September 2019, McLaughlin broke the 1996 record held by Craig Lowndes at Pukekohe.
Fast forward three years, and Stateside McLaughlin watched from afar as van Gisbergen drew level.
McLaughlin’s 2022 IndyCar campaign came to a close at Laguna Seca on Monday AEST.
The 29-year-old finished fourth overall, having won three races in his sophomore season.
The 56-time Supercars winner was confirmed in the broadcast team for the VALO Adelaide 500.
Sunday's battle were scenes reminiscent of McLaughlin's own fights with van Gisbergen.
Notably, McLaughlin and van Gisbergen clashed in a 2018 epic.
"Bloody awesome a Kiwi won the last race at that joint,” McLaughlin posted to Twitter.
"Well done Shane. So good.”
Van Gisbergen also secured the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for a third time.
The 33-year-old won both races on Sunday, having battled to fifth on Saturday.
An emotional van Gisbergen was congratulated by family at the podium, as well as the late Richards’ parents.
Later, van Gisbergen claimed the victory was better than his Bathurst victory.
Van Gisbergen won the 2020 Great Race which, coincidentally, was McLaughlin’s last Supercars start.
"Seeing the crowd on the hill and the responses when I passed someone – even when I was side-by-side with Cam, you could see them going wild,” van Gisbergen said.
“It was pretty motivating and made it hard to focus.
"When I passed Cam into the hairpin, the crowd went nuts, and to me it was better than Bathurst.
"This is one of the all time greatest moments in my motorsport career."
Van Gisbergen will carry an extended 525-point lead to Bathurst next month.
Tickets for the Repco Bathurst 1000 are available on Supercars.com and Ticketek.
