Teammate drama: first-lap contact, shortcuts and controversy
Next weekend’s return to Winton Motor Raceway marks the first championship event at the circuit since May 2019.
That weekend was one to remember for the Shell V-Power Racing Team, with Scott McLaughlin winning both races.
However, his Saturday win bid was nearly over before it began following intra-team contact with Fabian Coulthard.
No stranger to controversy, Winton was bathed in drama following the contact, with McLaughlin rejoining the lead pack after missing three corners of the circuit.
WATCH: RACE 13 HIGHLIGHTS
A fast-starting James Courtney pounced on Coulthard at Turn 4, with the Kiwi shuffled down to fourth.
Coulthard slotted in behind McLaughlin on the run to Turn 5, only to bump the #17.
Both Shell Mustangs went off, McLaughlin opting to shortcut the circuit and missing Turns 6 and 7.
McLaughlin returned on the run to Turn 8 and slotted into third position, while Coulthard languished at the back of the field.
WATCH: ONBOARDS OF SHELL TANGLE
A third lead change in two laps occurred when David Reynolds pushed Courtney wide at Turn 4, with Reynolds slapped with a five-second penalty over the incident.
McLaughlin cleared second-placed Chaz Mostert on lap 5, and set off after Reynolds before stopping on lap 12.
Eight laps later, Reynolds stopped and rejoined behind McLaughlin, Mostert and Jamie Whincup, who executed a smart undercut following his lap 6 stop.
Reynolds cleared Whincup, but the gap to the front two was too great, McLaughlin defeating Mostert by just over a second.
The Shell Fords run off the track
It was McLaughlin’s ninth win in 13 starts in 2019, as he continued on his march to an eventual record 18-win title-winning campaign.
However, there was a bitter footnote to the result, with Coulthard only good enough for 16th, having been hit with a 15-second penalty over the incident.
"It’s an awkward one. I didn’t know if Fabian was 100 per cent there, I thought it was my corner, I was in front far enough," McLaughlin explained afterwards.
"I went off the road and tried to get back and rejoin in the right position, but I was going to go the wrong way, so I was dammed if I did and dammed if I didn’t.
WATCH: SHELL DRIVERS DISCUSS INCIDENT
"I pushed on and thankfully it was okay."
However, there was no bad blood between the teammates, with team boss Ryan Story believing Coulthard had been hard done by with the penalty.
"Our guys are good," Story told a Supercars Facebook Live of the incident.
"They race hard together, today just didn't go the way it usually does, or certainly to any sort of plan we had pre-race, I can assure you of that.
McLaughlin celebrates his Saturday win
"Those sorts of things shouldn't happen, it's really as simple as that.
"Unfortunately Fabs paid the price there. It's a bit unfair, 15 seconds, I thought, was pretty tough for that.
"That's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
"We're happy to come away with a win, we've still got first and second in the championship.
WATCH: RACE 14 HIGHLIGHTS
"When your bad days are as good as this one, you take them and you bank them."
It opened up a 232-point gap between the two Shell Fords, which widened 24 hours later when McLaughlin beat home Coulthard in a Race 14 one-two.
There was no such drama on the Sunday, McLaughlin holding on by less than a second following a late-race Safety Car.
"It’s been an amazing weekend, two wins for our team, a pole and a one-two," McLaughlin said.
No bad blood after a brilliant Sunday
"Our cars were just ridiculously good and I’m excited for the future and the rest of the year.
"We battle hard, we had a little kerfuffle yesterday, we got our butts kicked and came back here today."
The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to Victoria for the Winton SuperSprint across May 28-30. Tickets are available here.
The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus. Check out the weekend schedule here.
