Whincup laments 'unfortunate' van Gisbergen crash

Jamie Whincup has lamented Shane van Gisbergen’s “unfortunate” crash on the first lap of Race 27 in VAILO Adelaide 500, which all but ended the Kiwi’s championship hopes.

Van Gisbergen’s chances of a come-from-behind fourth Repco Supercars Championship were severely dented after a lap 1 incident.

An unsighted van Gisbergen hit Will Brown on the opening lap of Race 27 after the latter was escorted into the wall by Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang).

Brown bounced off the wall and into the path of van Gisbergen, who was unsighted behind Cam Waters’ #43 Monster Energy Mustang.

Brown’s #9 Coca-Cola Camaro and van Gisbergen’s #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro were both out, with the bp Ultimate Safety Car deployed.

Triple Eight Race Engineering boss Jamie Whincup didn’t apportion blame, and expects both teams to repair both cars in time for tomorrow.

“It was unfortunate, Shane was blind coming out of Turn 4, there was a parked car in Will Brown,” Whincup said on the broadcast.

It marked van Gisbergen’s second DNF of the season following a crash in Tasmania, with the 34-year-old fighting back into title contention throughout the season.

Van Gisbergen was on the back foot from the get-go after being disqualified from the first race in Newcastle, but a spirited fightback — headlined by a third Bathurst win — ensured he was Brodie Kostecki’s closest title rival.

Van Gisbergen started sixth, and had little chance of avoiding Brown.

For Whincup, however, the incident was a consequence of being buried down the order.

"When you qualify sixth and 11th, you’re exposed by stuff like this happening, and that’s what happened,” Whincup added.

“We’ll see what we see, but it’s pretty much all done for us, unfortunately."