Shane van Gisbergen escapes penalty but DJR Team Penske file protest

The stewards of the Supercars championship have decided to clear Shane van Gisbergen in the investigation regarding wheel spin during the second pitstop of the opening race at Pukekohe, a decision protested by DJR Team Penske.

Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Van Gisbergen managed to claim a thrilling victory in the first race of the weekend in New Zealand, beating title rival McLaughlin despite receiving a five-second penalty in the final stages of the race for bumping the Ford driver while overtaking.

Despite clearing the first penalty, the victory was still under threat as the stewards announced they would investigate a potential wheel spin during van Gisbergen’s final pit stop.

But the stewards decided to not penalise the Holden driver as they “deemed the rear wheels did not complete a full rotation before the car hit the ground”.

The Supercars organisation issued a statement from deputy race director Michael Masi:

“Following a review of the Broadcast footage from a number of angles and Supercars data from Car #97, it was observed that the rear wheels of Car #97 did not complete in excess of a full revolution.

“Consistent with previous determinations of the DRD, when investigating if a breach of Rule D11.8.8 has occurred, the rear wheels must complete in excess of one full revolution for the imposition of a penalty to be recommended to the Stewards.

“As this did not occur the matter does not warrant being referred to the Stewards.”

DJR Team Penske has filed a protest against the decision, meaning that the results are still provisional and a hearing will take place tomorrow morning.

Van Gisbergen’s victory has brought him to just two points behind McLaughlin ahead of the three final races of the 2018 season.