Darwin Supercars: Whincup triumphs in tense finale
Jamie Whincup held off Scott McLaughlin in a tense final race at Hidden Valley to win both the race and the Darwin Triple Crown.
The pair basically spent the entire race separated by less than a second, McLaughlin the early leader before the positions were reversed during the sole round of mandatory stops.
Whincup opted to take his service a lap earlier than McLaughlin, the undercut, paired with what looked like a slight delay on McLaughlin's right-rear tyre change, helping the Red Bull Holden come out in front.
There was an undertone of controversy to Whincup's stop, though; he exited his bay right as Fabian Coulthard tried to drive into his, the Penske Ford hitting the brakes to avoid a clash.
That robbed Coulthard of the opportunity to jump Chaz Mostert, which would have given him enough points to clear Whincup for round honours and claim the Triple Crown.
However Triple Eight escaped an in-race penalty, leaving Whincup free to hold off McLaughlin to win the race, and secure the Triple Crown on a countback.
"That was a great battle," said Whincup of the tense contest with McLaughlin. "It reminded me of the old 2017/18 days where we went head-to-head with these blokes.
"It was just resilience. We just kept chipping away at the car all weekend and made it faster for Race 3.
"I thought after the penalty yesterday that we were done and dusted for the Triple Crown, but fantastic to have a fantastic day."
McLaughlin added: "It's tough racing the GOAT, he doesn't make many mistakes. Credit to him and his team, great pitstop by them. It was a good battle, I had a lot of fun."
McLaughlin and Whincup ended the weekend separated by 101 points, the same margin they started with this morning.
Shane van Gisbergen finished the race, despite running wide at Turn 1 with a handful of laps to go. Luckily his gap back to the Mostert/Coulthard battle pack was big enough for the Kiwi to hold on to the bottom step of the podium.
Coulthard, meanwhile, couldn't find a way past Mostert, which left him equal on round points with Whincup and cost him the Triple Crown.
Nick Percat capped off a solid day with sixth, while Mark Winterbottom went for an alternate strategy, running a long first stint, before charging home to seventh on better rubber at the end.
Jack Le Brocq, David Reynolds and Rick Kelly rounded out the Top 10.
Darwin Triple Crown - Race 3 results:
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 |  Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore ZB | |
| 2 | 17 |  Scott McLaughlin | Ford Mustang GT | 2.122 |
| 3 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 14.356 |
| 4 | 25 | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 17.259 |
| 5 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Mustang GT | 17.759 |
| 6 | 8 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 22.615 |
| 7 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 22.983 |
| 8 | 55 | Jack Le Brocq | Ford Mustang GT | 23.858 |
| 9 | 9 | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore ZB | 25.469 |
| 10 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Ford Mustang GT | 26.691 |
| 11 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 28.475 |
| 12 | 5 | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Mustang GT | 29.520 |
| 13 | 35 | Garry Jacobson | Holden Commodore ZB | 29.906 |
| 14 | 34 | Jake Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 36.046 |
| 15 | 4 | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 39.939 |
| 16 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Ford Mustang GT | 40.951 |
| 17 | 44 | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 42.010 |
| 18 | 3 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 42.454 |
| 19 | 2 | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 42.785 |
| 20 | 14 | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 44.627 |
| 21 | 22 | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore ZB | 45.728 |
| 22 | 20 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 47.251 |
| 23 | 99 | Anton De Pasquale | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'01.439 |
| 24 | 19 | Alex Davison | Holden Commodore ZB | |
| View full results | ||||
Previous article
2020 Supercars Darwin Triple Crown race results
Next article
Whincup cleared of unsafe release
About this article
| Series | Supercars |
| Event | Hidden Valley |
| Author | Andrew van Leeuwen |
Supershots Sandown
Supershots Bathurst
Sam Brabham drives BT-19 at Mount Panorama
Can DJR still be a Supercars powerhouse after Penske?
Roger Penske's whirlwind Australian Supercars sojourn is over. After six seasons, three drivers' titles, three teams' championships and a Bathurst 1000 crown, The Captain has sold his controlling stake in Dick Johnson Racing back to the squad and walked away from the category.
Can Whincup be Triple Eight's ruthless leader?
Supercars' most successful team of the past 15 years is set for a radical shakeup next year when Jamie Whincup retires from driving and takes over the reins at Triple Eight. But does he have what it takes to be the new Roland Dane?
How a lifetime Supercars deal broke down in one year
David Reynolds inked what was effectively a lifetime deal with Erebus in 2019 – only to walk out a year later. What went wrong?
Why Supercars now needs a new "human salt harvester"
Scott McLaughlin has been a controversial figure in Supercars over the past few years but, as he heads off to a fresh challenge in IndyCar, the Australian tin-top series needs to find someone else to fill his drama-filled boots as the category enters a new era...
Why 2020 isn't McLaughlin's greatest title
Scott McLaughlin was quick to describe his third Supercars title as his best yet. But even though it didn't match the dramatic backstory of his 2018 triumph, there's a good reason for him wanting to control the narrative this time around.
Why a Bathurst finale is risky business for Supercars
The Bathurst Grand Final may provide Supercars its greatest spectacle yet – but there's a risk it will force the series to face a hard truth.
Why Scott McLaughlin must become an IndyCar driver
Scott McLaughlin, two-time and current Supercars champion, should have been making his NTT IndyCar Series debut for Team Penske at the GP of Indianapolis, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced a rescheduling that has put the brakes on his career switch. But David Malsher-Lopez explains why the New Zealander deserves this opportunity as soon as possible.
Tickford's 10-year wait for James Courtney
When the Supercars season resumes James Courtney will be a Tickford Racing driver – but it's not the first time the star driver has flirted with the famous Ford squad.
