DJR Team Penske driver Fabian Coulthard, cousin to former F1 driver David Coulthard, had a very strong finish to the opening race at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday afternoon were he secured victory ahead of Chaz Mostert and the very battered up 88 Red Bull Racing Holden of Jamie Whincup.
After battling through the opening stages of the race, Coulthard's teammate Scott McLaughlin and Whincup's teammate Shane van Gisbergen had a coming together that saw Van Gisbergen drop down the field and McLaughlin penalized.
Meanwhile, Coulthard had been strong all day, netting a 4th place qualifying result. He got a solid start from the second row of the grid, and settled into 4th place.
When the pit stops begin to unfold, he ran consistent laps and good work from the crew saw him gain positions in pit lane.
He was fifth at the late race Safety Car restart, before an incident at Turn 2 saw him jump into second place before he used his fresher tyres to overtake McLaughlin for the lead and then drive away to a three second victory, his fourth of the season.
It also saw him close the gap to both Whincup and teammate McLaughlin in the Championship.
“There's lots that can go right, and lots that can go wrong in our sport and today was a great example of that,” Fabian said. “I've had a great result, but it's a shame for Scott to have some issues. The Shell V-Power Racing Team did a great job with strategy and pit stops for me today, and when the Safety Car came out I felt confident of a good result. Great to get another win, and we'll aim to do the same again tomorrow.”
