Supercars title contender Shane Van Gisbergen has called for an end to time-certain finishes in the championship after Sunday’s Gold Coast wash-out.
The 300km finale to the Gold Coast 600 was abandoned due to a thunderstorm lashing the Surfers Paradise street circuit, making the track unsafe.
With only 43 laps completed when the race was abandoned, the race was a no result with no points awarded.
It means with just four races left in this year’s championship, Van Gisbergen trails fellow New Zealander Scott McLaughlin by a mere 14 points in the title race.
But the Red Bull Holden Racing Team driver says it was clear when the storm was going to hit the track and more flexibility is needed for race times.
A regular feature of Supercars races is a fixed finishing time, quite often for broadcast purposes, and it’s a feature Van Gisbergen would like to see scrapped.
« We have this conversation every time there’s a time-certain race. It ruins it for the fans, the drivers, everyone, » Van Gisbergen said.
« I don’t know. The TV station we’re on should be flexible I think. »
The no-result is the first abandonment since the first race at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains was called off due to a multi-car crash in April last year.
Holden duo Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards claimed the Endurance Cup with the no-result as the best performed pairing during the season’s three endurance races.
Lowndes said the decision to abandon Sunday’s race was the correct call.
« The weather and what we were encountering, it was the right decision to stop the race, » the seven-time Bathurst champion said.
« It was just terrible, you couldn’t see. Spinning wheels … even driving behind the safety car, I could see two or three tail lights but beyond that it was a bit of a black haze.
« As I said, I think they made the right decision. »
Ford driver McLaughlin, who began the weekend trailing Van Gisbergen by 18 points, was looking forward to the battle ahead against his compatriot.
« It’s a lead but it’s very slender, » the DJR Team Penske star said of the title situation.
« Our objective this weekend was to try and close the gap and knowing that they were going to be very strong … we certainly did that.
« Overall, solid result … we’re looking to the battle to the last two rounds. »
The championship next heads across the Tasman for the Auckland SuperSprint at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand from November 2 to 4 before the season-ending Newcastle 500 from November 23-25.
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/25039771/supercars-wash-angers-van-gisbergen
