Supercars championship leader Shane van Gisbergen brutally snubbed a handshake from his closest rival after their tense battle. Photo / Supercars/Sky Sport
Supercars championship leader Shane van Gisbergen brutally snubbed a handshake from his closest rival after their tense battle. Photo / Supercars/Sky Sport
Shane van Gisbergen has extended his lead in the Supercars championship, claiming a sweep of the NTI Townsville 500 in a dramatic finish to race 20.
Van Gisbergen's closest rival, Anton de Pasquale, was chasing him down in the final stint and bumped van Gisbergen, sending him into a spinwhile attempting an ambitious overtake.
Realising his mistake, de Pasquale attempted a redress to let van Gisbergen back in front before the chequered flag, but the Kiwi was having none of it, virtually pushing de Pasquale over the line.
Race officials deemed de Pasquale had committed an act of careless driving and gave him a five-second time penalty, handing the victory to van Gisbergen, while Cam Waters rounded out the podium.
It was van Gisbergen's 11th win of the season, his 10th in Townsville and 65th of his career.
De Pasquale approached van Gisbergen immediately after the race to apologise for bumping into him, but the two-time Supercars champion completely brushed him, rejecting the offer of a handshake.
"He had a go, you have to respect that," van Gisbergen said of the incident.
"Car was good, but his was better, he ran me down … we'll have a chat later, I'm angry at the moment."
