Motorsport: Shane van Gisbergen extends Supercars lead

Earl Bamber and Shane Van Gisbergen finished second at Sandown. Photo / Getty

Shane van Gisbergen has extended his lead in the 2018 Supercars Championship after finishing second at the Sandown 500 this afternoon.

The Kiwi driver teamed up with compatriot Earl Bamber in the endurance event, and put in a solid performance to cross the line 6.8 seconds behind the winning duo of Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell.

Van Gisbergen's biggest rival for the title – fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin – could only manage fourth alongside Alex Premat, increasing van Gisbergen's lead from 19 to 55 points with four events remaining.

Having only qualified in 11th, the Red Bull Holden of van Gisbergen and Bamber slowly picked their way through the field. Bamber spent most of his stint in the bottom half of the top 10, but made inroads as it progressed, before van Gisbergen drove them onto the podium.

Van Gisbergen credited Bamber's performance as key to their strong result.

"Earl did a great job, from 11th up to the front and then some good strategy. It's an amazing day."

They never threatened Whincup and Dumbrell however, with the pair taking their third Sandown victory, leading from start to finish in a dominant display.

"I couldn't be happier. The car has been awesome all weekend, PD did a fantastic job, but it's not over until it's over," Whincup said.

"We just kept our head down, kept concentrating, this race has gotten away from us a few times, but thankfully it was a nice and clean race."

The win sees Whincup close the gap in the Championship standings, but he still sits in third, 338 points behind van Gisbergen.