Holden performs at Pukekohe

The Red Bull Holden Racing team was back on point at Pukekohe Park Raceway over the September 14-15 weekend for round 11 of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

Shane van Gisbergen won the prestigious Jason Richards Trophy after putting his Holden Commodore back on the top step of the podium on Saturday. He followed that up with another impressive podium, with a second-place result on the second day that secured him enough points to claim the Jason Richards Trophy.

"It’s really special to win this trophy, with the Richards family being here (at the track) and staying in the motorhome next to ours, to have them here and to be able to win this here is pretty special," says van Gisbergen.

"I had an awesome weekend, my car is really awesome now so I’m looking forward to Bathurst, we’re going to have a really good crack there."

Red Bull Holden Racing teammate Jamie Whincup was on fire all weekend setting a new race lap record on Saturday on his way to a second-place result from 12th on the grid. Unfortunately, a post-race penalty for a racing incident earlier in the race saw the #88 penalised 15 seconds and relegated to 6th for the race.

Whincup then came out swinging on Sunday and put in a huge qualifying lap in the top 10 shootout to secure a second consecutive pole for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

In the race he started well and lead the pack before a race control error, under safety car conditions forced Whincup into an error of his own, passing the safety car, which subsequently brought on a pit lane drive-through penalty, putting Whincup out of contention for Sunday’s race.

Van Gisbergen’s pole lap on Saturday became a new qualifying lap record while Whincup’s fastest race lap on Sunday became a new race lap record - after he had previously set that record on Saturday.

Todd Hazelwood enjoyed his best ever Supercars result to date after finishing fifth on Sunday behind the wheel of his Matt Stone Racing Commodore.

Other notable results for Holden drivers over the weekend was Penrite Racing’s David Reynolds who finished third on Saturday, moving up from fourth after Whincup’s penalty.

Brad Jones Racing driver Nick Percat had a solid weekend with a fourth place result on Sunday, Percat was battling hard over the closing laps and was 1 lap away from likely passing Chaz Mostert for a podium result.

The next round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship takes crews to the holy grail of Motorsport, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Oct 10-13.

2019 championship standings

1. Scott McLaughlin - 3,008

4. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) - 2,410

2. Chaz Mostert - 2,327

3. Fabian Coulthard - 2,317

5. Jamie Whincup (Holden) - 2,140

6. David Reynolds (Holden) - 2,084

7. Cameron Waters - 1,975

8. Nick Percat (Holden) - 1,894

9. Will Davison - 1,811

10. Lee Holdsworth - 1704