Mustangs reign supreme as Fabian Coulthard takes down teammate Scott McLaughlin at Phillip Island

It took a teammate to finally stall Scott McLaughlin’s dominance at Phillip Island, with Fabian Coulthard taking the honours in the final race as the Ford Mustangs continued their ascendancy this series.

Scott McLaughlin is aiming for a clean sweep at the Island. Picture: AAP

• Race one: Mighty McLaughlin’s Island paradise

• Ford, Holden threatened as feud rolls on

Fabian Coulthard denied teammate Scott McLaughlin a clean sweep at Phillip Island as he continued the Ford Mustang’s dominance with his first victory of the year on Sunday.

After finishing second four times this season, Coulthard broke through for his first win since Winton last year after race strategy played out in his favour in his on-track battle with McLaughlin.

Coulthard’s victory — his 50th career podium — gave the rampaging Mustang its ninth win from 10 races this season and allowed him to close the gap on series leader McLaughlin in the championship race.

ISLAND PARADISE: MIGHTY McLAUGHLIN MARCHES ON

While the DJR Team Penske pair battled it out, Erebus Motorsport young gun Anton De Pasquale finished third to claim his first Supercars podium as the top Holden driver.

It was the fourth time this season DJR Team Penske had claimed a one-two finish as chief rivals Triple Eight suffered another lean weekend.

McLaughlin had claimed seven race wins so far in 2019, but Coulthard was relieved to get his first on the board.

Fabian Coulthard leads Scott McLaughlin at the head of the field in their Ford Mustangs.

“I am pumped, it’s awesome for all my guys, we work so hard as a team,’’ Coulthard said.

“Scott has had a lot of wins this year which is a credit to all those guys, they have done a fantastic job.

“So to finally get one is awesome. I can’t thank my crew enough.

“I was a little bit shocked (to be in front after the pit stops), I don’t know what happened to Scott on one of his out laps … thankfully we had great pit stops, had a fast car, looked after the tyres, it ticked all the boxes.”

Coulthard has now edged to within 124 points of McLaughlin the championship standings after his Phillip Island win.

Shane van Gisbergen powers his Red Bull Holden around the Phillip Island circuit.

Earlier, McLaughlin’s rampant qualifying form at the venue continued earlier when he claimed his eighth straight pole position at the Island — and his 10th overall — at the venue.

After a strong start off the line ahead of Coulthard, McLaughlin was the first of the field to take his first pit stop and was jumped in early to take his second stop on lap 15.

But when De Pasquale pitted a few laps later, he was able re-join the field ahead of McLaughlin. Coulthard then came out in front of them both after his second stop.

McLaughlin move up the inside to then get past De Pasquale was one of the passes of the day and left him with the task of chasing down his teammate for the lead.

Ford’s Scott McLaughlin, teammate Fabian Coulthard and Holden’s Anton de Pasquale on the podium after race two of the Phillip Island 500.

“It’s great for the team to get another one-two,’’ said McLaughlin, who had been chasing his fourth straight win at the track.

“I’m really happy with our weekend. It has been a big week for these guys two weeks on the road and to come away with three one-twos out of all that is massive.

“We’ve got a little bit to think about in the debrief, we’ll have a talk about a few things. But the idea is for the team to win and we did that on multiple occasions in this past couple of weeks.”

Shane van Gisbergen finished in seventh for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team, while his teammate Jamie Whincup was back in 12th.

After a tyre blowout cruelled his race on Saturday, James Courtney’s woes continued when he was hit with a 15-second penalty early in the race for his shunt on Todd Hazelwood.

His dramas didn’t end there after suffering another two tyre blowouts during the race.