DJR Team Penske have fired back at Red Bull Racing’s challenge, with Supercars leader Fabian Coulthard and teammate Scott McLaughlin scoring a one-two finish in Darwin.

Saturday’s win extended Coulthard’s lead in the overall standings to 34 points, while McLaughlin closed the gap between on second-placed RBR driver Jamie Whincup to six.

Whincup improved from ninth on the grid to finish fourth, but couldn’t find his way onto the podium, denied by fellow Holden driver Nick Percat.

“A one-two for the team is awesome – couldn’t ask for much more,” Coulthard said.

The win capped a big week for Coulthard, who announced he and partner Becky Lamb were expecting twins later in the year.

“This is massive. It’s going to be a big year so, hopefully, we can finish it off in the correct style,” Coulthard said.

Pole-sitter Rick Kelly’s afternoon ended in disaster when his steering locked and he ploughed into a wall during a dramatic 18th lap.

With the safety car on the track, Coulthard was able to capitalise on being the first driver in the pits and didn’t look back after racing resumed on the 23rd lap.

Moments before Kelly’s crash, defending series champion Shane Van Gisbergen had a tyre blowout, dashing his chances of scoring back-to-back race wins.

His day went from bad to worse when he made contact with Garth Tander with three laps remaining, preventing him finishing.

After starting the race 37 points adrift, Van Gisbergen sits 87 behind Coulthard.

Sunday’s 70-lap race kicks off at 3:00pm.