Championship contenders Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen have both been whacked by Supercars officials after their Sydney Motorsport Park dust-up.

Both have been served 33-second penalties – the equivalent of pit-lane penalties – after brawling in Saturday’s race.

And both saw their standings in the Supercars championship suffer as a result of new race results, to be confirmed by stewards on Sunday.

The pair were battling for the race lead in Sydney at a race restart after Todd Kelly’s tyre blowout.

Van Gisbergen overstepped the mark as the safety car left the track, drawing level with his Kiwi rival and jumping the gun with an audacious overtaking move.

McLaughlin lost his head in the moment, bumping the Red Bull Holden at turn two and spinning him around.

The DJR Team Penske man crossed the line second but was served a 15-second penalty to wind up 10th in the standings.

His additional 18-second punishment will see him reclassified as 22nd, and losing another 39 championship points.

That lessens his lead at the top of the series standings, with Jamie Whincup now just 39 points.

McLaughlin arrived at Sydney with a 129-point buffer over the six-time champion.

The 24-year-old, who apologised to Van Gisbergen for his shunt, accepted the ruling.

“I’m disappointed (but) I’m glad it’s off my head,” he said.

“It’s not my style and that’s why I apologised. I move on. It’s a new day and I get on with things.”

Van Gisbergen will lose his 15th-placed finish and instead be awarded a 24th-placed finish, losing 27 points.

That will elevate Chaz Mostert to fourth in the series standings, with the reigning champion dropping to fifth.

The ruling heightens anticipation for Sunday’s 200km race at Eastern Creek, beginning at 2pm (AEST).