Bathurst 1000 driver has received DEATH THREATS from furious racing fans after he ‘broke the rules to allow his teammate to win the famous race’
- V8 driver Fabian Coulthard has received death threats following Bathurst 1000
- Coulthard, 37, backed up the field after slowing down for a safety car on Lap 135
- This allowed his DJR Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin to gain big lead
- McLaughlin, 26, won his maiden Bathurst 1000 but stewards are reviewing it
Race car driver Fabian Coulthard has received death threats and vile abuse following a controversial move during the weekend’s Bathurst 1000.
Coulthard’s teammate Scott McLaughlin, who won the famous race on Sunday, said the father-of-two had been abused online ever since the chequered flag was waved.
Coulthard, 37, caused outrage when he backed up the field by slowing right down as a safety car was called on lap 135 of the 161 lap race.
This allowed his DJR Team Penske teammate McLaughlin to establish a lead over the field that was never beaten, as the 26-year-old went on to claim his maiden title.
Fans have bombarded Coulthard and his family with abuse and threats since Sunday, a move that has seen the driver ‘struggle’ in recent days.
Race car driver Fabian Coulthard (pictured with his fiancée Becky Lamb) has been receiving death threats and vile abuse in the aftermath of his controversial move during the weekend’s Bathurst 1000
Coulthard, 37, caused outrage when he backed up the field by slowed right down as a safety car was called on lap 135 of the 161 lap race (pictured)
‘He’s struggling,’ McLaughlin said on The Loud Pedal podcast this week.
‘It’s been bloody hard for him, for the team, for Alex (Premat) and I too, it’s not the place we want to be in. As we always do, we’ll stick together as a team and get through it.
‘But what I’ll say is social media is out of control. So-called fans sending death threats to drivers like Fabian is pathetic.
‘People sending that kind of bulls**t to real people who have families, who have real lives, to deal with it… for me, it’s unacceptable.’
But it wasn’t just fans who lashed out at Coulthard’s racing, with owner Larry Perkins calling it ‘disgraceful’ and Penrite boss Barry Ryan describing it as ‘blatant cheating’.
Coulthard’s behaviour is still being reviewed by stewards, who have the power to take the race win away from McLaughlin.
While that now seems unlikely, they could still face heavy fines and even lose points in the overall title race.
Stewards began their inquiry began after a mid-race interview with DJR Team Penske Ryan Story.
Fans have bombarded Coulthard and his family with abuse and threats since Sunday, a move that has seen the driver ‘struggle’ in recent days
Coulthard’s move allowed his DJR Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin (left) to establish a lead over the field that was never breached, as the 26-year-old went on to claim his maiden title
Coulthard’s behaviour is still being reviewed by stewards, who have the power to take the race win away from McLaughlin
During the interview with former V8s driver Greg Murphy, Story was asked if slowing down was ‘a plan’ by Coulthard.
‘I wouldn’t go so far as that,’ Story replied.
‘We were genuinely having overheating issues with the car and where it was worse was under Safety Car when you’re not getting a lot of air going through the car.’
Coulthard, who was born in England but grew up in New Zealand, has been driving V8s in Australia for more than a decade.