Motorsport: Scott McLaughin lifts lid on feud with Kiwi rival Shane van Gisbergen

Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen had a heated battle for the Supercars Championship last year. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwi Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin has opened up on his feud with Kiwi rival Shane van Gisbergen in his new book, Road to Redemption.

It was an incident during last year's stop in Pukekohe that rubbed McLaughlin the wrong way as the two were locked in a fierce battle for the overall title.

After winning the Saturday race, van Gisbergen parked his Holden up beside McLaughlin's Ford so close that McLaughlin had trouble getting out of his car.

McLaughlin brought it up at the post race press conference and has again shared his thoughts on the incident in his soon to be released book which details his championship-winning season.

"I pulled into the correct position for finishing second and was about to get out of the car," McLaughlin wrote. "That's when Shane pulled in right beside me – leaving absolutely no room to get out. I was annoyed because it was uncalled for; it was a rubbish act of sportsmanship.

"In some ways it was just immature on his part. I respect the guy, but that one moment made me want to beat him and his team more than ever."

Van Gisbergen claimed the incident was a mistake, but McLaughlin didn't buy it and it split Kiwi fans.

"He says it was a mistake, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows it wasn't," he wrote.

"He's the most flamboyant guy on the grid. He can put his car centimetre perfect at over 200km an hour, so I'm not buying that he made a 'mistake' while parking.

"And the funny thing was I was getting ready to get out of the car and shake his hand – that race was as good as it gets. It just put a sour taste in my mouth."

McLaughlin had the last laugh, however. The Ford driver won the Sunday race and with the battle for the title so close, van Gisbergen's teammate Jamie Whincup allowed the Kiwi to pass him to finish second - which was not well received by the crowd.

"The boos that came for Shane were amazing – people had totally turned against him after the incident post-race on Saturday, and then Whincup slowing down to a stop on the final lap on Sunday to let Shane pass and grab second," McLaughlin wrote.

"The fans hated both moves and they let both Red Bull drivers know about it. You could tell Shane was rattled by his home fans' jeering.

"This was his crowd as much as mine and they were turning on him – he'd become the villain. I had to look away to hide the smirk on my face."