V8 Supercars: Defending Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin had a nightmare start to life in the new Mustang.

They may be the best two Kiwi’s on the V8 Supercars grid but that doesn’t mean they need to be friends.

Reigning V8 Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin has revealed a bitter feud with last years’ runner up Shane van Gisbergen.

The pair were neck and neck throughout the season 2018 season with the battle going all the way down to the wire.

The pair were locked in a tense battle at the back end of last year with the championship still up for grabs.

Leading into the final event of the year — the Newcastle 500 — van Gisbergen, the 2016 champion, was just 14 points behind McLaughlin, who was chasing his first championship victory.

In the first race of the weekend, van Gisbergen dramatically overtook his rival on the final lap, cutting McLaughlin’s lead to just two points with one race to run.

But a 25-second pit stop penalty for van Gisbergen pushed him to fifth and gave McLaughlin a buffer to claim his first V8 Supercars championship.

But McLaughlin said the rivalry was more than just competitive with the reigning champ slamming his countryman in his new tell-all book Road to Redemption.

He said there were “unnecessary taps” in the Sydney night race and blocking at The Bend in South Australia.

But McLaughlin’s biggest beef came in the penultimate series of the year in Auckland.

Van Gisbergen won the first race and as the drivers pulled into the post-race area, the winner parked in the second place McLaughlin, leaving him no room to get out of the car.

At the time, van Gisbergen said he didn’t realise what had happened until he was out of the car, parking in the centre of the winners board but the excuse didn’t fly with McLaughlin.

“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.”

While continuing to argue it was an honest mistake, van Gisbergen joked about doing it again if he had won the second race as well.

“The s*** parking mistake turned out to be a big s*** fight, more than I thought,” he said. “Anyway, I contemplated ‘what if I win today, maybe I should do it again’.

“I don’t really care, I don’t get into that stuff. If I had my time again I wouldn’t line up on the board, I would go for the side.”

But McLaughlin said it caused a “strained” relationship heading into the final race in Newcastle.

And judging by the book extract, he might still not be over it.

“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.”

Despite the anger and frustration McLaughlin felt, he said it was made all the better in the next race.

Not only did McLaughlin win, but van Gisbergen’s Triple Eight teammate Jamie Whincup slowed down to a crawl to let him pass and keep the series close.

But the crowd turned against van Gisbergen for the move.

“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.”

Fans can catch every practice, qualifying session and race of the 2019 V8 Supercars Championship is live and ad-break free on Kayo Sports, starting with the Superloop Adelaide 500. Stream now from just $25 per month on iOS and Android devices, laptop, PC and on TV with Telstra TV, Apple TV and Chromecast Ultra. Click here for your free trial.

A new feature — RaceView — will launch in time for this season’s opening race.

RaceView will consist of three different camera modes including Co-Pilot View, an in-car driver camera, Heli View (on select races), a helicopter camera, and Race Centre, which will show the leaderboard and driver stats.

While McLaughlin, van Gisbergen and Whincup finished on the podium last year, the first day of practice for the season-opening V8 Supercars round in Adelaide saw an inauspicious start for the team.

Anton de Pasquale led practice with van Gisbergen back in seventh, McLaughlin 12th after steering issues hurt his chances, while Whincup was back in 13th.