Brown and Heimgartner in, De Pasquale out in exclusive club

25 Jan 2022

Last year, two drivers joined and one left a unique group of racers

5 mins by James Pavey

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Last year, two drivers joined and one left an exclusive group of racers who have a single Supercars victory to their name.

In 2021, Andre Heimgartner and Will Brown became the 81st and 82nd drivers to win an ATCC/Supercars race.

Heimgartner won on his 161st start in Tailem Bend last May, with Brown on his 38th start in Sydney in November.

They joined a group to form what is currently 22 drivers who have won just a single race.

Heimgartner won in Tailem Bend

Anton De Pasquale, conversely, took his wins tally from one to two when he won a day after Heimgartner.

De Pasquale, who clinched a move to the Shell V-Power Racing Team, added five more victories in Sydney later in the season.

The 26-year-old had been sitting on a single victory prior to his Tailem Bend breakthrough, having won in Darwin for Erebus Motorsport in 2020.

The one-win list could grow in 2022, with 10 drivers on this year’s grid yet to score a race victory.

Here are the names which Heimgartner and Brown joined on the one-win list.

David McKay, Gnoo Blas 1960

Between 1960 and 1968, the Australian Touring Car Championship was contested as a single race.

McKay, aboard a Jaguar Mk I, scored victory at Gnoo Blas in February 1960 and became the first ever race winner and champion.

Bill Pitt, Lowood 1961

A year later at Lowood in Queensland, Pitt steered a Jaguar to victory to become the 1961 champion.

Ray Gulson, Oran Park 1974

Gulson drove a Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV to victory at Oran Park in a race for cars with under three-litre engines.

Allan Moffat defeated Peter Brock in the latter race.

Charlie O’Brien, Amaroo Park 1976

Rookie O'Brien won at Amaroo Park aboard an SLR 5000 Holden Torana.

O'Brien was aged 21 years and 23 days at the time; it would be until 2003 that a driver younger won a championship race (Rick Kelly in Bathurst).

Lawrie Nelson, Oran Park 1979

Nelson scored a race win at Oran Park in 1979 aboard a Ford Capri Mk I.

He also scored a win in a race based on engine capacity.

Peter Doulman, Amaroo Park 1993

Pic: AN1 Images

Peter Doulman won the first race of 1993 aboard a BMW M3. The year was the first under the new 5.0 litre V8 ruleset.

However, two-litre touring cars continued to race as a class within the Australian Touring Car Championship, Doulman winning the under two-litre heat at Amaroo.

Craig Baird, Phillip Island 2000

Baird replaced the US-bound Jason Bright at Stone Brothers Racing for 2000.

The Kiwi, now the Supercars Driving Standards Advisor, won the second race of the Phillip Island season opener.

Mark Larkham, Calder Park 2000

Now a popular broadcaster, Larkham won a race at Calder Park in 2000 in a new Falcon.

Larkham had suffered a shocking accident at Oran Park weeks before, but returned at Calder and led Race 2 from start to finish.

Steve Ellery, Sandown 2000

Pic: AN1 Images

Ellery scored victory in a reverse grid race at Sandown.

Later a multiple Bathurst podium finisher, Ellery also finished second for the weekend.

Simon Wills, Queensland Raceway 2002

Wills was picked up by SBR for the opening 2002 enduros, covering for the unavailable Wayne Gardner.

David Besnard took the lead late on when Greg Murphy ran out of fuel, helping the elated Wills to his only victory.

Greg Ritter, Sandown 2004

Paired with reigning champion Marcos Ambrose, veteran Greg Ritter scored victory at Sandown in 2004.

Ambrose was forced to fight back after Ritter spun off midway through the race. Ritter earned a 2005 contract with Ford Performance Racing.

Yvan Muller, Sandown 2005

Triple Eight paired Craig Lowndes with Frenchman Muller for the 2005 enduros.

They duly won the Sandown 500 in a thrilling race, with Lowndes passing Mark Skaife late on in drizzly conditions.

Jason Richards, Winton 2006

The late Richards won a reverse grid race at Winton in 2006 for Tasman Motorsport.

He would finish eighth in the final, having qualified third for the opener a day earlier.

Richard Lyons, Gold Coast 2011

Lyons combined with Mark Winterbottom to win on the Surfers streets in 2011.

The Briton was a late substitution for Will Power, who had been injured in the Las Vegas IndyCar accident that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon one week earlier.

Mika Salo, Gold Coast 2012

The former Formula 1 driver teamed up with Will Davison to win on the Gold Coast in 2012.

Salo, a veteran of 109 F1 starts, became the first Finnish driver to win a Supercars race.

Jack Perkins, Gold Coast 2015

Son-of-a-gun Perkins won the Sunday race at Surfers Paradise with James Courtney and the Holden Racing Team.

It came nine years after a young Perkins made his main game debut aboard one of his father's Holdens in the 2006 enduros.

Richie Stanaway, Sandown 2017

The mercurial Kiwi teamed up with Cameron Waters to win the 2017 Sandown 500.

Waters defied a late surge by Scott McLaughlin to win the truncated race, which remains Stanaway's only win.

Luke Youlden, Bathurst 2017

Youlden won the 2017 Great Race with David Reynolds and Erebus Motorsport.

The veteran, who had made his Bathurst debut nearly 20 years earlier, navigated a wet race alongside Reynolds to score the biggest prize.