Prolific van Gisbergen closing on Skaife record

Consistent podium visits have been the hallmark of Shane van Gisbergen's march to the 2022 championship.

Van Gisbergen has made 22 trips to the podium already this season, 16 of them wins.

The Kiwi's Race 26 win at Sandown on Sunday was the 70th of his career, and 31st in 57 starts since Bathurst 2020.

The points leader has finished on the podium in 14 of his last 15 starts dating back to May's Perth round.

If not for a risky move on Will Davison in Darwin, van Gisbergen would be on a streak of 15 in a row.

Just three drivers have scored more top three finishes in a season than van Gisbergen, who is one shy of his personal best of 23.

In what seems no coincidence, all three drivers - Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup - have also won 70 or more races.

Skaife's 25 top three finishes in 2000 remain the benchmark, with Whincup scoring 24 in 2012.

Lowndes finished in the top three on 23 occasions in 1999, van Gisbergen doing the same last year.

It's no surprise that on each occasion, that driver went on to win the championship.

Van Gisbergen needs four more podiums in the remaining eight races in 2022 to overhaul Skaife's 2000 marker.

Should three of them be wins, van Gisbergen would also clear Scott McLaughlin's season wins record.

McLaughlin won a record 18 races in 2019, and scored an additional four podiums.

Van Gisbergen will fancy his chances, considering he has won at the remaining circuits in 2022 at least once in the last four years.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver has already won at Pukekohe (five times), Bathurst (three times**), Gold Coast (four) and Adelaide (five).

Van Gisbergen's podium finish rate of 84.6 per cent is as good as it gets in the modern era, with seasons now featuring over 30 races.

A number of drivers' rates were even better in years gone by; notably, Alan Hamilton (1969), Ian Geoghegan (1971), Peter Brock (1974) and Dick Johnson (1984) finished on the podium in every single race.

However, those seasons featured no more than seven races; incredibly, neither Hamilton or Geoghegan won the titles in their respective seasons.

Allan Moffat (10/11 in 1977), Brock (10/11 in 1980) and Jim Richards (9/10 in 1985) all had better percentages, for example.

Van Gisbergen's Race 26 win was his 161st podium; only Lowndes (169) and Whincup (237) have more.

Podium finishers from 1960 to 2008 were the top three for the round overall, with podiums handed out for individual races since 2009.

Skaife finished with 88 career podiums, his last coming in the 2011 Bathurst 1000.

Van Gisbergen will continue his rampant charge on home soil next month.

Supercars will return to New Zealand on September 9-11. Purchase your ITM Auckland SuperSprint tickets now.

Most top three finishes in a season

Percentage top three finishes in a season

*Season ongoing

**Includes sprint race wins in 2021