hero-img

Rainmaster van Gisbergen seals Bend sweep

31 Jul 2022
Points leader scores win No. 14 of 2022
3 mins by James Pavey
Advertisement

Shane van Gisbergen completed a crushing weekend at the OTR SuperSprint in a wet finale.

For the third time in as many starts, van Gisbergen took home all 105 points on offer.

The Kiwi’s Race 23 win was his fifth in a row, 14th of the season and 68th of his career.

  • Click here for Race 23 results

Critically, van Gisbergen gave Holden an unassailable lead in the Champion Manufacturer standings.

Cam Waters came home in second, albeit 8.7s behind, with Brodie Kostecki third.

Kostecki, who started 13th, finished ahead of Will Davison, who spun twice.

Broc Feeney finished fifth ahead of Will Brown and Anton De Pasquale, who dropped behind Waters in the standings.

Red Bull Ampol Racing opened up a 121-point lead in the teams' championship.

"That was awesome, racing someone who has nothing to lose," van Gisbergen said.

"What an awesome weekend, can’t thank the team enough.

Wild opening stages in Race 23

"Man, what an awesome weekend."

A downpour before the race ensured the 24-lapper had to start behind the BP Ultimate Safety Car.

The race went green on lap 3, and Waters immediately came under fire.

De Pasquale was cleared by both Red Bull Ampol drivers and dropped to fourth.

Feeney challenged van Gisbergen, but bowled a wide at Turn 6 on lap 6.

Behind them, Chaz Mostert turned Davison at the same corner and received a 15-second penalty.

Advertisement

Matt Stone Racing teammates Todd Hazelwood and Jack Le Brocq collided, also at Turn 6.

Reynolds rams Golding off the circuit

Mostert stopped and took his penalty on lap 7. Mark Winterbottom and Scott Pye stopped on laps 8 and 9 respectively.

Van Gisbergen applied the pressure to Waters, who made an error at Turn 17.

The points leader quickly gapped the field; in clear air, van Gisbergen opened up a 4.3s lead by lap 14.

De Pasquale dropped from third to sixth behind Brown, Kostecki and James Courtney with an error on lap 14.

All the while, James Golding and David Reynolds had progressed into the top 10.

However, Reynolds lost control and rear-ended Golding at Turn 6.

Van Gisbergen’s lead blew out to nine seconds by lap 18, when Courtney stopped.

De Pasquale stopped on lap 19, and was under pressure from Mostert, who made up time despite his penalty.

Brown and Feeney stopped on lap 22 as van Gisbergen, Waters, Kostecki and Davison carried on.

Van Gisbergen led Waters, Kostecki and Davison into the lane ahead of the final lap.

The championship leader was unchallenged from there, cruising to victory by nearly nine seconds.

Mostert led home teammate Nick Percat, with Lee Holdsworth rounding out the top 10.

Golding was classified 14th, with Reynolds 22nd.

Zak Best, who scored pole on Saturday, was forced to retire early on due to a wiper failure.

The 2022 season will resume at the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint next month.

Race 23 Recap: OTR The Bend SuperSprint

Related News

Advertisement