SVG's place in Bathurst sprint round history

With his Mt Panorama 500 clean sweep, Shane van Gisbergen joined an illustrious group of drivers who have won sprint races on the mountain.

Van Gisbergen won both races of the season-opener to open his 2021 account with a 300-point haul.

The weekend marked the first time in 25 years that Mount Panorama has hosted a sprint round.

The last time the category conducted sprint races on the mountain, 1995 series champion John Bowe proved an imperious force.

Bowe won the 1995 and 1996 rounds, with the then-Dick Johnson Racing driver clean-sweeping the 1996 event.

Van Gisbergen became the sixth driver to win a sprint race in Bathurst, and the third Holden driver to do so.

Sunday's Race 2 was the 11th sprint race at Mount Panorama, with Ian Geoghegan and Bowe the most successful drivers with three wins each.

Van Gisbergen slots in behind with two, with Norm Beechey, Dick Johnson and Mark Skaife all one-time winners.

All six drivers are title winners, with Geoghegan, Johnson and Skaife all five-time champions.

Geoghegan's 1966 win also marked his second title, having won his first at Lakeside in 1964.

The weekend also marked the third instance of van Gisbergen sweeping a season-opening event, following his Adelaide doubles in 2017 and 2018.

However, precedent suggests van Gisbergen won't enjoy a cakewalk to the 2021 title; both times he swept the Adelaide event, he failed to go on to win the championship.

Van Gisbergen will continue his 2021 campaign at the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint across March 20-21. Tickets are on sale now.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo. Check out the full TV schedule here.

Bathurst championship sprint race winners