The 14 club: van Gisbergen wins way into exclusive group
Shane van Gisbergen's march to the 2021 title was built off the back of a 14-win season.
The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver officially won the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship in Bathurst last weekend.
He clinched the title at the penultimate round in Sydney just a fortnight earlier.
Stat attack: How van Gisbergen won the 2021 title
Five races that defined SVG's 2021 title victory
Van Gisbergen won at least one race at nine of the 12 championship rounds in 2021.
He only missed out in Tailem Bend, the third Sydney round and the season-ending Repco Bathurst 1000.
The 32-year-old commenced his campaign with six straight wins across the Bathurst, Sandown and Tasmania events.
Van Gisbergen matched the feats recorded by Allan Moffat and Mark Skaife, who also opened seasons with six wins.
The Kiwi went winless between Race 7 in Tasmania and Race 12 in Darwin before he finished the Hidden Valley weekend with dual Sunday wins.
He scored wins nine, 10 and 11 of the season in Townsville, before he added three more at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Only five drivers had previously won 14 or more races in a season, all instances coming in the last 25 years.
Craig Lowndes (16 wins) was first to do it in 1996, before doing it again in 1998.
Win No.1 of 14 came at the Bathurst sprint round
Skaife (15 wins in 2002), Garth Tander (15 in 2007), Jamie Whincup (15 in 2008) were next, before Whincup won 14 in 2014.
In 2019, Scott McLaughlin broke the marker set by Lowndes in 1996 with 18 wins, before winning 13 races in 2020.
Van Gisbergen's season also featured a personal milestone, with his 50th career win coming in Townsville.
The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next year. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
The 13-round draft calendar was released during the Repco Bathurst 1000 weekend.
Drivers to have won 14 or more races in a season
18: Scott McLaughlin (2019)16: Craig Lowndes (1996)15: Mark Skaife (2002), Garth Tander (2007), Jamie Whincup (2008)14: Craig Lowndes (1998), Jamie Whincup (2014), Shane van Gisbergen (2021)
