Whincup: Rare Bathurst double 'massive'

Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup says winning the Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 12 Hour in the same year is a “big achievement”.

Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander helped Triple Eight record its ninth Bathurst 1000 in last weekend.

It comes after the Triple Eight-managed SunEnergy1 entry won May’s LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.

Roland Dane skippered the SunEnergy1 Mercedes to victory, with Frenchman Jules Gounon scoring consecutive wins.

The last team to do the 12 Hour-1000 double was Tekno Autosports in 2016.

Van Gisbergen played a role in both results; he won the 12 Hour, before finishing second in the Great Race.

Former Tekno Supercars team owner Jonathon Webb won both races in his own cars.

Triple Eight has raised the bar in 2022 in its final year racing Holden Commodores.

Van Gisbergen has won broken the record for most wins in a Supercars season.

The cherry on top would be sealing a third championship on the Gold Coast streets.

Whincup, who only took over the team this year, was taken aback by the achievement.

“The first thing that comes to mind is that Triple Eight Race Engineering winning the Bathurst 12 Hour and the Bathurst 1000 all in one year is a big achievement,” he said.

"It’s massive as a team owner.

"We’re just doing everything we can behind the scenes to keep the momentum rolling from what RD [Dane] instigated.

"You can’t win Bathurst without having a good team of people.

"Everyone played their part, and I think in 10 years’ time we’ll talk about the good old days as being right now.

"We’re living those days in 2022."

Van Gisbergen will carry a 567-point lead over Cam Waters to Surfers Paradise later this month.

Red Bull Ampol Racing also has a 671-point lead over the Shell V-Power Racing Team.

The 2022 season will continue at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 28-30.