Why winless Winton shouldn't derail SVG's title bid
20 May 2021
Recent history suggests Shane van Gisbergen’s 2021 title charge won’t be dimmed should his winless run continue at Winton next weekend.
Van Gisbergen, who won the opening six races of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship and leads the standings by 190 points, is now on a five-race winless run.
The bogey track holding Whincup back
However, should that continue at next week’s Winton SuperSprint, history is on his side.
The eventual champion has failed to take a race victory in five of the last seven visits to Winton.
In 19 visits since 2000, the eventual champion has failed to win on 11 occasions.
WATCH: THE MOST RECENT RACE AT WINTON
The split between Ford and Holden is quite even, with the Blue Oval winning 29 times to Holden’s 27.
However, in recent times, Ford drivers have enjoyed the Victorian circuit, winning eight of the last 14 races dating back to 2014.
Overall, on 18 occasions has the eventual champion failed to win at Winton.
The title winner enjoyed a strong start to the previous decade; in 2010, 2011 and 2012, James Courtney and Jamie Whincup won at least won race at the respective Winton weekends.
McLaughlin won at Winton in 2019, and later, the title
The very first Winton championship event in 1985 featured a win for eventual champion Jim Richards aboard his JPS BMW; he won in 1986, but the title went to countryman Robbie Francevic.
Between 1997 and 2002, the series champion didn’t win at Winton, a run of 16 races which was broken by Marcos Ambrose in 2003.
Van Gisbergen’s sole race victory at Winton came in 2017, which remains Holden’s most recent win at the rural Victorian venue.
In 2019, he was only good enough for finishes of fifth and seventh, having scored two podiums in 2018.
Van Gisbergen scored podiums in 2018 at Winton
Of the 11 circuits on the 2021 calendar, Perth’s Wanneroo Raceway remains the only circuit where the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver has failed to win.
A win in Western Australia is more favourable to a title hopeful’s chances; on eight of the last 12 visits to Perth has the eventual champion won a race.
The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to Victoria for the Winton SuperSprint across May 28-30. Tickets are available here.
The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus. Check out the weekend schedule here.
