Five moments that decided 2022 title fight

Shane van Gisbergen sealed the 2022 Supercars title in record-breaking fashion on the Gold Coast.

It formalised a victory that seemed inevitable for much of the season.

Van Gisbergen had challenges from behind by the likes of Chaz Mostert, Anton De Pasquale and Cam Waters.

One by one, they dropped further behind as the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver gradually took charge.

To the Adelaide finale, and van Gisbergen is in the frame to win by a record points margin.

Supercars.com lists the moments that transformed a close fight into a van Gisbergen romp.

Sydney success

The dawn of a new, close season was quickly swept aside by the reigning champion in crushing fashion.

Van Gisbergen cantered to victory under lights in Sydney by 19.5s.

It came after Red Bull Ampol Racing opted for a three-stop strategy for van Gisbergen.

He emerged six seconds behind two-stopper De Pasquale, who was then in second place.

In a 14-lap window, van Gisbergen went from six seconds down to nearly 20 seconds clear.

It was a hammer blow right from the get-go, van Gisbergen making his title defence ambitions clear.

Tassie sweep

A Sydney Sunday failure — a messy run from 21st to sixth — saw van Gisbergen arrive in Tasmania third overall.

He turned a 27-point deficit into a 67-point lead with a perfect weekend.

The Kiwi won all three races, with Mostert enduring a shocker.

De Pasquale emerged as van Gisbergen’s closest challenger, and headed to happy Shell V-Power hunting grounds in a solid position.

Hoodoos broken — and some

Critically, van Gisbergen — with engineer Andrew Edwards — turned weak circuits into dominant ones.

Van Gisbergen had never won at Albert Park and Perth; he then won four of the seven races across those two rounds.

He hadn’t won at Winton since 2017, but won there as well.

Then, there was Tailem Bend, where Mustangs had been the form car since 2019.

Van Gisbergen was untouchable in wet and dry, even running long with pace good enough to overcut the field each time.

Critically, De Pasquale had nightmares at Albert Park, Winton and Tailem Bend.

Mostert was nowhere in Perth, while Waters took until Perth to become a consistent contender.

Hometown hero

Of his 21 wins, van Gisbergen’s Pukekohe finale heroics remain his most telling with regards to performance.

Even though everyone had become accustomed to his winning exploits, even winning from such a position seemed impossible.

Van Gisbergen charged to victory from eighth, picking off Waters to secure a famous win.

With it, van Gisbergen built a lead big enough to attack Bathurst with vigour, and he duly won that too.

Big race dominance

Sydney, Townsville, Bathurst and the Gold Coast were the big-points rounds.

The Sydney, Townsville and Gold Coast races offered 150 points for the winner, and Bathurst 300.

Van Gisbergen won all races bar the Sydney Sunday race, shutting out rivals’ chances to gain any serious ground.

The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will conclude on the Adelaide streets in December.

Shane van Gisbergen's 2022 points lead progression

*Chaz Mostert was points leader