Five surprising moments of 2022
The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship is in the rear-view mirror, and with 13 rounds in the bag, there is plenty of incredible action to sift through.
From remarkable wins, nail-biting finishes, and multi-car crashes, Supercars.com takes a look at five surprising moments of 2022.
Zak Best on pole at the OTR SuperSprint
Zak Best stunned the Supercars world at The Bend Motorsport Park in July, when he pipped Shane van Gisbergen to the Race 21 pole.
The Tickford Racing wildcard scored his maiden Supercars championship pole on just his second solo appearance.
The Benalla young gun secured fifth in Race 21, before qualifying seventh for Sunday’s finale.
De Pasquale and van Gisbergen tangle in Townsville
Sunday’s Townsville finale ended in high drama when Anton De Pasquale and Shane van Gisbergen clashed on the final corner.
Van Gisbergen swept both races at the NTI Townsville 500, despite his Ford rival hitting the #97 Commodore on the final lap and caused it to rotate.
De Pasquale attempted a redress to the chequered flag., but van Gisbergen pushed him over the line.
Officials quickly hit De Pasquale with a five-second time penalty, handing victory to van Gisbergen.
Van Gisbergen’s Pukekohe epic
Shane van Gisbergen delivered New Zealand fans a fairytale moment in September when he won the final Supercars race at Pukekohe.
The Kiwi star overhauled Cam Waters in a titanic battle, to secure the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for the third time.
In a fitting finale, van Gisbergen vaulted from eighth to score his 18th victory of 2022.
The three-time champion entertained the massive crowds with his signature post-race celebrations, performing a huge burnout along the main straight for his hometown fans.
Multi-car pile-up halts Gold Coast finale
Sunday’s Gold Coast finale stopped in dramatic scenes after a massive multi-car pile-up at the beachside chicane.
Several cars were implicated in the accident after James Golding hit the tyre bundle on lap 3, launching into the air and spinning in front of the field.
James Courtney, Todd Hazelwood, Broc Feeney, Lee Holdsworth, Nick Percat, and Macauley Jones all picked up major damage.
Drivers rushed to help Jones as a fire broke out in his #96 Pertamina Commodore, which was quickly extinguished.
The race restarted 20 minutes later, with Will Davison leading the field to green.
Feeney’s first win
Broc Feeney made history at the VALO Adelaide 500, outlasting Chaz Mostert to claim Holden’s last-ever win.
The 20-year-old became the second youngest driver to win a Supercars race, in what Mark Skaife described as a “life-changing day”.
An estimated 258,000 people packed into the first Adelaide 500 since February 2020, to see an emotional victory by the Red Bull Ampol Racing rookie.
The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next March.
Tickets are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.
