How van Gisbergen can seal title on Gold Coast
Shane van Gisbergen’s record-breaking season has the Kiwi on the brink of securing the 2022 Supercars title with two events remaining.
The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver heads into the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 with a 567-point lead over Cam Waters.
With 600 points available over the next two events, only van Gisbergen and Waters are in the running.
Waters kept the fight going to Surfers Paradise with two late overtakes at Mount Panorama earlier this month.
There, van Gisbergen scored a record-breaking 19th victory of the season, and record-equalling 25th top three finish.
Anton De Pasquale, Chaz Mostert and Will Davison were knocked out of the running at the Repco Bathurst 1000.
De Pasquale, Mostert and Davison are 777, 802 and 902 points behind respectively.
Van Gisbergen opened 2022 with victory in Sydney in March
Van Gisbergen needs just 33 points this weekend to walk away from the Gold Coast with the title.
The 33-year-old can therefore wrap up the championship as early as this Saturday.
He has a golden chance to do so, having qualified on the front row for the 85-lap Race 31.
Waters will start third, and will need a van Gisbergen disaster to take the fight into Sunday, at least.
Even if Waters wins Saturday’s first 250km race, van Gisbergen needs only a finish of 24th to wrap up the title.
Van Gisbergen needs to lead by only 300 points at the end of the weekend to back up his 2021 crown.
That is given that the first tie-break, number of race wins, is well and truly in his favour.
Van Gisbergen has 19 wins to Waters’ three after 30 starts with four remaining.
If van Gisbergen scores no points on Saturday and Waters wins, the margin will be slashed to 417 points.
Waters would need to gain another 118 points on the Sunday to take the title fight to Adelaide.
The two have clashed a number of times fighting for victory in 2022, notably at Winton and Pukekohe.
The Tickford Racing driver has never won on the Gold Coast; van Gisbergen, meanwhile, has won four times.
Waters is, however, in prime position to help Tickford have the top-ranked Ford driver for the first time since 2016.
Shell V-Power Racing Team drivers were the top-ranked Ford drivers between 2017 and 2021.
The odds are well and truly in van Gisbergen’s favour even if he doesn’t record a strong points finish.
No one Gold Coast race has had a 100 per cent finishing record.
Since the current points system was introduced in 2008, just five times has the title not gone to the final round.
Jamie Whincup secured the championship at the penultimate event in 2012 and 2014.
It has since happened in the last three seasons; Scott McLaughlin (2019 and 2020) and van Gisbergen (2021).
Should he clinch the title this weekend, van Gisbergen would become the 11th driver to win consecutive drivers' championships.
Red Bull Ampol Racing can also clinch its 11th teams’ championship this weekend.
The Holden squad left Bathurst with an extended 671-point lead over the Shell V-Power Racing Team.
With 576 available to each two-car squad per weekend, the Ford team must put 96 points on its rivals this weekend to take the fight to Adelaide.
