Miracle man SVG gets real about road to recovery
Shane van Gisbergen has revealed details about the early stages of his recovery process, with the Race 3 winner admitting he "been through a lot” since his mountain biking accident.
Defying the odds and overcoming the pain from his collarbone injury, the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver won the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint opener.
His 43rd career win came despite the 2016 champion starting the race in 17th position.
“I’ve been through a lot,” the 31-year-old said after the race.
WATCH: RACE 3 RECAP
“The first week in particular was super tough; I was on some weird drugs that make you think weird things.
“On some different stuff this week and it’s much better.”
Admitting he was in pain during his record-breaking win, van Gisbergen explained the modifications made to the steering wheel and gear selector in his #97 Commodore allowed him to be as comfortable as possible.
“I’m in pain but I’m no worse than I was the start of the day,” said van Gisbergen, who invited team physio Chris Brady onto the podium to collect the winning team’s trophy.
“Maybe it was the adrenaline, but it wasn’t distracting me at all; I had full focus for all of the race and felt good.
“I felt okay in the car; it’s a bit compromised with the wheel position, but otherwise all good.
“I had to lower the steering wheel quite a lot and bring it a lot closer, which feels a bit weird; but once I was in there, I got used to it.
“Then I went to a button handbrake on the wheel, but I couldn’t get a good start; I went back to my normal hand-brake, as I struggled to pull enough pressure at the start.”
WATCH: SVG'S PAIN AFTER MIRACLE DRIVE
Starting from the ninth row on the grid, the New Zealander began a brilliant charge through the field, fighting into the top 10 before pitting on lap 25.
Continuing his attack, van Gisbergen pushed his way up to fourth with two laps to go, before he lunged down the inside of Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert at Turn 2.
Only Cameron Waters stood between van Gisbergen and a shock victory, and he made his move at the beginning of the final lap.
It marked his third win from as many starts in 2021.
Teammate Whincup was quick to praise the result.
“It was eventful from where I was sitting,” Whincup said.
“We all raced hard; it was pretty gnarly, but we all got through it unscathed.
“It’s fairly decent injury and the team did everything they could and SVG did a good job at his recovery, so it’s a good story.”
The Repco Supercars Championship field will tackle Race 4 ARMOR All Qualifying at the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint at 10:30am AEDT on Sunday. Tickets are on sale now.
The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo. Check out the full weekend schedule here.
