Robert van Gisbergen's Pukekohe pride

Few people cut a prouder figure on Sunday afternoon than Shane van Gisbergen’s father, Robert.

Van Gisbergen saluted Pukekohe with a performance for the ages on Sunday.

The series leader overhauled Cam Waters in a thrilling battle for victory in Race 29.

It came in front of friends and family, with father Robert and sister Lauren joining the victory celebrations.

Van Gisbergen senior made a long-awaited comeback to the Supercars paddock in Townsville.

Prior to Townsville, the former rally driver hadn’t seen his son race a Supercar since February 2020.

'RVG' has been the single biggest influence on his son's career, being a racer in his own right.

He was a regular fixture in the paddock until COVID-19 induced restrictions came into force in 2020.

Van Gisbergen would go onto win the 2021 title despite being without his father by his side.

As restrictions eased, the current points leader travelled home to see family and compete in rallies.

As he did in Townsville, van Gisbergen gave his dad something to celebrate at Pukekohe.

Sunday’s wins, however, were even more special considering they came on home soil.

For Robert, it made up for missing his son win the 2020 Bathurst 1000.

“That was a special race, wasn’t it? Holy cow,” Robert van Gisbergen told Supercars’ Cool Down Lap podcast.

“That was a ripper… every pass, I was out of my chair.

“It’s another race weekend, but that was an outstanding race.

“That’s a race I'm we're never going to forget.

“New Zealand’s going to remember, Puke’s going to remember.”

The van Gisbergen siblings embrace

Van Gisbergen rewarded Red Bull Ampol Racing staff with a rally day on Monday.

There, Robert got behind the wheel of his own Ford Escort, with Shane steering his Skoda.

Van Gisbergen also treated the day as a test ahead of his looming World Rally Championship debut.

The 72-time Supercars winner will compete at Repco Rally New Zealand later this month.

As he did last weekend, van Gisbergen will have the home crowd support in his favour.

Such was the partisan support on Sunday, that van Gisbergen rated the victory as better than his Bathurst win.

"Seeing the crowd on the hill and the responses when I passed someone, even when I was side-by-side with Cam you could see them going wild, it was pretty motivating and made it hard to focus,” he said.

"When I passed Cam into the hairpin, the crowd went nuts, and to me it was better than Bathurst.

"This is one of the all time greatest moments in my motorsport career."

Van Gisbergen will continue his 2022 campaign in Bathurst next month.

The two-time champion holds a 525-point lead over Waters, with Will Davison third.

Tickets for the Repco Bathurst 1000 are available on Supercars.com and Ticketek.