Andre Heimgartner reemerges as shock Finals contender
Heimgartner clashed deficit to 10th from 142 to 62 points
Heimgartner raced from 19th to ninth with Bryce Fullwood
Andre Heimgartner heads to Bathurst for the second year running armed with a golden shot at clinching a Finals berth.
In the space of three rounds, aided by a wet and wild AirTouch 500 at The Bend, Heimgartner finds himself as the first one on the outside looking in.
The Kiwi — aided by Bryce Fullwood, who recovered from an early penalty — slashed his deficit from 142 to 62 points at The Bend, and after last year’s heartbreak, could earn himself the ultimate redemption.
Heimgartner missed out on the 2025 Finals by just three points after being passed on the final lap of the Repco Bathurst 1000.
“It wasn't as smooth as we'd like. We had a 15-second penalty, so that put us back a bit,” Heimgartner said on Supercars’ Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast.
“Without that we would've been in the top five, which is really good, and our car speed was actually really solid in the dry, which has been missing over the last sort of six months.
"I got a bit of rhythm and really started to unlock something, which is nice. If we can sort of just have a bit more of a problem-free run at Bathurst, then it'll be good.”
Fullwood added: "Without [the penalty], I think we probably would’ve been fifth or somewhere there.
"I think, to be honest, we've learned a lot out of this weekend and hopefully we can take it to Bathurst and have a good weekend there.”
Jack Le Brocq holds the coveted 10th place in the points, ahead of Heimgartner (-62), Thomas Randle (-63), Jayden Ojeda (-70) and James Golding (-87).
