Van Gisbergen and Stanaway win, heartbreak for Feeney

Shane van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway have claimed a dominant Repco Bathurst 1000 victory, with the sister Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup missing out after suffering late heartbreak.

NASCAR-bound van Gisbergen became the first driver in 15 years to win consecutive Bathurst 1000s, and won his third Great Race in the last four years.

Stanaway, who will move into full-time driving in 2024 with Penrite Racing, scored his first Bathurst win.

The New Zealand duo’s victory came on the 60th anniversary of the Great Race at Mount Panorama, and in front of a crowd of 204,069 — the third biggest Bathurst crowd ever.

Pole-sitter Brodie Kostecki finished a distant second with David Russell in the #99 Coca-Cola Chevrolet, with Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto first Ford home in third in the #11 Shell V-Power Mustang.

The win helped van Gisbergen slash Kostecki's championship lead to 131 points, with Erebus Motorsport extending its teams' championship lead to 179 points courtesy of Feeney's troubles.

It marked Triple Eight's 10th Bathurst win, surpassing Holden Dealer Team/HDT Racing's tally of nine Bathurst 500/1000 wins. It was also the first win by an all New Zealander combination since Greg Murphy and Steven Richards won in 1999.

Coincidentally, it was also the greatest winning margin since 1999, where Murphy/Richards won by 25.3s.

"Amazing. We weren't the fastest car all week, but we worked on the race car," van Gisbergen said.

"Thanks Red Bull Ampol Racing. It's been tough, thanks to all these fans. I'm really going to miss it, I love this place. I'll be back."

It was a race to forget for star drivers Feeney and Cam Waters, whose races were undone by drama out of their control. Feeney was on for a probable victory, only for his #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro to suffer a gearbox issue ahead of the final stops.

Waters, meanwhile, didn’t reach the midway point of the race after co-driver James Moffat crashed the #6 Monster Energy Mustang at The Dipper. The Moffat crash triggered the third and final bp Ultimate Safety Car of the day.

The Kostecki/Russell car led at halfway following the Moffat crash, with Russell handing over to Kostecki on lap 90. It handed the lead to Stanaway, who as others completed stops, led Tander by 18.5s by lap 96. By that time, Kostecki was ahead of Brown and Feeney.

Stanaway continued to drive away and, save for a locked brake at Griffins Bend, completed a clean effort to hand over to van Gisbergen on lap 96.

Van Gisbergen held a six-second margin on Kostecki, which eked out to nearly 11 seconds when Kostecki came in on lap 115, with Feeney stopping on lap 116. Feeney emerged 3.5s ahead of Kostecki, with De Pasquale 9.2s behind the #99 Chevrolet, and less than a second ahead of the #9 Chevrolet of Will Brown/Jack Perkins.

All the while, Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang) fought towards the top five, picking off James Golding (#31 Nulon Camaro) before stopping from second on lap 117.

Red Bull Ampol Racing brought van Gisbergen in from the lead on lap 119, and the team completed a brake rotor change on the #97. Van Gisbergen emerged with an eight-second margin over his teammate, with Kostecki 3.5s behind Feeney.

As David Reynolds (#26 Penrite Mustang) carried on, van Gisbergen reported a long brake pedal, and the team readied for more changes at the #97’s final stop. By lap 125, the deficit had been slashed to 4.4s.

Van Gisbergen managed the issue and cleared Reynolds on lap 126, with the margin between the teammates 4.2s. Feeney picked off Reynolds and moved into second, with the #26 Penrite Ford brought in on lap 131.

With 31 laps remaining, van Gisbergen got the margin back to five seconds, with Kostecki 4.2s behind Feeney. De Pasquale was a distant fourth, some 12 seconds behind the #99, with Brown fifth.

On lap 136, the race turned on its head as Feeney slowed down Conrod Straight. Feeney brought the ailing #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro into the lane due to a suspected gearbox issue, promoting De Pasquale to third.

Triple Eight tried to repair the issue, and sent Feeney back out into the race, albeit laps down. However, the issue was unresolved, and Feeney was forced back into the garage. He returned for a final time, and was classified 23rd.

All the while, a reported steering rack issue was raised on the #99, which was 12 seconds behind the #97. The final stops continued, with James Courtney — who had a big off McPhillamy — stopping on lap 138. 

Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Electrical Camaro), Golding and Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang) stopped on lap 139, Mostert on lap 140 and De Pasquale on lap 143. By then, the margin between van Gisbergen and Kostecki blew out to nearly 17 seconds.

Kostecki came in for his final stop on lap 145, and emerged seven seconds ahead of De Pasquale, who was 13 seconds ahead of Mostert.

On lap 149, van Gisbergen was brought in for his seventh and final stop, and returned to the track with an extended 25-second lead over Kostecki, who had De Pasquale closing behind.

Kostecki recovered and dropped Feeney, but had nothing for van Gisbergen, who cruised to his fifth victory of the season by 19.9326s. There were 16 cars on the lead lap after six hours, seven minutes and 7.5s.

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume on the streets of Surfers Paradise on October 27-29 with the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.