Van Gisbergen distracted by 'wild' crowd
Raucous home support ensured Shane van Gisbergen battled to focus amid his epic battle with Cam Waters.
With every passing lap, van Gisbergen charged from eighth to the delight of the local crowd.
Van Gisbergen and Waters engaged in a fight for the ages in Pukekohe’s last ever Supercars race.
It nearly ended in tears in front of the Turn 11 hill on lap 35, with Waters earning the ire of Triple Eight.
Van Gisbergen would complete a daring move at the same spot four laps later.
Both moments came in front of a sea of loud New Zealand spectators, willing their hometown hero on.
Van Gisbergen would go on to seal a memorable victory, his seventh at Pukekohe.
The victory helped van Gisbergen win the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for a third time.
The fans on the hill were then treated to a signature van Gisbergen burnout before the podium presentation.
Speaking afterwards, van Gisbergen admitted he had to keep himself in check.
"Seeing the crowd on the hill and the responses when I passed someone,” he said.
“Even when I was side-by-side with Cam, you could see them going wild.
Van Gisbergen could have been mistaken for The Beatles
“It was pretty motivating and made it hard to focus.
"When I passed Cam into the hairpin, the crowd went nuts.
“To me it was better than Bathurst. This is one of the all time greatest moments in my motorsport career.”
The crowd had ample reason to get on their feet, considering Andre Heimgartner ran third.
Notably, every time the nervous Greg Murphy was displayed on big screens, the crowd roared.
To the delight of the fans, it was Murphy who interviewed van Gisbergen after the race.
Murphy’s dominance of the circuit in the 2000s led to the moniker ‘King of Pukekohe’.
A nine-time winner at Pukekohe, Murphy revved up the locals, saying: “The king is dead, long live the king”.
Van Gisbergen later said he drew inspiration not only from the crowd, but from Murphy and the late Richards.
Through it all, van Gisbergen kept a low profile all weekend, and admitted he struggled being the centre of attention.
“It’s been pretty tough,” he said.
“Kinda wish Scotty [McLaughlin] was here, he’s the nice guy, he helps with that stuff.
'Hard to put into words... that podium was pretty special
"I’m a bit shy with that and still struggle with it."
Van Gisbergen also had support from Heimgartner, who revealed he was egging on his countryman in the Waters battle.
The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver also enjoyed support from father Robert and sister Lauren at the podium.
The podium was held in front of the hill, which will never again see a Supercar race at Pukekohe.
That celebration, said van Gisbergen, was one he’ll never forget.
“Seeing the packed stands all weekend, down this end and on the hill,” he said.
“It’s hard to put into words.
“But that podium was pretty special."
