Van Gisbergen ends 2013 as he started it
The V8 Supercars season begins and ends on the streets, from Adelaide to Sydney. Shane van Gisbergen is also back where he started – on the top step of the podium.
Interestingly, of the young Kiwi’s four V8 Supercars Championship race wins, three have been on street circuits. His other this season was at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, the opening race of 2013.
Despite recently being under fire from rivals for his aggressive driving, the 24-year old took a solid win in the final race of the Sydney NRMA Motoring & Services 500 yesterday.
It may have been shadowed by Jamie Whincup’s record-equaling fifth Championship victory, but the win meant van Gisbergen also achieved his goal for the year, finishing in the top five in the Championship.
Coming into the event, van Gisbergen was seventh in the standings, so the weekend’s result including third place on Saturday saw him jump both Garth Tander and Fabian Coulthard, though he received a post-race 25 point penalty after contact with Coulthard late in Race 35.
That makes him the first driver home after the Red Bull Racing Australia pair of Whincup and Craig Lowndes, and Pepsi Max Ford Performance Racing’s Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom, who were all mathematically capable of winning the title.
Van Gisbergen even racked up another ARMOR ALL Pole Position on Sunday, giving him four starts from first on the grid this season.
Two compulsory pit stops were required in yesterday's Race 36 at Sydney Olympic Park and cars obviously needed to refuel to make the 250km distance.
Once the pit stop window was open from lap six, some chose to dive in. The jumbled order meant van Gisbergen was unsure where he would end up.
“I think at the start there was plenty going on, a few pitted really early and from about lap 20 I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” van Gisbergen told v8supercars.com.au.
“I came out third, a long way behind, but we were good on fuel.
“Then the Safety Car came at the wrong time and we were at the back, so I had to fight for the win in the end. But it was cool, good racing.
“Jamie wasn’t laying over easy, he was still fighting hard even though he had the Championship."
His VIP Petfoods Holden Commodore had pace, recording the fastest lap of the race on 61/74, a 1min28.9264sec, making van Gisbergen the only driver to crack the 28sec bracket.
“Every lap was good, I think I was one of the only guys able to pass as well, so I could pretty much pick them off so that’s a pretty good strength and an advantage around here,” he said.
“I think it’s good to finish the year strong – it helps us prepare for next year with a good frame of mind knowing we have the pace to do it.
“Clipsal? Hopefully we can start the year good, push on and give them a shake.
“Anytime you end Adelaide with a good bunch of points is a good start to the year.”
Teammate Jonathon Webb finished on the podium on Saturday and had a tougher run yesterday, but the results were enough to jump Holden Racing Team in the Teams’ Championship for fourth position behind RBRA, Pepsi Max FPR and Brad Jones Racing.
The future of TEKNO Autosports is unclear at this stage, with the REC (racing licence) Webb was racing unnder confirmed at Dick Johnson Racing for 2014.
