Van Gisbergen recharged after busy off-season
Shane van Gisbergen is adamant he is "ready to go" for his title defence after a busy off-season.
Van Gisbergen got behind the wheel of his Red Bull Ampol Camaro for the first time on Thursday.
The three-time champion had the honour of turning the first laps aboard a Triple Eight-built Supercar, with team staff watching on.
It came just four days after van Gisbergen raced with teammate Broc Feeney at the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.
Van Gisbergen packed his summer with several speedway appearances in New Zealand.
It continued a trend of van Gisbergen seeking extra-curricular starts outside of his Supercar commitments.
Just prior to returning to Australia, van Gisbergen chalked up his first win on dirt at Palmerston North.
"The more I drive, the more fun I have," he said at Queensland Raceway after his first Gen3 laps.
"It was a good off-season back home, I had a really good time there.
"Last year I couldn’t travel back, so it was awesome.
"I notice that if I don’t drive for three or four weeks, you jump back in and it feels a bit rusty.
"Driving all the time definitely helps me. It’s fun."
Van Gisbergen and Feeney showed glimpses of speed at Mount Panorama, but ultimately battled to find comfort in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 car.
A penalty consigned them to fifth, a day after Feeney impressed to second in qualifying.
Van Gisbergen turned Triple Eight's first Gen3 laps
Van Gisbergen enters 2023 off the back of a record-breaking 21 wins last season.
His 2022 season also featured rally starts in Australia and New Zealand, as well as a maiden Le Mans start.
When asked if he feels he is the hunted this season, van Gisbergen replied: "No, I don’t think like that. I just drive.
"I feel good, I feel ready to go."
Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup reiterated that van Gisbergen had his blessing to stay sharp over the summer.
"That’s SVG — he loves driving cars," Whincup said.
"It doesn’t matter if it’s a sim, it it’s on dirt, rally cars, GT cars, the whole lot.
'The more I drive, the more fun I have'
"He’s at his happiest when he’s driving the most… the more he drives, the faster he is.
"He asked me if he could do rally and GT over the break, I said,' No problems’.
"If he spends his whole off-season on the couch playing video games, he won’t be at his best come Newcastle."
Triple Eight will test its new cars again at Queensland Raceway next Tuesday alongside PremiAir Racing, Shell V-Power Racing Team and Matt Stone Racing.
All teams will then test together at Sydney Motorsport Park on Wednesday February 22.
The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle on March 10-12.
Tickets are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.
