Double joy for Kiwi

Shane van Gisbergen shook off any disappointment about finishing a distant second to Will Davison in the opening race of the Sandown SuperSprint at Sandown Raceway in Victoria to clinch victory in the next two races and extend his lead in the drivers’ championship.

The Kiwi now has a 500-point advantage over Cam Waters, his closest rival in the title hunt, after notching 16 wins so far this season and 70 overall.

Besides pushing him closer to defending his 2021 championship crown, the double success from the weekend of August 20-21 also sees Van Gisbergen edge nearer to breaking Scott McLaughlin’s record 18 wins in a season, set in 2019.

After playing second fiddle to Davison in the opener, van Gisbergen won the next race from pole ahead of Chaz Mostert. The finale saw the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver gain another victory as he held off a hard-charging Davison.

“Will [Davison] has been really fast this weekend and I followed him yesterday and he was driving very well,” says van Gisbergen. 

“In the last race, I knew I had to get him at the start, so I put maximum pressure on him. At the end I could see him coming, but I went as hard as I could and I didn’t look in the mirror – I just kept pushing.”

The Repco Supercars Championship now heads to Auckland for the next round at Pukekohe Park Raceway on September 9-11.

Drivers’ championship

1. Shane van Gisbergen, 2,493 points
2. Cameron Waters, 1,993pts
3. Will Davison, 1,974pts
4. Anton de Pasquale, 1,971pts
5. Chaz Mostert, 1,764pts