V8 Supercars

Van Gisbergen Scores Breakthrough V8 Win

KIWI ACE SHANE VAN GISBERGEN HAS WON HIS FIRST V8 SUPERCAR RACE AT HIS HOME EVENT, THE ITM400 HAMILTON IN NEW ZEALAND ON APRIL 15-17.

The 21-year-old bounced back in Sunday’s race in his SP Tools Falcon after crashing in pit lane during Saturday’s race, crossing the line 0.78s clear of Lee Holdsworth with Garth Tander rounding out the
podium from 19th on the grid.

The local fans went crazy as the young Ford driver brought home his maiden V8 win, the first for his Stone Brothers Racing team on home soil in New Zealand in 10 years of trying.

“I can’t believe it, I could hear the fans cheering and I was trying to keep concentrating,” said van Gisbergen.

“It was pretty tough those last few laps. It was déjà vu like Sydney last year but I knew we had plenty of fuel this time – I’m stoked!

“When you have a whole nation behind you, it’s hard not to get excited. I owe the boys some beers tonight!”

The result moves van Gisbergen up to sixth in the championship on a day where the championship front-runners hit problems – and two of them hit dramas in unison. Both Mark Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup got involved in a multi-car pile-up after Michael Caruso spun at turn three and Jason Bargwanna also became involved.

Winterbottom’s Ford was too badly damaged to continue, while Whincup’s team patched up his Commodore and he finished 18th, two laps down.

The Orrcon Steel driver now slips back to fourth in the title chase. Whincup retains the title lead by 81 points over Hamilton’s Saturday race winner Rick Kelly.

ITM400 HAMILTON

Race 5 – V8 Supercar Championship Series
1 Jack Daniel’s Racing – Rick Kelly
2 TeamVodafone – Craig Lowndes
3 Jack Daniel’s Racing  – Todd Kelly

Race 6 – V8 Supercar Championship Series
1 SP Tools Racing – Shane van Gisbergen
2 Fujitsu Racing GRM – Lee Holdsworth
3 Toll Holden Racing Team – Garth Tander

Tags: ITM400 HAMILTON, Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom, SHANE VAN GISBERGEN