SHANE VAN GISBERGEN SWEEPS ALL AT SYMMONS PLAINS RACES 4 & 5 REPORTS

March 27, 2022
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Race 4 2022 Supercars Shane van Gisbergen Doubles Up At Symmons

Shane van Gisbergen has led home a 1-2 finish for the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team in an incident packed Race 4 of the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship.

Van Gisbergen had taken pole position for the race, but it was rookie teammate Broc Feeney who grabbed the early race lead from 2nd on the grid. He jumped clear on the run towards Turn 4 with a sufficient gap which prevented any attempt from the #97 to apply his now trademark inside move at the hairpin. David Reynolds had also made a clean start and held a comfortable 3rd on the opening lap.

There was the usual bump and jostle for position just outside the top 10, with Waters ahead of Percat, Pither, Heimgartner, Le Brocq, J.Kostecki and Mostert. Le Brocq moved up the inside of Heimgartner’s RJ Batteries BJR Commodore and made wheel to wheel combat. The pair speared off the track on the approach to the final corner and the MSR Truck Assist Commodore made heavy contact with the outside tyre wall. Heimgartner also nudged into the tyre with significantly less damage to his car.

SEE OUR FULL TASSIE SUPERSPRINT GALLERY HERE

The race was red-flagged as officials worked to remove the damaged cars and repair the section of tyre wall. Le Brocq was out of the race while Heimgartner’s car received roadside assistance from the BJR mechanics on the grid.

Feeney continued to lead when the race resumed behind the Safety Car on lap 5 and took the green flag in a single re-start on Lap 7. His remained in P1 for the next 5 corners before van Gisbergen took control with a late dive up the inside on the approach to Turn 6.

Feeney, Waters, Reynolds and Pye were amongst the first to stop as the race approached the 18 lap mark, which placed Waters in the sights of Tim Slade. Slade moved inside the Monster Energy Mustang at the exit of the Hairpin, though Waters responded on the run towards Turns 5 and 6. There were a series of glancing blows as the pair fought for track position before Slade suddenly slid sideways off the circuit at close to 200kmh. The CoolDrive Mustang became airborne as it skipped across the grass before sliding back across the track at the exit of Turn 6 and through the gravel trap. Somehow Slade avoided further contact and was able to continue, while Waters received a pit lane penalty for the incident.

The lead swapped between the Red Bull Ampol Racing pair after van Gisbergen had completed his compulsory stop and then regained the lead when Feeney ran wide at the Hairpin on Lap 30. A three car entry to the same corner late in the race resulted in contact between Macauley Jones and Jake Kostecki, while Thomas Randle ended the race stranded on the infield embankment at the exit of the hairpin with just a few laps left to run.

Shane van Gisbergen eased away to a 2.4 second lead over Feeney at the chequered flag, while David Reynolds held on for an encouraging 3rd place for the Grove Racing Team and the Penrite Mustang.

“Another head scratcher,” van Gisbergen quipped when presented with the rather unique winner’s trophy. “This is Broc’s moment, with his first podium and P2, he added. “He led the race for a while and got me at the start. I’m just stoked and it’s really cool to have him as a part of it.”

“It’s awesome to be honest,” Feeney replied when asked about his result. “We came here this weekend with the chance to snag a podium and we came out pretty strong. To qualify second and race with Shane, the best dude in Australia at the moment and to finish P2 behind him in a 1-2 for the team is awesome.”

Race 5 2022 Supercars Shane van Gisbergen Sweeps All At Symmons Plains

Shane van Gisbergen completed a near perfect weekend for the crew of the #97 Red Bull Ampol Racing Commodore with a clean sweep of race wins at the 2022 NED Whisky Tasmania Supersprint.

While it was smooth sailing for van Gisbergen, It was an all hands on deck approach for Matt Stone Racing as they raced to get Jack Le Brocq back on the track for race 5, the final event in the 2022 NED Whisky Tasmania Supersprint. Le Brocq’s Truck Assist Commodore looked almost pristine as it left the pitlane and took its place in P2 alongside the Shell V-Power Mustang of Will Davison. Shane van Gisbergen lined up in 3rd with fellow MSR driver Todd Hazelwood in 4th.

SEE OUR FULL TASSIE SUPERSPRINT GALLERY HERE

As the race began it was Le Brocq who took the lead from Davison and van Gisbergen, with the top 3 remaining that way until they approached to Turn 4 Hairpin on Lap 2. Le Brocq locked a wheel and slide towards the gravel trap which saw him plummet down the field. Davison grabbed the race lead from van Gisbergen, Hazelwood, De Pasquale and Reynolds.

Davison withstood a challenge from the #97 at the Hairpin on lap 3, but was powerless to hold back the tide as van Gisbergen loomed alongside at Turn 6. Hazelwood took advantage of the moment to push inside the #17 Shell V-Power Mustang which saw Davison run two wheels into the dirt at the final corner. Anton De Pasquale capitalised on the melee to leapfrog the trio into 2nd, ahead of Hazelwood, Reynolds and Davison.

De Pasquale, Davison and Hazelwood dropped to 13th, 14th and 15th respectively after taking early pitstops, while van Gisbergen was able to manage his tyres with an extended 3.9 second gap to 2nd placed David Reynolds.

By the time the time the compulsory pitstops had been concluded it was van Gisbergen who held a 0.7 second lead over De Pasquale and Davison. The #97 Red Bull Ampol Racing Commodore edged away to a 2 second advantage by the final lap and Shane van Gisbergen went on to take a clean sweep of the round from Davison, De Pasquale, Reynolds and Hazelwood.

“It’s pretty awesome and I can’t thank Red Bull Ampol Racing enough,” Shane van Gisbergen said. “Each race we had to work for it, with some more good passes there and I hope that it was good to watch. I’m pumped!”

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