HOLDEN EXITS BATHURST WITH A WIN

The Red Bull Ampol Racing pair of Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander won the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000, making it the second win in three years for the pairing. This year’s win was the second for van Gisbergen and the fifth for Tander, as well as the 36th and final victory for Holden at the Great Race.

In a year that saw as many ups and downs in the lead up to the 161-lap enduro as in the race itself, van Gisbergen claimed the fourth spot on the grid, but an incident with another car at the tail end of qualifying saw him penalised and demoted to seventh.

Under normal circumstances, there would have been a possibility to improve that position in the Top Ten Shootout, but the rain that had lashed much of New South Wales during the week intensified on Saturday, leading to the Shootout and several support races being cancelled. As a result, Friday’s qualifying positions would stand for Sunday’s race.

That meant Monster Energy Racing’s Cameron Waters/James Moffat would start from pole, alongside Penrite Racing’s Lee Holdsworth/Matt Payne, with the best Commodore on the grid being the Mobil 1 Optus Racing car of last year’s winners, Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard, who would start from third alongside the Boost Mobile Racing wildcard entry of Greg Murphy/Richie Stanaway.

In front of a full crowd for the first time since 2019, the race got underway in dry conditions, but with damp patches still on the track. Drama on the opening lap saw several cars tangle on Mountain Straight, leading to the Safety Car being deployed. It would come out four more times in the opening 57 laps due to other incidents, including cars bogged or sliding out of control in the sodden outfield.

At the midpoint of the 161-lap race, van Gisbergen/Tander were leading the Boost Mobile Racing Commodore of Brodie Kostecki/David Russell by 12 seconds, with Shell V-Power Racing’s Anton de Pasquale/Tony d’Alberto third in the Mustang.

With a tick over 100 laps completed, Commodores filled the top four places and seven of the top ten, including the Red Bull Ampol Racing cars in first and third, separated by the Boost Mobile Racing Kostecki car.

Another Safety Car, following an accident with the Todd Hazlewood/Jayden Ojeda Commodore on lap 119, compressed the field, giving those chasing van Gisbergen an opportunity. Waters, seeking his first Bathurst win after runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2021, advanced to fourth after the restart.

With 20 laps to go, the Safety Car was deployed for the eighth time when Shell V-Power Racing’s Will Davison crashed, followed by a controversial incident that saw the Boost Mobile Racing Kostecki Commodore blocked by the recovery vehicle.

As Waters pounced to take third with 15 laps to go, van Gisbergen had his hands full keeping Mostert at bay. After avoiding a spin at Hell Corner, Mostert cut the margin to van Gisbergen to under half a second with four laps to go, despite the Kiwi posting the fastest lap of the race on lap 150.

In the end, van Gisbergen took the win by just over a second from Mostert, with Waters completing the podium. Kostecki was fourth and the other Red Bull Ampol Racing Commodore of Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup finished fifth.

"To send Holden out like this is epic… up the Holden!” van Gisbergen enthused. “It’s a special way to send it out. Hopefully we can add a few more wins [this year] to the Commodore."

The Kiwi also praised the crowd, who had endured miserable conditions in the lead up to race day.
“Compared to 2020, to have all the people here - and in this weather - thank you guys so much,” van Gisbergen added. “It was awesome.”