Shane van Gisbergen (R) celebrates his Bathurst victory with co-driver Garth Tander. Photo / Photosport
Shane van Gisbergen (R) celebrates his Bathurst victory with co-driver Garth Tander. Photo / Photosport
Shane van Gisbergen became a dual Bathurst 1000 champion and Garth Tander a five-time winner after the Triple Eight pair delivered Holden the ultimate farewell in the famous Red Lion's final dance around Mount Panorama on Sunday.
After early carnage in a chaotic start to the Great Race, van Gisbergen again underlined his brilliance to hold off a fierce challenge from defending Bathurst 1000 champion Chaz Mostert in a thrilling finish to the endurance classic.
Van Gisbergen continued his season of dominance to claim a record-breaking 19th season win – passing Scott McLaughlin's 2019 benchmark – to win in the biggest race of the year.
In a race that featured eight safety cars, despite conditions clearing for a dry race after days of torrential rain, van Gisbergen overcame an early five-second penalty for an unsafe pit release to hold out Mostert by just one second at the finish.
But the runaway series leader fell just short of securing the 2022 Supercars championship on the same day. He should seal back-to-back crowns in the next round on the Gold Coast.
"When Chaz got into second I got a bit worried because we know how fast he is here, but once the gap stayed at a second I knew we were OK."
Tander, paired with the New Zealand ace for the fourth year, hailed van Gisbergen's focus at the end of the race.
"There are no words right now, I can't really believe it, to be honest with you," Tander said.
"The guys did such a great job and Shane at the end of the race, how he can do that and just his focus and his ability to punch out laps like that is seriously impressive to watch.
"It's such an honour to be a part of this.
"The last ever Commodore here at Bathurst, that will sink in a little bit later, I think. I can't believe it."
Van Gisbergen claimed his second win in the Great Race ahead of Mostert and Tickford Racing's pole sitter Cam Waters, whose bid for a breakthrough Bathurst crown again fell short.
The win gave van Gisbergen and co-driver Tander their second Bathurst 1000 win together after their victory in the 2020 race.
Tander now moves to equal-fourth on the all-time list of Bathurst winners alongside Steven Richards after claiming his fifth win at Mount Panorama.
Van Gisbergen had been in a commanding position, leading the field by 5.3 seconds, when Will Davison forced a safety car after slamming into the tyre barrier at turn two on lap 141.
It eroded van Gisbergen's lead and left a 15-lap sprint to the finish when the race resumed three laps later, with van Gisbergen holding off Mostert in a duel to the finish.
The race was the last time Holden-badged cars will race in the Bathurst 1000 before they are replaced by the GM Camaro for the start of the sport's Gen3 era next year. Tander has won all five of his Bathurst crowns in a Holden.
Runner-up the past two year at Bathurst, Waters claimed his third podium in a row at Mount Panorama.
The Ford star's Bathurst chances were hurt after his co-driver James Moffat was spun at the Cutting by Brodie Kostecki, losing track position and forced to fight his way back.
In a very credible result, Kiwi legend Greg Murphy - paired with fellow New Zealander Richie Stanaway - finished in 11th place.
The race lasted barely 15 seconds before the first safety car was deployed after mid-pack chaos erupted on the opening lap.
The field had just started their run up Mountain Straight after tricky track conditions at the first turn when Jamie Whincup and Jack Perkins both spun, causing collateral damage.
Zak Best (Thomas Randle) was forced wide into the concrete barrier and had to be towed back to the pits, while Michael Caruso (Mark Winterbottom) and Jaxon Evans (Jack Smith) also suffered damage in the incident.
The race had barely restarted before another safety car was sent out following a massive shunt on lap six.
Zane Goddard, James Courtney's co-driver, ran off the track at the bottom of the Chase and when he returned to the track collected Dale Wood (Andre Heimartgner) and David Reynold's Grove Racing co-driver Matt Campbell, forcing another safety car.
Campbell had nowhere to go when Goddard speared back onto the track and copped the heaviest hit. The incident wiped out three cars from the race.
Van Gisbergen/Tander Mostert/Coulthard Waters/Moffat B. Kostecki/Russell Feeney/Whincup Holdsworth/Payne De Pasquale/D'Alberto Lowndes/Fraser Fullwood/Fiore Brown/Perkins
10 LAPS TO GO - SvG FLEXING MUSCLES
Former teammates Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert come together after Waters passes Kostecki after the safety car restart.
Shane van Gisbergen pulls away from Mostert. Waters, whose car appears to be the only one that can match the Red Bull, is desperate to pass Mostert.
SvG hits fastest lap of the race with 10 to go.
18 LAPS TO GO - EIGHTH SAFETY CAR LEVELS FIELD
Hold the phone - Shane van Gisbergen isn't out of the woods yet!
Ford star Will Davison slams into a barrier which has sparked the eighth safety car of the day.
"Will Davison parked up in the wall at turn 2," Channel 7's commentary team tells us. "And he looks to be getting out of this car. I think he just pitted.
"Maybe there is a brake drama for Will, and especially that he is getting out.This is the first part of the puzzle. He arrives. And it has got all rear brakes. That was all rear brakes then. As soon as he put his foot on then."
The drama didn't end there, with Mostert flying past Kostecki out of the pits to slot in behind SvG.
Mostert used the recovery vehicle to block Kostecki - who was coming out of the pits - to pass his rival.
"The recovery vehicle plays a role in there. They are getting to the second safety line, here it is, and effectively, Kostecki is baulked by the truck."
Shane van Gisbergen is the Supercars' Superman. After having his lead cut by a safety car, the Red Bull pilot exploded to put over four seconds on his nearest rival with just over 20 laps to go.
Jamie Whincup was confident SvG could get the job done but did specify Chaz Mostert remains a real threat.
That threat appears to be over for van Gisbergen at present.
LAP 120/161: BATHURST SET FOR THRILLING FINISH
Buckle-up racing fans, things got very interesting!
As Shane van Gisbergen looked set to run away with the race with 41 laps to go, a safety car levels the playing field.
Todd Hazelwood slammed into the barrier on turn two as leader van Gisbergen whizzed past.
"We have got trouble!" yelled the Channel 7 commentary team. "Is he going to be able to get out here at Turn 2? Do we have another Safety Car? This is the change that we needed to make things liven up at the back... Hazelwood is in the wall.
It's a huge blow for van Gisbergen who had 17sec and 25sec leads on his nearest rivals.
"This is going to be out of control. Shane van Gisbergen will be going, "Oh, my God."! I had 17 seconds to Kostecki. 25 seconds to Mostert. Very good for Waters, this ... absolutely got them out of jail. The rest of them are all pit because they are in them are all pit because they are in the window."
LAP 103/161: MURPHY'S LAST DRIVE?
Kiwi supercars legend Greg Murphy may have just stepped out of a Supercar for the final time after main driver and fellow New Zealander Richie Stanaway took over for the team's final push at Bathurst.
"I don't really know [if it's his last time]," Murphy said.
Unfortunately Murphy's final stint wasn't without drama after he was tagged by Jake Kostecki at turn two and spun.
"I think old mate was pretty desperate, personally. But I don't know. I haven't seen the replay. I thought it was pretty much in the rear corner but I'm not sure."
LAP 92/161 PERCAT PEEVED - VAN GISBERGEN/TANDER LEAD
Nick Percat was unable to hide his frustrations in the garage after putting his car into the wall. Here's what he had to say about the latest incident on his car.
"It's a real kick in the guts to the team, it's the best car I have ever had here," he said.
"When I went back to second at Forrest's Elbow I mistimed the gear change. From then on I'm trying to recover it and keep it off the wall but not to be today.
"But yeah, filthy with myself, because it's...I've come here a lot and it's the second time I've had a car in the fence, in 11 years. So not happy."
100 LAPS TO GO - TANDER AND VAN GISBERGEN LEAD
Incredibly, only seven cars that started this race are yet to have had some kind of bingle.
Two-time Bathurst winner Russell Ingall says inexperience in the face of the biggest race of the year is what caused the carnage in the opening stanza of this year's Great Race.
"I said the co-drivers would make a big play in this and they did. That was co-driver mania," Ingall told News Corp.
"It really emphasised the strategy of the race, because you almost have to put your co-drivers in at the start … but the risk is, in the biggest race of the year, half the co-drivers are rookies and in their heads I think some of them were deadest scared.
"Lo and behold, it was bloody mayhem. It's taken a lot of the potential podium getters out of the race before 20 laps (completed). Some of the stuff going on was just bad. There's no other word for it.
"A lot of it was dumb driving to be honest. That's the problem when you've got relatively inexperienced drivers in with good drivers. That's the downfall. That's why the bigger teams snap up the Garth Tanders and the Fabian Coulthards of the world."
LAP 57/161: DAY OF THE DUCT TAPE
Some significant damage to cars so far this afternoon and what would we do without duct tape?
Race control deemed there was no case to answer for the incident.
Shane van Gisbergen may lead the race, but he's reported smelling oil in the cockpit of his car in what may prove to be a future problem for the Red Bull team.
We interrupt the Bathurst banter to bring you actual motorsport coverage.
"This is what you wait all year for, this is what you work towards, for it to be over so soon, I'm absolutely spewing."
Goddard was later seen in the garage apologising to Wood.
Dale Wood in tears in the garage. Photo/ Sky Sport
THE ACCIDENTS UNTIL NOW
The Supercars field had just started their run up Mountain Straight after the first turn on the opening lap when a mid-pack tangle saw Triple Eight's Jamie Whincup and Erebus Motorsport's Jack Perkins both spin dramatically, causing plenty of collateral damage.
Perkins, co-driving for Will Brown, was sent back to the pits to repair damage, while Whincup was able to continue.
But there were plenty of others caught up in the drama.
Race officials deemed the incident to be a racing incident and said there would be no further action taken.
As soon as the race resumed on lap four there was another massive incident.
Zan Goddard (James Courtney's co-driver ran off the track at the bottom of the Chase and when he returned to the track collected David Reynold's Grove Racing co-driver Matt Campbell, forcing another safety car.
Campbell had nowhere to go when Goddard speared back onto the track.
LAP 22/161 MURPHY LASHES OUT
Four-time Bathurst champion Greg Murphy described the chaos at the start of the race as madness after he handed the car over to Richie Stanaway.
Out of retirement to drive an Erebus Motorsport wildcard at Bathurst, Murphy said
"No one has learned," the 50-year-old Murphy said.
Happy to report Matt Campbell is out of the medical tent and has spoken to the media after that early shunt.
"Little bit sore," he said. "A shame to in our day like that. Never had an impact that big before either so feel for all the guys. Luckily we've got car 10 up the front. I think I will be pretty sore tomorrow morning.
"Obviously coming out of The Chase I saw Goddard going off but when you see a car going off you expect him to rejoin a lot later closer to the wall but he's come straight across.
"I couldn't see anything being close to the cars in front. He's clipped Woody and I have had nowhere to go. I have been hard on the brake.
"You can't do anything in that situation. Big shame."
"Anyway, you keep going. We will keep trying to fix it on the run.
"We will charge on through and still unbelievable how many cars are written off with 155 laps to go. We might win. We might be the only one left on the track at the end."
LAP 5/161: SAFETY CAR IS IN
Lee Holdsworth leads and there will be no further action on any of the cars caught up in the first lap carnage....in fairness there is not one single culprit.
AND MORE CARNAGE! Collision on the exits of The Chase. Zane Goddard has driven back out on the road with dirty tyres and clean bowled a heap of cars including Winterbottom and Campbell.
Goddard is to blame for this one and that is particularly ordinary driving.
I tell you James Courtney's face right now. Shattered.
All cars came through the first turn but carnage followed and Jack Perkins looks to be the main casualty and after 10 seconds into the race we have a safety car.
The car is in all kinds of trouble.
"They have made it 10 seconds into the race before we had trauma," Neil Crompton said on commentary.
"This is going to be one of the storylines of the day. The minute you are off the asphalt here there will be absolutely in grip. For Jack Perkins, what a disaster.
"They have deployed the Safety Car already on lap 1. No surprise. We had 10 of them in 2006 and a pile of Safety Car laps. I am betting we will see a lot of them today."
Mark Winterbottom was also caught up in the mess with the nose of his vehicle totalled.
Will Brown in the Boost Mobile garage said: "Bathurst hasn't been kind to us over the last few years. It is obviously wet out there and they are all racing.
"Who knows whose fault it was. Everyone was crossing the water and a few tagged together. I think we will be out for a couple more laps from what the boys have been saying."
Absolute chaos is expected to unfold at Bathurst today with the weather expected to wreak havoc - after storms on Saturday resulted in the Top 10 shootout being cancelled for the first time in history.
"I reckon there's about 15 combinations that can win. The weather has been out of control."
The Bathurst 1000 is scheduled to begin at 1.15pm NZT.
It is the final time Australia will see a Holden Commodore racing in the Bathurst 1000 with the Aussie classic getting replaced by the GM Camaro next year.
Race control has warned drivers about a hazardous mud trap that has formed at Turn 1.
It was announced the outside of the exit at Turn 1 was "wet".
Supercars icon Mark Skaife put that comment into perspective.
"That is a very important announcement," he said.
"Not only do you have the tension and the anxiety and the stress and pressure of starting the great race. The cars are hard to get off the line. We have spoken about it. The longest gearing, they are full of fuel by the time you get out of first gear you already have doing 120km/h. The drivers will have to be careful out of Hell Corner."
Just hours away from the start of the great race, Will Davison has set the quickest lap in the final practice session, finishing ahead of James Golding and Lee Holdsworth.
The Shell V-Power Racing Team driver set the mark with the final lap of the session. The only drama to unfold in the wet conditions was Aaron Seton's Truck Assist Racing car coming back into the pits early. Seton had gone into the wall hard during practice on Saturday.
Starting 7th today, good luck to all competitors hopefully it’s a great race 😀 pic.twitter.com/CIxmi0Yn9V
There are forecasts for a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon as well as a light shower in the morning and an 80 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon.
