Tekno Autosport pilot van Gisbergen looked odds-on to back up his win on Saturday and was nicely positioned after 40 laps, only to be hit with a drive-through penalty for jumping a re-start before the safety car had left the circuit.
While it was hugely disappointed for the young driver, fans of V8 racing were treated to one of the best and most exciting drives of the season. And on one of the toughest street circuits on the race calendar. He flew from the back of the pack after serving his penalty cutting a swath through anyone in his way to cross the line in a fantastic fifth.
"I can't comment on the penalty as I don't really understand it," a disappointed van Gisbergen told the Herald immediately after the race.
"I did the pit drive through and drove just as fast, hard and aggressive as I could. I made some passes that showed just how good our car was. I don't know about first, but the car was definitely good enough for second so it's a shame we got the penalty.
"The points are good but I'm pretty disappointed that we couldn't have been racing for the win."
It wasn't all bad news for the Kiwis, though, Scott McLaughlin backed up a solid seventh on Saturday with a second today.
"Our race pace just wasn't there today compared to Jamie and Shane," said McLaughlin. "I had my work cut to bring the car home in front of Michael [Caruso] but we've made some good steps forward with the car.
"I really stoked to get a surfboard - it's one of the coolest trophies you can get. Well, maybe not as cool as a Peter Brock trophy [Bathurst] or a championship."
Battle resumes November 14-16 at Phillip Island where the races return to the sprint format. Whincup will hope to seal his sixth championship but Mark Winterbottom, second, and van Gisbergen, third, will be trying to stop that happen.
V8 Supercars points after 12 rounds
1. Jamie Whincup 2835
2. Mark Winterbottom 2443
3. Shane van Gisbergen 2347
4. Craig Lowndes 2331
5. Fabian Coulthard 2192
