Win dedicated to parents
Shane Van Gisbergen paid tribute to the sacrifices his parents made to help him clinch the 2016 Supercars title, being the first Kiwi to win it in 25 years..
The South Aucklander finished third in Saturday’s race at the Sydney 500, putting in one of the best drives of his career to fight back from 22nd.
‘‘I owe everything to my family,’’ the Manukau Heights resident said.
‘‘Dad (Robert) is a racer. I’m a pretty big critic of myself, but he’s even more so.
‘‘Even yesterday, he was standing at a few points of the track and would come in and say ‘ Jamie (Whincup) was doing this and looks a bit better.’
‘‘But he’s been a great influence, he and my mum have sacrificed a lot and they travel to most races now.
‘‘To have them there and be one of the first people I see after this moment was a really cool thing.
‘‘He had some tears in his eyes and it was pretty cool.’’
DESTINED FOR SUCCESS
The precociously talented Van Gisbergen was destined to be a Supercars champion.
The signs that New Zealand motorsport had a genuine racing talent on it’s hands was evident as far back as 2005/2006 motorsport season.
That’s the year he won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship and the Steel Trophy for the best performance by an under-21-year-old.
Van Gisbergen won the trophy in the season before - 2004/2005 - as well and the only other young New Zealand racing driver to have won it two years in a row was fellow South Aucklander Scott Dixon of Manurewa who took the double in 1996 and 1997.
A little known fact about Van Gisbergen is how good he was in quarter midgets and ATC motocross. His father always insisted that the skills he acquired would some day come in handy on the track.
But don’t expect to see Van Gisbergen ditching the Supercars series for Formula One.
‘‘I prefer racing tin tops than Formula One,’’ he told the Manukau Courier before signing up with Stone Brothers Racing.
And clearly his commitment to this style of racing has now paid off him.
Go to stuff.co.nz/sport/ motorsport for more coverage of his victory.