Weekend double for Waters after epic tussle with van Gisbergen

MELBOURNE: Ford driver Cameron Waters has finished off a commanding weekend at Winton, coming out on top in another epic Supercars battle with Shane van Gisbergen.

The two were up front during all three races but Waters edged the defending champion again yesterday.

The Tickford Racing driver collected his first win since last July’s Townsville event on Saturday and then qualified on pole for both races yesterday.

Championship leader Van Gisbergen got him in the day’s first race but Waters (27) was able to hang on and cross the line less than .5sec ahead after a thrilling finallap battle in the last race.

‘‘So pumped to get it done again.

‘‘Two wins this weekend is absolutely amazing and I can’t thank all my team enough because they’ve given me an absolute rocket ship,’’ Waters said.

‘‘It’s awesome to be able to convert it as well and I knew Shane was going to come back at me.

‘‘He was fast in that first stint but just tried to press on and maintain as much of a gap as I could.

‘‘It means so bloody much. We’ve had an upanddown start to the year and they’ve just worked hard and tried to give us the best cars they can.

‘‘We’ve still got to hunt down this guy (van Gisbergen) on race pace so we’ll keep pushing each other.’’

Van Gisbergen had stormed away from Waters in race two to claim his ninth win of 2022.

It was van Gisbergen’s 63rd career win, putting him further ahead in the championship standings as he chases a second straight title and third overall.

‘‘I hope everyone enjoyed the show Cam and I put on all weekend.

‘‘It was great battling him like that,’’ van Gisbergen said. — AP