Van Gisbergen draws on the past
Scott McLaughlin might be looking to learn the lessons from last year’s disastrous final race of the Supercars season, but Shane van Gisbergen can draw on better experiences.
Last year McLaughlin and his team made a series of errors which cost him the title.
But in 2016, van Gisbergen took out the championship in the final round of the season, beating out his Triple Eight team-mate Jamie Whincup at Homebush in Sydney.
He had a fairly big cushion going into that round, but still needed to get the job done and did so by finishing third on Saturday and winning the Sunday race.
Thinking back to that time, van Gisbergen says he’ll be able to go into this weekend knowing what’s required to clinch the title.
‘‘I’ve been in this situation and know what it feels like,’’ van Gisbergen said. ‘‘But since then I’ve got more experience and hopefully I’ll feel better out there.
‘‘That weekend was a bit different with the championship being in house.’’
Newcastle is a better setting for a finale than Homebush was. The tight circuit around Olympic Park was one where there were few points where spectators could watch more than one corner and it was almost impossible to overtake.
While overtaking is only slightly better in Newcastle, there are better vantage points and the city embraces the event in a way Sydney never would.
‘‘I did love Homebush,’’ van Gisbergen said. ‘‘I always went good there and I won it three or four years in a row, so I am biased. But here last year, we saw how enthusiastic the Newcastle people are.
‘‘They should their support in numbers, there were people hanging out of apartments and on the fences. Hopefully, this year it’s just as big and we put on a good show again.’’
Van Gisbergen spends as much time as possible when he’s not fulfilling his Supercars commitments and he’s aware of how much interest there is back home in his battle this weekend with McLaughlin.
‘‘I’ve done more media than ever over there which is awesome,’’ he said.
‘‘I guess Pukekohe hopefully created more interest in the sport, with two Kiwis fighting up the front, which was really cool.
‘‘Then this week I’ve done more media and I also have my friends and family coming over.’’
But despite all of the extra attention, van Gisbergen says it’s imperative to treat this round like every other.
‘‘It’s not easy, but that’s the mindset that I’m taking,’’ he said.
‘‘The reason why we are where we are, is because we’ve been taking it round by round with our preparation, so there’s no reason to do it any different now.’’
In the last round in Pukekohe, both McLaughlin and van Gisbergen had a win and a second place over the two races and it showed that there is nothing between the drivers.
‘‘It was awesome there [at Pukekohe] and that’s the reason we are up the front, because we have both been the fastest.
‘‘After such along year, to be so close is really cool. It’s also good for the championship that it’s coming down to the wire.’’
The Triple Eight team will be doing what they can to help van Gisbergen win the title, but they’ll also be looking to give Craig Lowndes a great send off as he bows out from being a full-time driver.
It would be fitting for the face of Supercars to win one of the races, but that could be problematic if it damages van Gisbergen’s chances of winning the championship.
‘‘He’ll be trying [to win],’’ van Gisbergen said of Lowndes.
‘‘There probably won’t be team orders there. Which you don’t want, you want him to go out on top.
‘‘This year for him, winning Bathurst and the Enduro Cup, it’s pretty impressive.
‘‘I’m sure he’ll be shooting for a good result and it’s been awesome over the last three years to be involved with him. To be a team-mate and a friend is really cool.’’