Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander win Bathurst 1000

Cameron Waters/James Moffat finished 3rd in the big race, for Van Gisbergen to be champion, the Pickford Racing driver would have had to finish beyond 4th place. But this Sunday, the title has little importance for Shane Van Gisbergen who has just signed his 19th success of the season (absolute record in a year of racing). He won Bathurst 1000 for the second time after the 2020 victory still associated with Garth Tander. The veteran has just won his 5th edition of “La Grande Course”. We had to wait until the last moments of the 161 laps of the race to be certain that the Triple Eight crew would achieve this success. The 9th safety car, from a very hectic race, came to call everything into question 15 laps from the checkerboard. Van Gisbergen restarts the race with two of his most dangerous opponents on his heels: Chaze Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and Cameron Waters (Tickford Racing). The Holden driver will hold on until the end and win. With Tander, he gave Holden its last victory at Mount Panorama (Chevrolet will be the manufacturer for the GM group next year).  

A fitting Mountain farewell for Holden 🦁@shanevg97 and @GarthTander are the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000 winners! #RepcoSC #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/dv8oRFfpxA

— Supercars (@supercars) October 9, 2022

Two huge pileups in less than 10 laps

It took more than 6 hours on the track to know the winner of the decidedly hotly contested 2022 edition. The racing conditions were very delicate at the start with a track which was still quite wet. However, the 28 cars set off on slick tires. 600 meters after the start and on the first lap, an impressive pile-up caused trouble in the peloton. Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight) was left with a big scare. Some competitors had to return to the pit box, in order to tinker with cars that had not even completed a complete lap. On the 1th lap, the safety car restarted the race and another collision interrupted the proceedings. Zane Goddard (Tickford Racing) in distress in the last sector was hit violently by the car of David Reynolds and Matt Campbell (Whole grained Racing). Garth Tander is then behind the wheel of the Commodore 97 and is very careful. On the 10th lap he is in 5th position but in a car that does not give him confidence: “ It was only when the track started to dry that I realized we had a superb car.". Tander will also complete an exemplary race in lap times very close to those of VgS. It's not a 5-second penalty that will disrupt the steamroller: Holden/Triple Eight/Van Gisbergen/Tander. Note the spectacular race of Cam Waters who managed with his teammate James Moffat to get back on the podium after the latter had crashed in the first third of the race. With Mostert for the Walkinshaw Andretti United, Waters responded to the crew of the 97. The final classification of this race is as follows: Van Gisbergen/ Tander ahead of Mostert/ Coulthard and Waters/ Moffat. The race had a very bitter taste for Dick Johnson Racing (which was celebrating its 1000th race), Will Davison's crash having caused the last safety car. The sister car ranks 7th with Pasquale and Alberto. 

The 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000 is away and there is massive drama in the mid-pack!#RepcoSC #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/Kyimp36BCU

— Supercars (@supercars) October 9, 2022

Van Gisbergen not yet champion

Despite his success, Van Gisbergen is not yet the champion of the year 2022. He is still ahead of Cameron Waters and Anton de Pasquale in the championship. With this 73rd career success, the Roland Dane driver further marks his history in Australian Supercars. At only 33 years old, he still has many good years ahead of him to continue building a legendary track record. There are only 3 races left to compete in 2022, this will take place during the last meeting, in the streets of Adelaide (Gold Coast) from December 1st to 4th. 

final top 10 of a somewhat crazy race. ©Supercars

Supercars rankings at an end-of-season meeting ©Supercars