Van Gisbergen, Stanaway win 2023 Bathurst 1000

SHANE van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway have won the 60th anniversary running of the Repco Bathurst 1000.

The Triple Eight pair headed home Erebus Motorsport’s polesitters Brodie Kostecki and David Russell to record a Chevrolet Camaro one-two, with Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto bringing their Dick Johnson Racing Mustang as the first Ford home in third place.

Three more Mustangs followed the DJR example home, with Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth, David Reynolds/Garth Tander and James Courtney/Zak Best completing the first six runners.

The victory represented the third ‘Great Race’ win for van Gisbergen, who departs Supercars at the end of the season to pursue a career in NASCAR, and the first Bathurst win for Stanaway.

We weren’t the fastest car all week, but we worked on the race car,” said van Gisbergen.

“Richie did a stellar job all day, the team was good. I’m really gutted for Broc and Jamie and the #88 boys, but thanks Red Bull Ampol Racing.

“It’s been tough, but thanks to all these fans. I’m really going to miss it, I love this place. I’ll be back one day, probably.

“This is the perfect way to say goodbye. It’s been difficult with this car, she was falling apart a bit at the end, but we made it.”

Added Stanaway: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. It’s a childhood dream of mine to win this race, I can’t believe it.

It’s been incredible to be a part of this team. Teaming up with Shane, I knew we had a good shot, but you never know at this place.

“The last 60 laps was probably the longest two hours of my life. I can’t explain the feeling right now, I couldn’t be happier.”

Their 19.9326-second margin of victory belied tense closing stages where mechanical issues afflicted both of the leading cars, and felled the other Red Bull Ampol Camaro of Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup.

The Sandown 500 winners held down second place until a gearchange problem struck with 25 laps remaining, while a similar issue had already accounted for the wildcard Triple Eight entry of Craig Lowndes and Zane Goddard.

Van Gisbergen was advised to go easy on gearchanges for the rest of the race, but he had a different pair of issues to manage through the final stints.

Battling a long brake pedal following a routine front brake caliper and rotor change on its penultimate pitstop, van Gisbergen reported a ‘dead spot’ in the #97 car’s steering during the final stint.

Kostecki, however, was not in a position to exploit the leader’s woes as he struggled with a handling imbalance that also emerged in the penultimate stint, reported initially as a steering issue.

Camaros filled out the remainder of the top 10 positions, with the Brad Jones Racing car of Bryce Fullwood/Dean Fiore making a late pass on the Erebus car of Will Brown/Jack Perkins to nab seventh place, with the pair followed by the Matt Stone Racing entry of Jack Le Brocq/Jayden Ojeda and PremiAir Racing machine of James Golding/Dylan O’Keeffe.

A total of 16 cars finished the race on the lead lap, while a total of 24 cars were classified finishers of the first Bathurst 1000 for Supercars’ Gen3 era.

That tally included Feeney and Whincup, who emerged with a couple of laps remaining to be classified as a finisher in 23^rd place.

The #8 BJR entry of Andre Heimgartner/Dale Wood was the race’s first retiree on lap 68 with engine failure, shortly followed by the #6 Tickford Mustang of Cam Waters/James Moffat which crashed out at the Dipper on lap 70.

Todd Hazelwood and Tim Blanchard’s race ended in the closing laps when the in the #3 Blanchard Racing Team Mustang’s starter motor fell off. They were given a mechanical black flag due to it hanging under the car and striking the track, and couldn’t repair it in time to rejoin the race.

Team 18 duo Mark Winterbottom and Michael Caruso were the race’s final retirement. They were running 11th as the finish neared but pitted on the penultimate lap due to unexpectedly running low on fuel, and ‘Frosty’ was stuck in pitlane as van Gisbergen took the chequered flag.

After three Safety Car periods punctuated the first half of the race, the second half ran entirely without interruption from what proved the final restart on lap 73.

Pitstop times, fuel strategy and mechanical reliability dictated how the leading battle ebbed and flowed over the final stints.

Russell completed his work aboard the #99 on lap 90, pitting from the lead to hand over to Kostecki for a triple-stint to the finish.

However, it was the final time the Erebus car would taste the lead outside pitstop cycles.

Erebus’ decision not to pit during the third Safety Car period, while Triple Eight brought the #97 in to top off the tank, generated a fuel strategy advantage that meant van Gisbergen emerged some six seconds ahead of Kostecki when Stanaway headed to the lane seven laps later.

The Erebus car lost a further spot on the next round of pitstops, with Triple Eight turning Feeney around 13s quicker than Kostecki’s stop, which included a brake pad and rotor change.

The three Camaros ran in that formation towards the final round of stops, with Feeney’s gearbox problem promoting Kostecki to second place.

Kostecki’s second-place finish ensures he retains the championship lead with two rounds remaining, while second-placed van Gisbergen edges closer to sit just 131 points adrift.

Brown has drifted to 390 points off the lead in third place, while Feeney has slipped to fourth place, 408 points behind.

The penultimate round of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship is the Gold Coast 500 on October 27-29.

RESULTS: 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000