Van Gisbergen/Tander deliver Holden one last Bathurst win

SHANE van Gisbergen and Garth Tander have roared to a second Repco Bathurst 1000 triumph in three years, conquering a crazy day at Mount Panorama.

Van Gisbergen/Tander (#97) led at the halfway point of the race and converted from there to give Holden one last Bathurst 1000 victory.

For van Gisbergen, it’s his second Peter Brock Trophy, and he breaks Scott McLaughlin’s all-time record for the most wins in a Repco Supercars Championship season.

Tander meanwhile becomes the seventh driver to win the Great Race on at least five occasions.

Joining them on the podium was Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard (#25) and Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters/James Moffat (#6).

The Great Race has delivered once again!

In a perfect farewell to Holden at the Mountain, @shanevg97 and @GarthTander have won the Repco Bathurst 1000 🏆 #RepcoSC #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/8WYJEQKgR9

— Supercars (@supercars) October 9, 2022

The race came to life when Will Davison (#17) crashed at Griffins Bend on Lap 142, bringing out the Safety Car and bunching the field up for a grandstand finish.

Drama unfolded under yellows as Brodie Kostecki exited the pitlane only to appear to be baulked by a recovery vehicle heading to the site of Davison’s crash.

That helped Mostert grab second, and upon the Lap 147 restart Waters fired up the inside of Kostecki at Griffins to take third.

That left arguably the Repco Supercars Championship’s premier three drivers to duke it out for the Peter Brock Trophy.

Van Gisbergen soon enough drew clear, and despite a brief attack, Waters did not have enough pace to stick with his long-time sparring partner Mostert.

For Waters, it’s his third straight Bathurst 1000 podium, and his second successive with co-driver Moffat.

There would be no further change to the pointy end of the order through a tense last stanza.

The Davison brothers are out of the race 😢#RepcoSC #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/sHiM1Stnrl

— Supercars (@supercars) October 9, 2022

Kostecki, paired with David Russell, had to settle for fourth, with Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup (#88) fifth.

Early leader Lee Holdsworth (sharing #10 with Matt Payne) finished sixth from Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto (#100), Craig Lowndes/Declan Fraser (#888) a fine eighth, Bryce Fullwood/Dean Fiore (#14), and Will Brown/Jack Perkins (#9) rounding out the 10.

There were some remarkable comeback stories, Whincup, D’Alberto and Perkins having all been caught up in a Lap 1 kerfuffle as standing water on the run out of Hell Corner made for a wild start.

After a chaotic opening few hours involving six Safety Car periods inside 60 laps, there was an extended green flag run through the middle of the race as the contenders sorted themselves from the pretenders.

Van Gisbergen/Tander were at the head of the field, with Kostecki/Russell and Mostert/ Coulthard their main threats.

But the 15-plus-second lead van Gisbergen had built was eroded in one foul swoop when Todd Hazelwood (#35) ploughed into the barriers at Griffins Bend.

A Lap 119 Safety Car put the field fully in sync once more and brought seven cars back onto the lead lap courtesy of the lucky dog rule.

The order come the Lap 123 restart was: van Gisbergen, Brodie Kostecki, Mostert, Feeney, Waters, Holdsworth, Davison, De Pasquale, Lowndes and Fullwood.

Besides the likes of Car #88, another recovery effort was that of the #6 Monster Mustang, which had for a time run at the very front until Moffat tangled with Brodie Kostecki at the Cutting and dropped to the rear of the field, albeit undamaged.

For Dick Johnson Racing’s duo, the #17 of the Davison brothers was a lap down early after being bogged at The Chase with Alex behind the wheel, while Car #100 also had a very slow brake change pitstop.

Back under green flags, van Gisbergen quickly set about re-establishing an advantage ahead of the final round of pit stops.

Behind, Mostert was busily pressuring Kostecki and Waters eventually found a way past Feeney to join the lead quartet.

Fullwood was the first of the top 10 runners to blink, pulling in for his last service on Lap 138 and rejoining in 12th.

Come Lap 140 it was Feeney, De Pasquale and Brown, and then the next time around Mostert, Waters, Davison and Lowndes – leaving van Gisbergen, Brodie Kostecki and Holdsworth as the only contenders yet to have stopped.

Davison jumped Feeney for net fifth only to find the Griffins Bend tyre barrier on his outlap to trigger a crucial eighth Safety Car, under which the lead trio on the road stopped.

That set up an enthralling sprint to the chequered flag, the race restarting on Lap 147 of 161.

Davison was the sixth addition to the DNF list, following Jack Smith (#4) who crashed at Sulman Park on Lap 138, and the four cars which retired within the first five laps.

A Zane Goddard (#5) mistake upon rejoining at The Chase took out himself, Dale Wood (#8) and Matt Campbell (#26), heavily denting all three cars and the championships of respective main drivers James Courtney, Andre Heimgartner and David Reynolds.

Even before that, the first casualty had been Tickford Racing’s Castrol Mustang, Zak Best (#55) having crunched the Mountain Straight wall on driver’s left while avoiding the spinning Whincup and Perkins.

The other key runner who fell out of contention before the midpoint was the Nick Percat/Warren Luff #2 Holden, having crashed on the run to Forrest’s Elbow on Lap 78.

Of those to finish outside the 10, Richie Stanaway/Greg Murphy (#51) made it two wildcards in the top 11.

PremiAir Racing was left with a case of what might have been, James Golding/Dylan O’Keeffe (#31) slowed by a flapping front bumper and a power steering failure cruelling the campaign of Chris PIther/Cameron Hill (#22).

Both had been in the mix for a top 10 result but wound-up 12th and 21st.

Team 18’s day started poorly, Mark Winterbottom (#18) and Tyler Everingham (#20) making contact amid the unexpected Mountain Straight concertina on Lap 1, and mid-race issues halted both car’s comebacks.

Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys (#96), Jake Kostecki/Kurt Kostecki (#56) and Tim Slade/Tim Blanchard (#3) all made it home on the lead lap despite each being the cause of a Safety Car.

The Gold Coast will host the penultimate round of the season later this month, when van Gisbergen almost certainly will seal his third championship.

Waters is the only other driver in mathematical contention now.

RESULTS: 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000