Shane van Gisbergen faces an agonising four-week break until the Supercars season finale after putting one hand on the trophy at Pukekohe.
A quartet of podium finishes coupled with a mistake from Jamie Whincup in Sunday’s opening race saw Van Gisbergen extend his lead over his team-mate to 191 points.
With just 300 points available at the December 4-6 Sydney 500, Van Gisbergen need only finish 16th in each of the 250km races to seal the title, even if Whincup wins.
Van Gisbergen will in fact secure the title on the Saturday with a top five finish, regardless of Whincup’s result.
Usually one of the field’s busiest drivers due to his schedule of extra-curricular racing both domestically and overseas, Van Gisbergen says he will do little but think about Sydney over the next month.
“The gap is quite big but we still have to go there and get a good result at least on the Saturday to ease the pressure,” said Van Gisbergen of the championship equation.
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“We did what we set out to do on the weekend – no mistakes, four good races and get some good points.
“We increased the lead which was a bonus, so I’m pretty stoked.
“Unfortunately there’s an awkward four-week break now.
“I don’t really have much to do so I’ll just be thinking about it for four weeks.
“But I’m sure it’ll go by pretty quick and we’ll be in Sydney before you know it.
“It’s one of my favourite tracks, I’ve won the last three there so I’m pretty confident.”
Van Gisbergen showed rare emotion after his JR Trophy win on Sunday and later reflected on his memories of Richards, who succumbed to cancer in December, 2011.
“The emotional stuff doesn’t happen with me very often, but I choked a few tears back on the in-lap,” said Van Gisbergen.
“Everyone was Jason’s friend, he was such a nice guy and when I was coming into the series he was so welcoming and always encouraging.
“He’d never give me any tips because he’s a racer… (but) there’s always fond memories.
“To have one of the Jones brothers (Kim Jones) present the trophy and be in front of the home crowd, it’s pretty awesome.”
Van Gisbergen heads to Sydney on a phenomenal run of eight straight podium finishes that stretches all the way back to Sydney Motorsport Park in August.
He’s scored 21 top five finishes from the year’s 27 races to date, missing the top five only once since Sunday’s race at Hidden Valley in June.
“Our cars are in a pretty special place at the moment and I’m pretty lucky to be driving one,” he said.
“I never forget that. I’ve got a great team behind me and it’s allowed me to be up here.”
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