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Shane van Gisbergen claims his emotional home crowd win in the last ever Pukekohe Supercars race ranks better than winning the Bathurst 1000.
The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver beat Cameron Waters to the top step of the podium after a titanic battle in Race 29 of the ITM Auckland SuperSprint.
What made the home turf victory even more significant was the #97’s car speed struggles earlier in the weekend.
After only managing fifth in Saturday’s race, overnight changes put the Kiwi in better shape for Sunday’s action.
He claimed back-to-back wins in Races 28 and 29, though it was the latter that stood out to him.
Van Gisbergen celebrated winning the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy in front of a sold-out Pukekohe crowd.
He labelled that and his battle with Waters as the all-time greatest moment in his motorsport career.
“Seeing the crowd and the responses when I passed someone and even when I was side-by-side with Cam and didn’t get him, you can see them going wild,” he said.
“It’s pretty motivating and hard to just stay focussed; when I passed Cam into the hairpin the next lap they were all going nuts.
“To me, that’s better than Bathurst. This is all-time for me, it’s pretty cool.”
Asked whether it out-ranks his first Pukekohe win in 2016, van Gisbergen replied: “Oh yeah.
“The way we did it and you see how much it meant to everyone and how much it meant to [race engineer] Andrew [Edwards], it’s so special to him.
“He worked with [Jason Richards] and close to that team and having Jase’s parents there, it’s very cool.”
Van Gisbergen, a typically reserved character, said dealing with the emotions of the event has “been pretty tough”.
The Triple Eight driver added that he wishes former title rival Scott McLaughlin was still in the championship to help take some of the attention of the adoring fans.
“I kind of wish Scotty was here, he’s the nice guy and helps with that stuff,” van Gisbergen said.
“I’m a bit shy with that, sort of struggle with it.
“I guess when I’m in the car I felt good, especially that last race.”
Now a Team Penske IndyCar driver, McLaughlin, who previously beat van Gisbergen at Pukekohe in 2019, weighed in on Twitter.
“Bloody awesome a Kiwi won the last race at that joint. Well done Shane. So good,” he posted.
McLaughlin will return to the Supercars paddock in a television role at the season-ending Valo Adelaide 500.
The next round of the Supercars Championship is the Bathurst 1000 from October 6-9.
CLICK HERE to view images from parc ferme after New Zealander van Gisbergen wins the last ever Supercars race at Pukekohe.
