Triple Eight Race Engineering boss Jamie Whincup says Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance in Supercars this season is purely him delivering on the job he is supposed to do.
Van Gisbergen collected his 21st race win of the year on the streets of Surfers Paradise last weekend.
That makes him the new record holder for the most race wins in a single Supercars season, beating the previous benchmark of 18 set by Scott McLaughlin in 2019.
On the same weekend, van Gisbergen secured the 2022 Drivers’ Championship with one round to spare, while the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team wrapped up the Teams’ title.
Yet the Kiwi wants to close out the season with more victories at the Valo Adelaide 500 next month, having won 11 of the last 13 races.
While his team boss heaped praise on the #97, Whincup believes the 33-year-old is merely fulfilling his duties.
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Whincup himself is a seven-time Supercars champion, holding the record for the most drivers’ titles in the history of the sport.
Asked about van Gisbergen’s comments eyeing more race wins, Whincup told Speedcafe.com: “That’s his job though — hundred percent that’s his job.
“If he’s not looking to win every race then he’s not doing his job.
“The only other option to go to Adelaide and run mid-pack or something?
“No, that’s not what we do.
“It’s not kids’ sport where everyone gets a prize — it’s go out there and win as many races as we can.
“Represent the brands that we represent. We haven’t been to Adelaide for a very long time; we’re not counting our chickens, we’ve done a very good job up until now but the job is not over.”
Whincup and van Gisbergen were previously team-mates and title rivals in 2021, which saw the latter claim the championship in the year Whincup retired from full-time driving.
In that season, they had a number of intense on-track battles, including at Sydney Motorsport Park, where Whincup forced van Gisbergen off the track.
As reported yesterday, Dick Johnson Racing boss Ryan Story says there would, “probably be a different outcome,” to the dominance of van Gisbergen if former Shell V-Power Racing Team driver and fellow Kiwi, Scott McLaughlin, still raced in Supercars.
The New Zealanders were also fierce rivals before McLaughlin moved to IndyCar.
Story believes van Gisbergen’s dominance is “not bad for the sport”, adding that he is “in the zone.”
The 2022 Supercars season will finish on the streets of Adelaide from December 1-4.
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