Supercars 2022: Scott McLaughlin predicts Shane van Gisbergen edge will be diminished with Gen 3 cars

Shane van Gisbergen has waltzed to a second consecutive drivers’ championship in Supercars. But does the swap to Gen 3 cars curb his dominance? A former superstar seems to think it just might.

Former Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin says the swap to Gen3 next year could be just the tonic the championship needs to reinvigorate itself and keep Shane van Gisbergen from making the title race a procession once again.

With no McLaughlin or Jamie Whincup to fight this year, van Gisbergen waltzed to a second-consecutive drivers’ championship, clinching the title on the Gold Coast last month and extending his historic season wins record to 21 with two races left to run.

Now three wins clear of the previous mark set by McLaughlin in 2019, van Gisbergen finds himself in rarefied air ahead of the VALO Adelaide 500 next month — Supercars’ last hurrah before transitioning to the Gen3 era.

McLaughlin departed Supercars at the end of the 2020 season to drive with Team Penske in IndyCar. In his maiden open-wheel season he was named IndyCar Rookie of the Year and in his 2022 sophomore campaign finished fourth in the championship, claiming three wins along the way.

IndyCar’s aerodynamic regulations mean every car has the same design, making for an uber-competitive class. McLaughlin expects something similar to occur in Supercars with the arrival of Gen3.

Shane van Gisbergen has been unstoppable in this year’s Supercars series and will be a clear favourite to finish the season with another win in Adelaide.

“IndyCar is almost the best product in the world in terms of the competitiveness and I think with Gen3 coming on board it’s certainly going to close the gap to the bigger teams,” McLaughlin told News Corp.

“You’ll still find the bigger teams will find an advantage at some point, similar to IndyCar as well, but it’s still going to be open to the smaller teams to get their setups right and they could be the quickest for a weekend, for example.

“I think it’s something the sport needed. From an IndyCar perspective … there hasn’t been one point where I’ve rolled onto the track, starting 19th or 20th, and didn’t think I could win. That’s testament to the product we have in American and hopefully they (Supercars) can build something like that here in Australia.”

Last month van Gisbergen said he had put contract extension talks with Triple Eight on hold until after he gets a feel for the Gen3 cars — worried they won’t be “fun” to drive. McLaughlin said losing his Kiwi compatriot to the sport would be a massive blow but he doesn’t expect that to happen.

“From what I’ve heard of feedback from drivers the Gen3 car does look like a lot of fun to drive,” he said.

“I think they’re slowly getting it right and hopefully the cars are good enough to keep a guy of Shane’s calibre in the series because I can’t see him going anywhere if he is enjoying himself.

Shane van Gisbergen has raced to a second-consecutive drivers’ championship with no fuss at all.

“But if he’s not enjoying himself he could (leave) — I can certainly speak from experience on that.”

The Gen2 era will draw to a close at the VALO Adelaide 500 next month and van Gisbergen will head to the Adelaide Parklands Street Circuit as a pre-emptive favourite once again, given his domination at Surfers Paradise.

A winner there in 2019 and 2020, McLaughlin returns to the track as a Supercars ‘Fanbassador’ and commentator.

“I’m really excited to give the fans an inside look into what the drivers are thinking and what my thoughts are at the end of each day,” he said.

“Given I’ve just come out of the saddle really when it comes to Supercars, I think my opinion is as close as you’re probably going to get to one of the drivers and at the same time I’m not affiliated with any team, so I can be pretty neutral with my opinions and so on.

“I’m hoping for a bit of drama, a bit of fireworks and hopefully I can give the fans a bit of fun along the way.

Scott McLaughlin believes the introduction of the Gen 3 cars will make life tougher for Shane van Gisbergen.

“For me Adelaide is probably my favourite street circuit … it’s the crown jewel of the championship.

“I fully expect there will be lots of big moves and aggressive racing. The last race of the year always tends to be pretty crazy as well because no one cares if they get a bit of damage, so it will be interesting.”

As for ever returning to a Supercars seat, McLaughlin was adamant that time had come and gone.

“The Gold Coast race was an eye-opener for me. I had a bit of itchy feet in qualifying … but at the same time I just really enjoyed watching from the other side,” he said.

“I’ve done what I’ve wanted to achieve in Supercars, and I was surprised I didn’t have any sort of want or need to get into a car.

“I’m enjoying the other side of it, living in America and being a fan of Supercars.

“Racing in IndyCar is completely different to what I've done before but I really feel like I’m getting on top of it. It’s been incredible this past year, especially winning a few races and finding my feet in the series which has given me a lot of confidence for next year.”

Tickets for the VALO Adelaide 500 on December 1-4 are now on sale via Ticketek.