Bathurst 1000: Triple 888 Racing plotting to catch Erebus still

Triple 888 Racing said they did all they could to finish ahead of Brodie Kostecki in the top-10 shootout, but says tomorrow will be a whole new challenge as they look to take the fight to Erebus.

BATHURST, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 07: Shane van Gisbergen driver of the #97 Red Bull Ampol Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 during the Bathurst 1000, part of the 2023 Supercars Championship Series at Mount Panorama on October 07, 2023 in Bathurst, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Triple 888 Racing conceded it did all it could to stop Brodie Kostecki in his Erebus but their effort in the Bathurst 1000 top-ten shootout was the best it could do.

Shane van Gisbergen missed out on a pole position at Mount Panorama in his last full-time drive for the foreseeable future before heading to NASCAR next year, managing 6th for today’s (Sunday’s) race.

His teammate Broc Feeney was one of the standouts in the session, finishing second behind Kostecki who took pole by almost five tenths of a second.

Van Gisbergen finished seven tenths behind the pole sitter and said while the shootout lap was great, his focus was on the race today.

“It was great to be in the top ten shootout again, but honestly I’m just focused on tomorrow’s race,” he said.

“We’ll debrief as a whole team tonight and come up with what setup we want to settle on and what strategy to do.

“It’s quite different tomorrow with the long stints, soft tyres and long fuel, so we’ll see how we go.”

Triple 888 team principal and Feeney’s co-driver Whincup said the team maximised all it could to finish with both cars in the top five.

He said the challenge now was to stop the 99 Erebus car.

“They are very, very fast, they did a great job, so full credit to them,” he said.

“We’ll see if we can get them over a distance.”

Shane van Gisbergen will start from sixth. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

But he hopes with the unknowns about the race, including how the new Gen 3 cars will race at Mount Panorama and what will happen with the use of soft tyres in race trim, anything can happen.

One thing is certain for the team, Triple 888 is considering all it can to avoid double stacking during the race.

“We don’t want to double stack so we’ll try to separate them as much as we can,” Whincup said.

“Hopefully we don’t trip over each other.”

Former Bathurst 1000 winners Chaz Mostert and Will Davison, for Ford teams Walkinshaw Andretti United and Dick Johnson Racing respectively, were notable drivers who finished outside the top five.

Mostert will start the race in ninth with Davison in 10th.