Australia Grand Prix 2023: Shane van Gisbergen bounces back from shunt for record-equalling victory

Red Bull driver Shane van Gisbergen has kicked off his Albert Park campaign in typical fashion, but how he manufactured a record-equalling victory was anything but conventional.

Death, taxes and SVG.

Shane van Gisbergen defied an early morning practice pirouette to punch in a perfect performance and clinch the opening race of the Melbourne SuperSprint.

Van Gisbergen crossed the line ahead of surprise championship contender Brodie Kostecki and his Erebus teammate, Will Brown.

The No.97 Red Bull needed just three laps to move from third on the grid into the race lead, and the reigning champion was never headed from there en-route to a record-setting 10th victory at Albert Park.

With another three races this weekend — including a pole-sitting start in Friday’s race — van Gisbergen is quickly building an impressive tally of wins at the famous circuit that could swell in coming days.

The Kiwi was earlier frustrated with himself after losing control of his Camaro and spinning almost 900 degrees during the opening practice session.

He was forced to sit out practice two as the team scurried to refit a broken rear wing, but he shrugged off the internal disappointment to clock a pair of quick qualifying times and take the first Melbourne checkered flag of the Gen3 era.

“Again, thanks to my team at Red Bull Ampol Racing. What I did to the car this morning — I tried to write the thing off — and then to fix it up like they did, (get) two good qualies and then a race win, I’m stoked,” van Gisbergen said.

Shane van Gisbergen was forced to sit out practice two as the team scurried to refit a broken rear wing.

“I didn’t think (the damage) was that bad, I didn’t hit the wall hard, (but) we got back and the front was destroyed.

“It was a bit of a panic — are we going to make it for quali or not. I told the guys to take their time, make sure it was right and yeah, really cool (to get the win).”

His Thursday victory came in typical fashion; the three-time Supercars champion quickly imposing his will on those in front to wrest the race lead in the early stages before clinically driving clear of the field.

It was not without late drama however, as the race leaders headed to the pits with two laps to go for their mandated stop.

Because the track had previously been declared ‘wet’, the pit stop required that only two tyres be swapped out and not the usual four.

Red Bull and Erebus capitalised to send their cars out much faster than rivals and it allowed Brown to leapfrog the field and find his way onto the podium.

Pole sitter Anton De Pasquale looked primed for a maiden Gen3 podium before the entry to the pits. Instead, his Shell V-Power Mustang exited in sixth and that’s where he crossed the line.

He still bagged crucial points for the Ford flagship franchise, given its horror start to the season in Newcastle earlier this month.

Unforgiving circuit catches out Supercars big guns

Qualifying chaos has engulfed Supercars as the category’s top drivers struggle to get hold of their Gen3 cars on an unforgiving Albert Park circuit.

Anton De Pasquale returned Dick Johnson Racing to the top of the grid with a 1min49.316sec on the hard tyre to take pole for Race 3, ahead of Brodie Kostecki and Shane van Gisbergen.

A costly error from teammate Will Davison on his final lap in Q1 left the second Shell V-Power Mustang starting 15th on the grid for the Melbourne SuperSprint opener.

But De Pasquale’s lap was an important return for DJR after a horror start to the season in Newcastle.

“Yeah much better end of the grid for us off there,” De Pasquale said between sessions.

“It’s good because the whole team has been working pretty hard, the lights at the workshop haven’t turned off often since the last one (in Newcastle) so it’s nice to reward them with a pole.”

Van Gisbergen would not be denied in Q2 however, with the reigning champ clocking a 1min47.253sec on the soft tyre to take the Race 4 pole ahead of Will Brown and Broc Feeney.

The Kiwi superstar’s pole pace was doubly impressive given he had to miss P2 after his crash in the opening practice session and had no experience on the soft tyre before qualifying.

“I made an error in myself this morning and to fix it up … it means a lot to come back like that,” van Gisbergen said.

“We still have the races to go … but (getting pole is a) cool feeling.”

It was van Gisbergen’s first pole position since Gold Coast last year.

Kostecki and Mark Winterbottom made it an all-Camaro top-five in Q2, with David Reynolds the fastest Mustang across the line.

Earlier, Practice 1 was waved off after two red flags were brought out following heavy crashes from Tim Slade and van Gisbergen.

And when the whips were cracking in qualifying the mistakes began to work their way in once again.

Anton de Pasquale claimed pole for race three of the Melbourne Super Sprint.

It would almost be easier to list which drivers didn’t have a close call during the back-to-back qualifying sessions.

Andre Heimgartner was first to leave the track in Q1 when he flew off at turn three and returned via mud and rocks.

Feeney had a lock up and briefly left the track, though the sophomore Red Bull man was not the only driver to struggle in that area.

Winterbottom had shown great pace in the morning but had to settle for 17th in Q1 when his session ended early after he found the wall at turn five off a big skid.

He was able to keep it together for a much-improved showing in Q2.

Even De Pasquale conceded his team’s best laid plans were thrown out the window after the early practice sessions.

“We started somewhere we thought would work and we’re a long way away from there now,” he said.

“The cars are moving around a lot, it’s much different to what we thought.”

QUALIFYING RACE 3

1. Anton De Pasquale

2. Brodie Kostecki

3. Shane van Gisbergen

4. Chaz Mostert

5. Cam Waters

6. Will Brown

7. Jack Le Brocq

8. Broc Feeney

9. Matt Payne

10. Nick Percat

11. Thomas Randle

12. James Courtney

13. Scott Pye

14. Macauley Jones

15 Will Davison

16. James Golding

17. Mark Winterbottom

18. David Reynolds

19. Andre Heimgartner

20. Todd Hazelwood

21. Jack Smith

22. Cameron Hill

23. Declan Fraser

24. Bryce Fullwood

Kiwi great Shane van Gisbergen will start from the front of the grid in race four.

QUALIFYING RACE 4

1. Shane van Gisbergen

2. Will Brown

3. Broc Feeney

4. Brodie Kostecki

5. Mark Winterbottom

6. David Reynolds

7. Cam Waters

8. Will Davison

9. James Courtney

10. Chaz Mostert.

11. Anton De Pasquale

12. Thomas Randle

13. Jack Le Brocq

14. Scott Pye

15. Matthew Payne

16. Andre Heimgartner

17. Nick Percat

18. Declan Fraser

19. James Golding

20. Bryce Fullwood

21. Macualey Jones

22. Jack Smith

23. Todd Hazelwood

24. Cameron Hill

‘Sketchy’ Supercars practice claims big name scalps

Albert Park is proving an early handful for the new Gen3 Supercars with even reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen caught out in practice.

The No. 97 Red Bull Camaro was sent into a full 720-degree spin after van Gisbergen lost control of the rear at turn seven.

The Kiwi king did an amicable job of keeping relative control of the Camaro as it spun wildly down the circuit. He came to a stop in the middle of the track before promptly driving forwards into the wall to avoid oncoming traffic.

Damage on the #23 and the #97 #RepcoSC#Supercars#AusGP#Melbourne400pic.twitter.com/Tz13bOIVJy

— Mat 🇦🇺❗️ (@Simmo99_) March 30, 2023

Van Gisbergen lost the rear wing of his car but the extent of the damage remains unknown.

His shunt brought out a second red flag of the practice session, after PremiAir Racing’s Tim Slade found the wall earlier.

The PremiAir Racing driver was sitting second-fastest in FP1 when he lost the rear-end at the tricky turn five and slammed into the outer wall.

Slade’s Camaro suffered significant damage to the left-hand rear and will be hard pressed to make qualifying this afternoon.

It’s an early cruel blow to PremiAir, which arrived in Melbourne seventh overall in the teams standings after a strong first-up showing at Newcastle.

SVG on a truck pic.twitter.com/28lmG3nUeL

— carla (AusGP version) (@carlafiorenzo) March 30, 2023

Tickford star James Courtney said the track was “crazy loose” and “a bit sketchy” after Supercars tackled Albert Park for the first time in the new Gen3 cars.

“It’s such a high-speed section all the way out through the back there, especially where Sladey went in (to the wall) and Shane as well,” he told Fox Sports.

“It was marginal in the old car with the downforce we had and now it’s – yeah, it’s pretty wild.

“A bit further down from where Shane had his accident you could just feel the car wanting to snap, and you’re doing 200-something kilometres an hour and there’s a concrete wall beside you, so it’s a bit sketchy.

“It’s all a bit of fun, mate. It’s what we’re all here for, to go fast and scare ourselves.”

Practice 1 was called off after the second red flag, with teams now scrambling to get their set-ups right ahead of qualifying and the opening race this afternoon.

Originally published as Australia Grand Prix 2023: Shane van Gisbergen bounces back from shunt for record-equalling victory