Supercars 2022: Tempers flare in fiery Mark Winterbottom, Will Brown clash after wipeout as SvG reigns supreme
Will Brown and Mark Winterbottom have clashed in a fiery meeting following a race-ending crash, with Winterbottom’s ‘half-assed’ apology sparking a physical altercation.
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Erebus Motorsport team boss Barry Ryan has blasted Team 18 driver Mark Winterbottom for his “half-assed” apology to Will Brown that sparked a fiery pit lane exchange following a horror crash at Pukekohe Park on Sunday.
Erebus driver Brown was sent spinning into the concrete wall near the pit entry after his front wheel made contact with the rear of Winterbottom’s Commodore ZB on the opening lap of race 28 at the Auckland SuperSprint.
Brown later revealed on Instagram that he hit the wall at 56 g-force.
The crash brought out the red flag and a safety car, as the race was halted for more than 20 minutes with Anton De Pasquale also finding the wall earlier in the lap.
Winterbottom was hit with a pit lane drive through penalty, but Brown’s day was ended by the crash.
Speaking from pit lane as the race continued without him, Brown pulled no punches in his damning assessment of the incident, which he felt was caused intentionally by Winterbottom.
“Winterbottom wasn’t happy from the corner before and put me off (the track),” Brown said.
“That was the biggest hit I’ve ever had. Some of them you’re not too bothered about, but that was a pretty big hit.
The onboard of Will Brown's heavy contact with the wall at pit entry.#RepcoSCpic.twitter.com/dLD78NDUse
— Supercars (@supercars) September 11, 2022
“Going in at that speed I knew I was screwed — gonna hit the side of the wall. (I) got out of the car and I was pretty badly winded but feeling all right now, just a bit sore down my left side.
“Everyone who goes too wide there knows what the consequences are if you put someone off like that, and look what he (Winterbottom) did. I hope he comes down and says something.”
Winterbottom offered his version of events post-race, saying “I can see why he would be angry and disappointed” but maintained his involvement in the crash was unintentional.
“It always looks bad on footage when someone ends up like that,” the Team 18 driver said.
“Unfortunately, the footage doesn’t show the turn four, get hit; turn six, get hit; turn nine, get hit, and the concertina that went on to get there.
“We were going two-wide and obviously you feel like there’s more room there (than there was). I feel like his front wheel hit my back and lifted. It’s not intentional at all — that’s a bad visual to watch but it’s always hindsight, isn’t it.
“I’m glad he’s OK and that’s the main thing.”
The Team 18 driver then sought out Brown after the race and the two could be seen in a heated argument, which ended with Erebus team boss Ryan physically pushing Winterbottom out of the garage.
Ryan said he and Brown felt Winterbottom’s apology was hollow and told him to leave their garage.
“I’d already told his team managers, tell him not to come down, because we could see what he did, he intentionally did it,” Ryan said.
“On TV in his interview … (Winterbottom said) that it was almost payback for what Will did to him at the hairpin at 60km/h, where no one gets hurt. You could see he pushed Will off the track.
“We didn’t want to see him. When he came to the garage he had this guilty look on his face and we basically said to him, ‘Mate, go away. We don’t need to talk to you’.
“Then he tried to apologise (but) it was a half-assed apology. It’s not worth trying to talk to someone like that if they’re not willing to accept they did it on purpose.”
The crash could have serious ramifications for Erebus’ Bathurst 1000 plans, with Brown’s immediate assessment that his No.9 Commodore was “rooted”.
Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway were set to partner at Bathurst as an Erebus-backed wildcard entry, however those plans are in serious jeopardy after the heavy damage to Brown’s car.
“I haven’t seen many worse cars than that for a while. That’s a big repair — and we still have to prep cars for Bathurst,” Ryan said.
“We don’t have a massive crew, (we have) a very small crew of people and we were right to do the wildcard … but we haven’t got fulltime wildcard staff that can come and help fix the car up.
“(We don’t want to use) a borrowed car put together (with) half of an Erebus car.
“We’re doing it to prove what Murph and Richie can do in an Erebus car. It’s disappointing.
“We won’t be able to make a call until mid-next week.”
SvG hails Puke swan song ‘better than Bathurst’
Shane van Gisbergen has hailed his incredible win from eighth on the grid in the final-ever race at Pukekohe Park as “better than Bathurst” as the New Zealander finally let the emotion of the moment overwhelm him.
It took a whole lot of heart, even more skill and just a tiny bit of luck for van Gisbergen to record a record third Jason Richards Memorial Trophy in front of his adoring home fans on Sunday.
The Kiwi saluted at Pukekohe Park’s Supercars swan song courtesy of back-to-back race victories, edging out Cam Waters and compatriot Andre Heimgartner in race 29 for a thrilling end to an emotional weekend.
“It’s been pretty tough,” van Gisbergen said of the build-up.
“I kinda wish Scotty (McLaughlin) was here. He’s the nice guy and helps with that stuff. I’m a bit shy with all that and still struggle with it.
“(But) when I’m in the car I feel good and especially in that last race, seeing the crowd and the responses whenever I passed someone — even when I was side-by-side with Cam and didn’t get past him, you could see them going wild.
“Then when I passed Cam into the hairpin on 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.”
Starting the final race of the round eighth on the grid, the runaway Supercars Championship leader was given next to no-hope of catching polesitter Will Davison given the Shell V-Power driver’s consistency across the weekend.
Davison sat four points behind van Gisbergen in the Jason Richards Trophy race heading into race 29 and having survived an early safety car and repeat challenges from Waters, was holding his nerve at the front as the race reached its middle stages.
The #17 Mustang looked destined for a second win of the weekend and fourth of the season, which would have secured the JR Trophy, until disaster struck.
Davison received a pit lane drive through penalty for an unsafe release and was forced to watch his race hopes drive past him.
With the Shell V-Power driver relegated to the back of the field, the Davison-Waters battle for glory then became a van Gisbergen-Waters heart-stopper, coming to a head on lap 35 when the two cars came together multiple times in a jostle for top spot.
Waters held off the hometown hero best he could but with two laps to go, and the crowd on the hill cheering him on, van Gisbergen sealed the deal with a pass on the outside down the home straight that got the fans on their feet.
The 33-year-old flew to the checkered flag to make it six career victories at Pukekohe and 18 on the season, fittingly equalling the mark for most wins in a single season set by fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin in 2019.
He has a further five races on the schedule to rewrite the record books and could do so at the most famous track in Australia, when Supercars makes its way to Bathurst next month.
An emotional van Gisbergen admitted to Greg Murphy after the race that he didn’t have much hope of breaking through from eighth.
“A bit of you, a bit of JR, a bit of the crowd — unbelievable,” he said of his motivation during the race.
“From eighth I didn’t think we could do that.
“It’s a dream. I grew up watching Supercars here and fell in love with it (at Pukekohe) and just wanted to be a Supercar driver, and to send this place out like that is a pretty amazing feeling.”
Waters said he “threw everything” at van Gisbergen, who extended his series lead over the Monster Energy driver to 525 points, but conceded it was “a little bit fitting” that his rival won in the final race at Pukekohe.
“It was awesome to put on a show for the crowd here. They’ve turned out in massive numbers and it’s been absolutely incredible to be here for the last one,” he said.
“I suppose it’s a little bit fitting for a Kiwi to win the last one here.”
Van Gisbergen goes pole to P1 in Kiwi euphoria
Supercars series leader Shane van Gisbergen’s homecoming romp from pole to victory in race 28 was marred by an opening lap crash that brought about a 20-minute delay and serious fears for Erebus Racing driver Will Brown.
Crashes are a not-uncommon occurrence at the soon-to-be retired Pukekohe Park circuit but the assembled crowd was left mouths wide open as Brown’s #9 Commodore ZB and Anton De Pasquale’s #11 Mustang GT both found the wall in a brutal opening lap.
De Pasquale returned to pit lane rattled but OK, though there was a longer wait to hear on Brown, whose car hit and moved the concrete wall.
Brown pulled himself from the car and was taken to the medical tent before confirmation came that he too was fine.
Fresh from announcing a two-year contract extension with Team 18 on Sunday morning, Mark Winterbottom was hit with a pit lane penalty for his involvement in the Brown incident, which resulted in a heated exchange between the pair after the chequered flag.
The race continued with van Gisbergen battling repeat efforts from Chaz Mostert and Cam Waters to challenge for the lead with Saturday’s victor Will Davison leading the off-podium pace.
Despite the carnage van Gisbergen remained calm under pressure, converting his sixth pole of the campaign into a 17th race victory, drawing within one of Kiwi compatriot Scott McLaughlin’s record mark of 18 wins in a season set in 2019.
It was a pressure-relieving win for Gisbergen, who headed to Pukekohe with the expectation of a New Zealand nation on his shoulders to salute at the circuit’s swan song event.
“I could see it (the crowd) when I got the start and (again) on that last lap, what a feeling. I’m going to miss this place,” van Gisbergen said.
“It was a bit crazy on that restart. I did everything I could to get going, I was struggling with my tires then once it cleared up I was gone. What a feeling. Thank you everyone.”
Red Bull euphoria quickly cut short
Shane van Gisbergen spoke all week about not letting the emotion of a Pukekohe farewell get to him. But after romping home to take pole for race 28 qualifying with a 1:02.109, the relief was noticeable in the Kiwi’s reaction.
With a fist pump and shout, van Gisbergen released any tension he harboured from a disappointing fifth-place finish a day earlier.
It capped a super qualifying for Triple Eight, with Broc Feeney completing an all-Red Bull front row and consigning Shell V-Power duo Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale to the second row.
In an odd start to Sunday’s Supercars card, race 27 pole-sitter Cam Waters clocked in more than half a second slower than his benchmark of the previous day to sit seventh on the grid.
Meanwhile, race 27 runner-up Andre Heimgartner also struggled in the opening Sunday session, clocking a 1:02.575 to start 10th on the grid in a big blow to the Kiwi’s Jason Richards Trophy hopes.
The script was flipped minutes later in race 28 qualifying, with Davison punching a 1:01.921 to take pole ahead of Waters (1:02.150).
De Pasquale and Feeney completed the second row and eyes then had to drift to eighth to find van Gisbergen, who was unable to replicate his lap only 15 minutes earlier, clocking 1:02.319.
Frosty locked in beyond 2023
As first reported by News Corp, fan-favourite Supercars veteran Mark Winterbottom has extended his stay with Team 18 — putting to bed fears the #18 would be searching for a new seat next year.
‘Frosty’ signed a two-year extension with the Charlie Schwerkolt-owned team, which was made public on the Supercars broadcast at the Auckland SuperSprint in Pukekohe on Sunday.
Winterbottom, 41, will continue his decorated Supercars career — which includes a Bathurst 1000 victory and Supercars Championship — into the Gen3 era with Team 18, as he and the outfit eye a silverware snatch-and-grab under the new format which he believes will suit the program to a tee.
McLaughlin headlines Adelaide commentary team
Scott McLaughlin released a cat among the pigeons on Saturday when he teased a Supercars return on Twitter by sharing a photo of media accreditation with his name attached.
Fans swarmed to speculate, with many hoping it meant the three-time Supercars champion was on the call for Bathurst next month.
Instead, McLaughlin, who is enjoying a breakout IndyCar season in the US with Team Penske, will join the commentary team for the final event of the season in Adelaide in December.
CHEMISTRY WORKING AS DAVISON ESCAPES FIRST-TURN CARNAGE
Garth Tander believes Will Davison’s win at Pukekohe has signalled the Shell V-Power driver is now in the form of his life — and it was hard for the man himself to argue that fact after a dominant display in the Auckland SuperSprint opener on Saturday.
Davison, who last won at Pukekohe in 2013, led from the opening lap after stealing his way ahead of pole-sitter Waters entering turn one, and saw off the threat of hometown hopeful Andre Heimgartner to take an early lead in the Jason Richards Trophy.
It was Davison’s third win of the season, continuing his purple patch of form that included a win at Sandown last month.
Asked if he agreed with Tander’s assessment of his current form, the 40-year-old said it was “certainly up there” with the best of his 19-year career.
“I feel like I’m doing what you do in this sport if you get all the chemistry together with a great team, continuity with a great engineer — all these things come together and you start getting a car in a window that suits your style,” Davison said.
“I’ve had it before in my career on occasions and it’s a very fickle sport, we know that.
“I’m just thrilled at this stage of my career that I’ve got this shot again to have all of that (come together) because it’s a bloody hard sport. You need a lot of elements to come together to be sitting here.”
The #17’s win continued a Shell V-Power domination at the iconic circuit, following wins for Scott McLaughlin in both 2018 and 2019 — the last time Supercars visited Pukekohe prior to this weekend’s swan song.
“It was a very special moment (winning at Pukekohe),” Davison said.
“Racing here … knowing it’s the last event here as well, the crowd is amazing (and) the passion of the fans is insane.”
Davison and teammate Anton De Pasquale shot past pole-sitter Waters to take a DJR one-two into the first turn as carnage ensued behind.
Tim Slade’s day was done before the first corner after a coming together with James Courtney in the early jostle for position that got the Kiwi fans out of their seats.
Slade was spun horizontal down the straight as the odd-man out in a three-car sandwich entering turn one before somehow righting himself at speed and rolling off the track.
It made for an electric opening to the long-awaited Pukekohe return, which began with the DJR duo stealing a start on Waters.
Courtney was involved in more drama soon after when a three-car pit stop logjam ended with the left-rear wheel of Jake Kostecki’s #56 Mustang rolling away from him on exit.
Davison avoided all of the early carnage out in front and looked set for a comfortable race victory in clear air, before a Macauley Jones shunt with 10 laps to go brought out the safety car.
That drew the super-fast hometown hopeful Heimgartner to Davison’s bumper, setting up a thrilling second stanza.
Davison resumed with six laps remaining and immediately uncorked a provisional fastest lap of 1:03.048 letting Heimgartner know he was in for a fight, before lowering that mark to 1:02.955.
Series leader Shane van Gisbergen started from sixth on the grid and finished with the fastest lap, punching a 1:02.950 on the final lap, capping an incredible pass on De Pasquale to steal fifth ahead of Shell V-Power #11.
JASON RICHARDS TROPHY RACE HOTS UP
Reigning Jason Richards Memorial Trophy holder van Gisbergen will need to improve on his fifth-place finish in the weekend opener if he is to retain the coveted award named in honour of the former New Zealand driver.
Courtesy of his first win at Pukekohe since 2013, Davison will now be favourite to take home the prestigious trophy – awarded to the driver who amasses the most points over the weekend’s three races.
“(The JR Trophy) has a lot of meaning to it — far greater than a motor race — but at the end of the day we ultimately go out there to race hard and win,” Davison said.
“That’s what JR did, so yes, regardless it’s just a great moment to talk about JR, see his family here and reflect on who he was and what a great mate he was to so many of us.”
There is however an air of optimism for New Zealander Heimgartner, whose runner-up finish on Saturday drew raucous applause from the Pukekohe crowd.
A Kiwi winning the trophy on the final race weekend at Pukekohe would be a fitting send-off for the iconic circuit.
“(It would be) pretty special, obviously,” Heimgartner said.
“Driving car #8, which he (Richards) drove, for the team he drove for — and being a Kiwi — you could say it would mean a lot to our team, and for any driver, to win.”
FORD FRONTS GRID FOR PUKEKOHE OPENER
Earlier, the Monster Energy Mustang of Waters snatched pole from presumptive pacesetter Davison for Saturday’s race 27 at Pukekohe Park.
Waters was the only driver to dip under the 62-second mark, clocking a 1:01.998 in the dry to take his eighth pole of the season as storm clouds loomed large in the distance.
Davison clinched his place on the front row with a 1:02.068, having earlier posted the fastest time in practice and Q2 before Waters saw off the challenge of his Shell V-Power rival.
Chaz Mostert and De Pasquale slotted in behind them with Heimgartner securing fifth.
Runaway drivers championship leader and local favourite van Gisbergen clocked a 1:02.335 to start seventh on the grid for race 27.
McLAUGHLIN TEASES SUPERCARS RETURN
Three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin teased a series return on Twitter just minutes before the action got under way at Pukekohe on Saturday.
The 2018, 19 and 20 champion — and the last man to win at Pukekohe when Supercars last visited the iconic circuit in 2019 — tweeted a picture of a Supercars media accreditation pass with his name and photo, sending fans into a spin of speculation.
The New Zealander, who left Supercars at the end of 2020 to race IndyCar with Team Penske, is expected to announce a series return, via the commentary box, on Sunday.
Trackside hatred evaporates for on-speed SvG adversaries
Shane van Gisbergen’s return to Pukekohe dominated the hometown consciousness in the lead-up to the Auckland SuperSprint but it was the Dick Johnson Racing pairing of Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison who set the tone at practice on day one.
The Shell V-Power Mustangs went one-two on Friday afternoon as the grid reacquainted itself with the bumpy Pukekohe Park circuit which will be decommissioned at the end of the weekend; De Pasquale flying home for a 1:02.2066 in his penultimate lap ahead of Davison (1:02.4564).
Series leader and reigning James Richards Trophy holder van Gisbergen (1:02.5933) clocked the fourth-fastest time in practice — pipped for third by Kiwi compatriot Andrew Heimgartner (1:02.4863) trailing to DJR duo of Davison and Pasquale.
Van Gisbergen was guarded in the build-up to Pukekohe’s swan song but Heimgartner allowed himself a moment to soak it all in before laying down a dry track time that filled him with hope of a podium this weekend.
“I grew up sitting up there on the grandstand watching people driving by like Greg Murphy (and Mark) Skaife, all those guys. For me I have a strong link with this place,” the Brad Jones Racing driver said.
“It’s where I learned to drive manual for the first time and where I got my first hot lap with my dad in his Commodore when I was very young. I fell in love with Supercars (here) and got the dream of being in Supercars and for it to come full circle … hopefully I can at least get on the podium this weekend and complete that.”
In just his third trip to Pukekohe and first in a Mustang, De Pasquale was happy with the early speed of the car in the dry and said expectations were high from both he and Davison to feature in the points regularly through the weekend.
“I wouldn’t say there’s extra pressure. We always want to perform, we always want to be at the front collecting trophies so that doesn’t change no matter where we are, what track or race,” he said.
“No one is hanging over our shoulder telling us what they expect. We both expect and want to be up there anyway.”
Davison, a race-winner at Pukekohe in 2013, said he was surprised at the reception the DRJ team received in New Zealand given its standing as a main rival to van Gisbergen.
“It’s awesome, actually. It’s really refreshing,” Davison said.
“The reception you get (at Pukekohe) is huge — I was a bit surprised. (There was) a lot of support for our team; a lot of Ford fans want us to get up on SVG which is pretty cool. I thought it was only going to be hatred here, but that’s been awesome.”
With the constant threat of wet weather looming large there’s a chance the P1 data gets thrown out by the time qualifying rolls around on Saturday. But Davison said the team would be ready to take up the fight regardless.
“It certainly looks like there’s rain around and bring it on if it is, but if it’s dry I think we have a lot of good stuff to look at so it’s been a really handy day,” he said.
PRACTICE 1 RESULTS
1. A. De Pasquale – 1:02.2066
2. W. Davison – 1:02.4564
3. A. Heimgartner – 1:02.4863
4. S. van Gisbergen – 1:02.5933
5. C. Waters – 1:02.7666
6. C. Mostert – 1:02.7934
7. N. Percat – 1:02.8895
8. M. Jones – 1:02.8981
9. L. Holdsworth – 1:02.9903
10. J. Le Brocq – 1:03.0215
11. B. Feeney – 1:03.0258
12. W. Brown – 1:03.0365
13. T. Slade – 1:03.0439
14. D. Reynolds – 1:03.1128
15. S. Pye – 1:03.1452
16. T. Randle – 1:03.1779
17. J. Kostecki – 1:03.1963
18. J. Golding – 1:03.2146
19. M. Winterbottom – 1:03.2587
20. J. Smith – 1:03.3793
21. B. Kostecki – 1:03.3961
22. J. Courtney – 1:03.4799
23. T. Hazelwood – 1:03.4978
24. C. Pither – 1:13.3010
25. B. Fullwood – 1.03.6454
DAVISON CONCEDES TITLE RACE OVER
Will Davison concedes he and DJR teammate Anton De Pasquale are “in that hunt” for second as Supercars heads to the famous Pukekohe circuit with Shane van Gisbergen boasting a near-unassailable 500-point gap atop the Drivers Championship.
Davison and De Pasquale cross the Tasman 19 and 22 points adrift of Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters in second and with plans to keep the momentum rolling after a solid though somewhat unlucky weekend at Sandown, with race two hampered by electrical and pit stop issues.
“We race every weekend for ultimate glory and he’s (van Gisbergen) got that lead because they deserve it,” Davison said.
“There’s no point looking at the points. We’re looking at having better form. Form is all that matters. Having pace, pole position and winning races and hopefully we can do more of all of that before the year is out.
“The championship is the best man and team over the course of a long year. At this stage we’re right in that hunt for second and certainly aiming to finish the year on a high.”
Davison has converted eight poles into two victories this year and ended van Gisbergen’s five-win streak in the first SuperSprint at Sandown.
“I’m generally pretty happy with the year. I definitely would have liked to convert a few more poles (into wins),” he said.
“We’ve had eight poles and 12 podiums; had a couple of wins slip through but we’ve been right there.
“There’s definitely ifs, buts and maybes but the level is extremely high and I’m enjoying that. I’m enjoying the challenge. It’s been far from a bad year and we’re coming off Sandown which was probably one of the strongest weekends of the year.”
The welcome to Pukekohe will be both exciting and sombre with the beloved raceway set to be retired from competition after this weekend.
Davison has plenty of fond memories of the track, including a win in 2013. He’s eager to spoil van Gisbergen’s homecoming party and take home the coveted Jason Richards Trophy as the top driver over the weekend.
“It’s sad actually to know the finality of it. We haven’t been there (Pukekohe) the past three years due to Covid and now the reality of it being the last one is pretty sad,” Davison said.
“It’s an iconic circuit. It has a lot of character and an atmosphere that’s hard to replicate.
“I won there in 2013, had a couple of podiums and just missed out on the Jason Richards Trophy. I was leading it halfway through the last race and got done by a couple of points.
“There’s always a bit of banter around the Aussie versus New Zealand rivalry and we’ve obviously had some very successful Kiwi drivers in the category. New Zealand really backs its drivers and you feel that when you go there. It’s an awesome, old school atmosphere.
“(The track is) a real test for driver and engineer. It’s one of the few white knuckle circuits we have all year long.”
The Jason Richards Trophy, named in honour of the former Supercars competitor who died of cancer in 2011, is one of the most sought-after and prestigious awards in motorsport.
“It would really mean more than any other trophy to me, particularly as I was a friend of JR,” Davison said.
“Whether you win it or not – and of course it would be special to win – I just think it’s really special to be there racing for something far bigger than a motor race.
“It’s a time to talk about and remember an amazing guy and a really good driver with a beautiful family. It’s an emotional thing to think of but it’s really important we pay tribute to him.”
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