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Andrew van Leeuwen

Supercars Gold Coast: Van Gisbergen seals 2022 title with victory

The Kiwi went into the opening 250-kilometre race of the Gold Coast 500 weekend needing only to finish 24th or better to be crowned champion.

But he did much more than that, van Gisbergen charging to a comfortable 16-second victory as he sealed the title.

It was a fitting outcome amid a dominant season for the Triple Eight driver, this a record-extending 20th win of the campaign.

"We had to beat one car to secure [the title], but we killed everyone," said van Gisbergen. "What a year. It's been a lot of fun. I want to come out tomorrow and do the same job, so I'll keep focus. But it's certainly pretty special.

"I'm stoked. It's hard to put it into words yet."

David Reynolds converted pole into an early lead, although initially it was anything but comfortable as second-placed van Gisbergen tried to find a way past.

The Kiwi's charge was slowed at the end of the second lap, however, when he climbed over the tyre bundle on the inside of the last corner.

The slight delay was enough to give Reynolds some breathing space as the gap shifted out to just over a second.

In the laps that followed van Gisbergen steadily closed back onto the bumper of the Reynolds Mustang, before making another play for the lead at the hairpin on lap 15.

Reynolds was able to stave off the challenge first time around, but was powerless to stop van Gisbergen from getting past at the hairpin the following lap.

Once in front van Gisbergen pulled just over a second clear, the gap then steadying until Reynolds made his first stop on lap 24.

Van Gisbergen followed suit a lap later, popping out just ahead of Reynolds before resisting a brief challenge as his tyres came up to temperature.

From there van Gisbergen was again able to steadily pull away, the gap hovering at around a second and a half.

On lap 40 Reynolds complained about a loose steering wheel, at which point the gap started to blow out.

By the midway point of the 85-lapper it was over three seconds, before ballooning to more than seven seconds when Reynolds made his second stop on lap 52.

During that stop the Grove Racing crew was able to tighten the bolts on Reynolds' steering wheel during the fuel fill before sending him on his way.

Van Gisbergen took his second service on lap 55, resuming with a very comfortable 11-second lead over Reynolds.

From there it was a case of cruising to the finish, van Gisbergen stretching his advantage over Reynolds to over 16s as he crossed the line to claim the title.

Chaz Mostert finished third, a position he passed Cam Waters for on lap 48. The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver did manage to close in on Reynolds in the second stint, however ended the race with his own mirrors full of Will Davison.

In the end Davison couldn't find a way past and had to settle for fourth, while Waters finished fifth after surviving a wild spin at the first chicane.

The Tickford Racing driver smacked the wall on the exit of the chicane, his Mustang then tipped into a spin.

He somehow managed to avoid hitting the wall again and continue without significant damage.

Anton De Pasquale finished sixth ahead of Brodie Kostecki, James Courtney, Mark Winterbottom and Nick Percat.

The Gold Coast 500 continues tomorrow with the second race at 2:15pm local time.

Gold Coast 500 Race 1 results

Cla # Driver Car Time Gap Interval
1 97 New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Holden Commodore ZB      
2 26 Australia David Reynolds Ford Mustang GT 16.8514    
3 25 Australia Chaz Mostert Holden Commodore ZB 17.7941    
4 17 Australia Will Davison Ford Mustang GT 18.1125    
5 6 Australia Cameron Waters Ford Mustang GT 32.5661    
6 11 Australia Anton De Pasquale Ford Mustang GT 34.4391    
7 99 Brodie Kostecki Holden Commodore ZB 34.9309    
8 5 Australia James Courtney Ford Mustang GT 42.6231    
9 18 Australia Mark Winterbottom Holden Commodore ZB 58.9575    
10 2 Australia Nick Percat Holden Commodore ZB 1'06.1061    
11 55 Australia Thomas Randle Ford Mustang GT 1'08.4999    
12 3 Australia Tim Slade Ford Mustang GT 1 lap    
13 34 Australia Jack Le Brocq Holden Commodore ZB 1 lap    
14 88 Broc Feeney Holden Commodore ZB 1 lap    
15 10 Australia Lee Holdsworth Ford Mustang GT 1 lap    
16 22 New Zealand Chris Pither Holden Commodore ZB 1 lap    
17 20 Australia Scott Pye Holden Commodore ZB 1 lap    
18 35 Australia Todd Hazelwood Holden Commodore ZB 1 lap    
19 31 Australia James Golding Holden Commodore ZB 1 lap    
20 96 Australia Macauley Jones Holden Commodore ZB 1 lap    
21 4 Australia Jack Smith Holden Commodore ZB 2 laps    
22 14 Australia Bryce Fullwood Holden Commodore ZB 2 laps    
23 56 Australia Jake Kostecki Ford Mustang GT 3 laps    
24 9 Australia Will Brown Holden Commodore ZB 15 laps    
  8 New Zealand Andre Heimgartner Holden Commodore ZB      
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