Supercars: Van Gisbergen wins Race 1 in Perth
Shane van Gisbergen ran down Anton De Pasquale to score his first win in Perth.
Van Gisbergen ran a longer stint relative to De Pasquale and Waters to secure win No. 7 of 2022.
It was van Gisbergen’s first victory in Perth and the 61st of his career.
The result also marked Holden’s 600th victory in ATCC/Supercars history.
Van Gisbergen took home all 105 points on offer, having set the fastest lap of the race.
De Pasquale and Waters filled positions two and three, with Ford remaining winless since November 2021.
David Reynolds came home fifth ahead of Broc Feeney, with Will Davison climbing from 12th to sixth.
“Thank you, so awesome to drive an awesome car,” he said.
“I haven’t had the best run, but I always enjoy this event.
“They were really fast at the start… I thought I was going to drop off.
“When they pitted early, I was surprised.”
De Pasquale led through Turn 1; van Gisbergen pressured Waters through Turns 2 and 3.
Contact between Chris Pither and Bryce Fullwood at Turn 1 resulted in a 15-second penalty for the latter.
De Pasquale opened up a 1.2s lead after four laps; van Gisbergen had to defend from Kostecki.
Van Gisbergen dropped Kostecki, who came under pressure from Reynolds.
By lap 10, the top three were covered by two seconds, with Kostecki 2.3s behind van Gisbergen.
Reynolds was first of the lead pack to stop on lap 12.
Five laps later, Waters stopped from second; De Pasquale was brought in on the following lap in response.
The two Fords pushed each other along; all the while, van Gisbergen remained out in front.
Waters edged towards De Pasquale when the duo caught Fullwood on lap 26.
De Pasquale cleared the #14 Middy’s Commodore at Turn 6; Waters was forced to complete the pass through Turn 7.
It allowed De Pasquale to open up a 1.2s margin; all the while, van Gisbergen pressed on.
Kostecki stopped from second on lap 27, suffered a slow stop, and emerged behind Reynolds, Courtney and Feeney.
Van Gisbergen was brought in on lap 32, and slotted in behind Waters.
The points leader needed just two laps to pass Waters through Turn 6, and took off after De Pasquale.
Van Gisbergen needed to cut into a 2.8s margin to De Pasquale with 12 laps remaining.
Van Gisbergen set the fastest lap of the race on lap 36, with the margin down to 2.1s.
The two were line astern by lap 42; De Pasquale covered into Turn 7, and closed the door on the #97.
Van Gisbergen made nose-to-tail contact and forced his way past through Turn 1.
From there, the tire margin showed, van Gisbergen crossing the line with a 2.3s margin.
Van Gisbergen opened up his championship lead over De Pasquale to 157 points.
Chaz Mostert, who finished a lowly 22nd, drops to fourth behind Davison.
Race 1 Results
POS | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | BEHIND | POINTS |
1 | 97 | Van Gisbergen | Red Bull Holden Racing Team | +0.000s | 105 |
2 | 11 | A. de Pasquale | Shell V-Power Racing Team | +2.308 | 92 |
3 | 6 | C. Waters | Tickford Racing 1 | +7.318 | 86 |
4 | 26 | Reynolds | Penrite Racing | +12.354 | 80 |
5 | 88 | B. Feeney | Red Bull Holden Racing Team | +14.060 | 74 |
6 | 17 | Davison | Shell V-Power Racing Team | +15.968 | 68 |
7 | 5 | Courtney | Tickford Racing 1 | +21.729 | 64 |
8 | 99 | B. Kostecki | Penrite Racing – Erebus | +22.567 | 60 |
9 | 35 | T. Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | +22.876 | 56 |
10 | 8 | Heimgartner | Brad Jones Racing | +26.384 | 52 |
11 | 10 | Holdsworth | Penrite Racing | +29.715 | 48 |
12 | 55 | T. Randle | Tickford Racing 2 | +31.887 | 46 |
13 | 3 | Slade | CoolDrive Racing | +32.199 | 44 |
14 | 18 | Winterbottom | Team 18 | +32.645 | 42 |
15 | 96 | M. Jones | SCT Motor Sports | +33.473 | 40 |
16 | 34 | J. Le Brocq | Matt Stone Racing | +35.186 | 38 |
17 | 9 | W. Brown | Penrite Racing – Erebus | +36.369 | 36 |
18 | 76 | G. Jacobson | PremiAir Subway Racing | +36.670 | 34 |
19 | 20 | S. Pye | Team 18 | +37.102 | 32 |
20 | 56 | J. Kostecki | Tickford Racing 2 | +37.970 | 30 |
21 | 2 | Percat | WAU Racing Pty Ltd | +40.793 | 28 |
22 | 25 | Mostert | WAU Racing Pty Ltd | +41.189 | 26 |
23 | 4 | J. Smith | SCT Motor Sports | +42.398 | 24 |
24 | 22 | C. Pither | PremiAir Coca Cola Racing | +44.039 | 22 |
NC | 14 | B. Fullwood | Brad Jones Racing | +14 Laps | 0 |