Shane van Gisbergen is a step closer to taking out the 2021 Supercars title after a thrilling comeback win in Race 29 at the Sydney Motorsport Park.
Van Gisbergen was forces to fight back after losing time early on in the race following an early Safety Car, and finished ahead of Triple Eight teammate Jamie Whincup with Cam Waters rounding out the podium.
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Waters led the majority of the race in wet conditions and recorded his first podium finish at the Sydney Motorsport Park.
Van Gisbergen’s win was his 14th of the season and his third Sydney win of 2021, with the 32-year-old winning after being fifth with five laps to go.
After clawing his way into the third spot behind Waters and Will Brown, Van Gisbergen made his move with three laps to go, taking the lead from Waters, one that he would hold for the remainder of the race.
“I thought I was done once we used the softs, but that was awesome,” van Gisbergen said after the win.
“Jamie [Whincup] let me through which was really nice of him, makes up for last week, but thanks to the team. We lack it in qualifying, but in the races our car’s a jet.
“Some corners were slippery and some corners weren’t, but with the lights you could see how wet it was. Thankfully the hard tyre guys were struggling and we could catch them.”
The 1-2 finish for the Triple Eight duo means only van Gisbergen or Whincup can take out the championship, with van Gisbergen currently holding a 349-point lead over his teammate.
The race not without drama either, with Dick Johnson Racing’s Anton De Pasquale calling for an investigation after a clash with Walkinshaw Andretti’s Chaz Mostert.
De Pasquale took exception to being hit by Mostert on lap 39 when the pair were jostling for position and fired up on the team radio.
“You can’t just hit people like that, surely,” he said. “Can we get an investigation please. Seriously.”