Gold Coast Supercars: 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 16s 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.

"There was a fair bit happening," said Waters after the race. "I think I lost the rear at the first one and I couldn't save it. I hit the tyres and it flicked me around.

"I gassed it up and drove through the smoke and came out the other side. The car has been through a war, that's for sure."

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

The Gold Coast 500 continues tomorrow with qualifying (9:55am), a Top 10 Shootout (11:35am) and a second race (2:15pm).

Gold Coast 500 Race 1 results

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