Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander have delivered Holden the ultimate farewell at Mount Panorama, taking out the 2022 Bathurst 1000.
Van Gisbergen guided the Red Bull Racing entry home ahead of Chaz Mostert and Cam Waters, to secure his second Bathurst victory, and Tander’s fifth in stunning scenes.
Kiwi driver van Gisbergen was overwhelmed by the Holden support from the fans.
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“This is the people’s one (Holden farewell). You see how much it means to people,” he said.
“How many Holden flags are around this weekend? We lost count of how many we signed. It was epic.
“The brand means so much to people and to get the result like this, it’s an honour.
“The last couple of laps I was trying to keep focus but it was a pretty big distraction (all the Holden fans and flags).”
Despite the chaotic start of Sunday’s race, where there were six safety cars before the halfway mark, van Gisbergen and Tander led for all but 51 laps of the Great Race.
They overcame a five-second penalty for a botched pit lane exit, and started three spots down the grid after making contact with Macauley Jones late in qualifying.
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“No words right now, can’t really believe it to be honest with you,” Tander said post-race.
“The guys did such a great job.
“Shane at the end of the race, how he can do that just punch out laps like that. Seriously impressive to watch. Such an honour to be part of this.
“The last ever Commodore here at Bathurst, that’ll sink it a little bit later – can’t believe it.”
It’s the second time in three years the van Gisbergen and Tander combination has reigning supreme on the mountain.
Remarkably, the 2022 winning car had the same chassis used when the duo claimed the Great Race in 2020.
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“It’s special, I’m rapt,” van Gisbergen said.
“I just want to go and do another skid – that was sick!
“When Chaz got into second, I got a bit worried because I know how fast he is here.
“But I knew we were OK. Last couple of laps I got (engineer) Andrew to talk a bit more, keep me concentrated.”
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Commentator Mark Skaife was full of praise for van Gisbergen, who remains the series leader in 2022.
“We’ve seen (Peter) Brock, we’ve seen Jim Richards, we’ve seen some of the best drivers in the world apply their trade … but at his best, he’s as good as we’ve ever seen,” he said.
Red Bull Racing engineer Andrew Edwards was physically shaking as he spoke to Fox Motorsports after the win.
“I don’t know where I am, crazy,” he said in the immediate aftermath of the win.
“Had a lot of heartache here – to pull it off with the team, Shane and Garth they were amazing.”
