Shane van Gisbergen has survived a chaotic race to win the 2022 Bathurst 1000 with Garth Tander as his co-driver. The duo fought off a late challenge from Chaz Mostert to take the victory, 1.1 seconds the gap between the duo after nearly seven hours of racing 161 laps over the famous 6.2km long Mount Panorama circuit.
Mostert, with a Kiwi co-driver in Fabian Coulthard, made it two New Zealander’s on the top two steps, whilst Cam Waters, with James Moffat, came home in third.
It was the perfect conclusion to a rain-soaked weekend, the clear weather running only once dampened by a brief shower in the early stages, a muddy in-field and standing water remaining on parts of the track the only hints of the weather bomb that had hit in the days prior.
In an incident-filled race, the eighth safety car of the day, caused by a Will Davison crash, made it a 15 lap sprint to the line for the remaining competitors.
It became a three-horse race between van Gisbergen, Mostert and Waters, the Kiwi holding off a spirited challenge from Mostert behind over the concluding laps.
In true SVG fashion, he celebrated the victory with a trademark burnout.
The win also marks the end of an era for Holden at Bathurst, to be replaced by Gen3 Chevrolet Camaros from next year. The Red Bull Racing Commodore made it 33 victories for the manufacturer since 1975 at the circuit.
It is Van Gisbergen’s second Bathurst 1000 victory, after his maiden win in 2020, and the fifth for Tander. The victory also made it the 100th time Tander has stood on the Supercars podium.
The run time of nearly seven hours summed up the chaos that unfolded, two major incidents early on retiring multiple drivers from the event, including New Zealander Andre Heimgartner.
There were also several off-track excursions throughout the day, many of the cars, however, were able to rejoin proceedings later on.
The safety car interventions worked well for many of those impacted, several of the top 10 finishers having been involved in the carnage at some point in the race.
The win makes it 19 in 2022 for van Gisbergen, making this the most successful Supercar season of all time, eclipsing Scott McLaughlin’s record of 18 set in 2019.
Brodie Kostecki and David Russel earned a well-deserved fourth and looked set for a podium at one point, the senior three up front however too quick for the 24-year-old. He came home fourth, ahead of Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup.
Matt Payne was the third best Kiwi on the day in sixth place as he co-drove for Lee Holdsworth.
The Richie Stanaway and Greg Murphy wildcard finished in 11th place, whilst Chris Pither suffered an unlucky power steering failure which relegated him to 21st.
Pither, and Cameron Hill, had driven a great race to sit just outside the top 10 until the black-and-white flag was shown in the dying stages.
Despite the victory, and record, van Gisbergen was unable to claim the 75 points extra over Waters to claim the 2022 Supercars title.
Instead, he will have to wait until the next-up Gold Coast 500 to close out the title. The gap to Waters now sits at 567 points, meaning van Gisbergen only needs 33 points to close out the series.
The Gold Coast 500 takes place over the weekend of 28-30 October.
Race Recap
The weather which has pounded the venue all weekend had cleared by the start, a mostly-dry track contrasted by a wet in-field with damp spots in places at the top of the mountain, the only hints of the weather of the past few days.
The clouds remained, however, rain still threatened as the race began.
The grass at Turn 1 had turned to mud, a run off-line unlikely to end well for the drivers. Surface water also remained on the racing line at the the corner exit, threatening a slippery start for a number of competitors.
The same could be said about the runoff at the exit of The Chase, large in-field puddles encouraging extreme caution in the approach on the fastest part of the circuit.
The mixed grid after the cancelled Top 10 Shootout saw a series of co-drivers make the start for their teams. Greg Murphy was one of those, on the second row in the 51 Commodore he shares will Richie Stanaway.
The field got away cleanly, a slow start for James Moffat, in for Cam Waters on pole, seeing Coulthard (Chaz Mostert) and Murphy immediately make gains into the top three. Holdsworth got a great jump off the front row to lead by several lengths into Turn 1.
The field made it through unscathed, the drama, however, beginning halfway up Mountain Straight.
A bunched midfield saw Tony D’Alberto (Anton de Pasquale) on the inside of the straight, Jack Perkins (Will Brown) on the outside of a three-wide battle, a fast Jamie Whincup (Broc Feeney) pushing to make it four-wide on the outside.
A nudge from Whincup on Perkins, after hitting standing water, saw both spin multiple times approaching the crest.
The field behind slowed to a stop due to the blockage, Zak Best (Thomas Randle) running into the inside wall at speed to avoid other cars.
On track, New Zealander Jaxon Evans was an unlucky casualty at the rear, unsighted as to what was happening ahead and making contact with the rear of the bunch.
Michael Caruso (Mark Winterbottom) was another caught in the carnage, also running into the rear of the congestion.
Whincup was one of the lucky few, emerging unscathed albeit at the rear of the field.
Best was the major casualty, a flatbed required to remove the stricken #55 Castrol Racing Mustang off Mountain Straight, withdrawing the car from the race.
Evans and Caruso were able to return to the lane, the damage only cosmetic, both sporting a livery of tape holding the front of the car together.
Perkins also limped back to the lane, a bent steering arm and puncture the damage. They were able to repair the car and return to the lead lap later in the event.
Restarting on Lap 4, only one full lap was completed before the next major incident.
Zane Goddard (James Courtney) was the instigator in this one after running long at The Chase. An unsafe rejoin at the exit of Turn 22 saw the Snowy Rivers Caravans Mustang collect Dale Wood (Andre Heimgartner) at pace.
Wood went wide into the wall, severe damage sustained, whilst Goddard remained on track to be collected hard by the trailing Matt Campbell (David Reynolds).
The damage on all three cars was severe, all retiring from the race.
D’Alberto and Caruso were once again caught up behind, the Shell V-Power Mustang swerving to avoid the stricken Wood to make contact with the read of Caruso’s car.
This spun him as a result. He remained on-track, however, and was able to rejoin at the rear.
The race finally got underway on Lap 10, the first drops of rain following shortly after. It didn’t hang around, however, the brief shower quickly disappearing after a few laps of running.
The third safety car intervention was required on Lap 17, this time for a stranded Jake Kostecki who had run long at The Chase and become stranded in the muddy out-field.
The field came into pit under caution, strategy now establishing itself for the remaining 143 laps.
Following the early chaos, the field finally settled into a rhythm off the third safety car restart.
The field pitting under the caution brought about several driver changes, leader Lee Holdsworth handing over to Matt Payne. James Moffat also handed over to Cam Waters from second.
Not changing drivers was of benefit to Shell V-Power,Tony D’Alberto (Anton de Pasquale) inheriting the race lead despite minor involvement in both major incidents previously.
Garth Tander (Shane van Gisbergen) received a five second penalty to be served at the next stop for an unsafe release.
Waters took second off Payne following the restart, then picking off D’Alberto for the lead on Lap 29.
Yet another safety car intervention was required for a Lap 31 incident involving Alex Davison (Will Davison), the V-Power Mustang another victim of The Chase.
Running long saw him slide through the muddy out-field, side-on contact with the tyre wall the result. In the attempt to rejoin, Davison painfully inched through the mud, falling just inches short of the track.
He required a tow from the mud, returning to the pack at the rear, mud covering the special Shell V-Power livery.
More stops were made under the caution, Tander handing over to van Gisbergen for Red Bull.
Lap 34 was brought about the fourth race-restart, Declan Fraser (Craig Lowndes) leading Richie Stanaway after both cars did not stop.
Waters, who did stop, ran third ahead of Brodie Kostecki, Chaz Mostert and van Gisbergen respectively. Payne was running seventh at this point.
Waters worked his way to the lead on Lap 35.
Van Gisbergen managed a pass on Mostert on Conrod Straight, following and bump-drafting Kostecki past at high speed.
He then went on to pick off Kostecki and Stanaway shortly after to sit third by Lap 40. Fraser pitting one lap later improved the Kiwi to second to go about hunting down Waters 3.5 seconds up the road.
Nick Percat helped Tim Blachard (Tim Slade) into the wall at Forrest’s Elbow on Lap 42, bringing about the fifth caution, the Cool Drive Mustang buried in the tyres. The crash was deemed a racing incident.
Waters handed over to Moffat from the lead during the caution, van Gisbergen remaining out to inherit top spot.
Only one lap after the Lap 45 restart, Moffat was turned by Brodie Kostecki at The Cutting. He managed to keep the Mustang out of the wall to return to 21st.
Feeney was the next to test the out-field of The Chase on Lap 48, managing to join safely without incident.
The rhythm returned from here for the next several laps, van Gisbergen pitting and handing over to Tander after serving their five second penalty on Lap 57. Tander emerged from the lane in 16th.
Fortune favoured the Red Bull Commodore with a timely safety car intervention just one lap later. Macauley Jones running into the mud at pit entry and requiring a tow out was the cause.
The field all came into stop, Tander taking the lead for the Lap 60 restart. David Russel (Brodie Kostecki) moved up to second following the stops.
One lap after the resumption, GregMurphy was spun by Jake Kostecki at Griffins Bend. Murphy kept the wildcard entry out of the wall, Kostecki copping a 15 second penalty for causing the incident.
Nick Percat then ran into the wall coming down the mountain, becoming stuck in the tyres at Forrest’s Elbow. He was able to reverse out, steering arm damage the result.
Tander hander over to van Gisbergen on Lap 100 for the championship-leader to bring home the race, the field stopping around seeing Mostert inherit the lead.
Van Gisbergen was back to the front just five laps later when Mostert stopped. Brodie Kostecki returned to second, Feeney to third, Mostert and Waters rounding out the top five by Lap 110.
Pass of the day went to Mostert on Lap 111, a side-draft down Conrod seeing him take third into The Chase.
Todd Hazlewood brought about another safety car on Lap 119 after running off alone at Griffins and becoming stranded under the tyres.
Van Gisbergen’s 18 second lead over Kostecki and 25 seconds to Mostert was lost as the field was brought back together.
The top contenders all stopped, returning to their original spots pre-intervention.
When the Lap 123 restart took place, the top 20 cars all being driven by the lead drivers, the co-driving responsibilities done for the day. Van Gisbergen quickly went about building the lead again whilst Mostert challenged Kostecki for second.
Waters and Feeney were locked in their own battle for fourth, side-by-side contact coming down Mountain Straight and into Griffins seeing Feeney maintain his position.
Waters finally got his man at The Chase on Lap 127, Feeney out-braking himself and running slightly wide onto the grass.
Holdsworth also picked off Feeney following his error to move to fifth.
Waters went about joining the battle between Kostecki and Mostert, a three-car train establishing in a battle for second.
With just 24 laps remaining Jack Smith hit the wall at Reid Park but was able to limp home to the pits, a disappointing end to a strong race where he was running 13th.
The misery continued for the #4 SCT Logistics Racing Commodore when a fire started in the damaged wheel well as the car entered the garage.
With just 20 laps remaining the field began to stop for the final time, Mostert one of the first leaders to pounce
Will Davison then became the next victim of Griffins following his stop. The crash triggered yet another safety car and was caused by a rear lockup heading into the corner.
Kostecki emerged alongside Mostert from his stop, however a recovery vehicle on-track meant Kostecki had to fall in behind after he believed he was impeded.
Chris Pither had also been running a strong race and sat just outside the top 10 until a power steering failure saw him receive a black-and-white flag with smoke pouring from the car. He returned to the garage for extensive repairs.
The final 15 laps became a sprint for the line following the eighth safety car restart.
Waters immediately managed an overtake on Kostecki at Griffins, seeing him trail only van Gisbergen and Mostert.
What followed was a spectacle, the lead four separated by less than two seconds over multiple laps.
Van Gisbergen began to pull away slightly while Mostert and Waters battled behind, the two exchanging fastest sector times over multiple laps.
The situation then changed with Mostert putting down some quick times. He pulled away from Waters and started challenging van Gisbergen ahead for the lead.
On Lap 154 he ran wide at the exit of Turn 1 which saw him drift through the exit before regaining control, a small loss of the the only result.
It then became a two horse race for the lead, the gap at less than one second the majority of the time.
Van Gisbergen held his nerve to go on to claim his second Bathurst victory, the win also the fifth for Tander.
The day finished off with a trademark burnout in front of a massive Bathurst crowd.
2022 Bathurst 1000 Top 20
| Primary | Co-driver | |
| Winner | Shane van Gisbergen | Garth Tander |
| 2nd | Chaz Mostert | Fabian Coulthard |
| 3rd | Cam Waters | James Moffat |
| 4th | Brodie Kostecki | David Russel |
| 5th | Broc Feeney | Jamie Whincup |
| 6th | Lee Holdsworth | Matthew Payne |
| 7th | Anton de Pasquale | Tony D’Alberto |
| 8th | Craig Lowndes | Declan Fraser |
| 9th | Bryce Fullwood | Dean Fiore |
| 10th | Will Brown | Jack Perkins |
| 11th | Richie Stanaway | Greg Murphy |
| 12th | James Golding | Dylan O’Keefe |
| 13th | Macauley Jones | Jordan Boys |
| 14th | Jack Le Brocq | Aaron Seton |
| 15th | Mark Winterbottom | Michael Caruso |
| 16th | Scott Pye | Tyler Everingham |
| 17th | Jake Kostecki | Kurt Kostecki |
| 18th | Matt Chanda | Jaylyn Robotham |
| 19th | Tim Slade | Time Blanchard |
| 20th | Todd Hazlewood | Jayden Ojeda |
