‘A perfect way to say goodbye’: Van Gisbergen goes back-to-back in Bathurst 1000

Shane van Gisbergen will bow out of Supercars as a three-time Bathurst 1000 champion after becoming the first driver in 15 years to secure consecutive wins at Mount Panorama.

The defending Supercars champion backed up his Bathurst triumph with Garth Tander last year, combining with Richie Stanaway to be the first all-New Zealand pair since Greg Murphy and Steven Richards in 1999 to win the great race.

Starting from sixth on the grid on Sunday, van Gisbergen and Stanaway tore away to upstage Brodie Kostecki and clinch victory over the red-hot favourite by almost 20 seconds.

Kostecki, the championship leader, started from pole after a record-breaking shootout win, but van Gisbergen’s experience and class won out in the 161-lap marathon, witnessed by the third biggest crowd in Bathurst history.

The victory was the first consecutive victory at Bathurst since Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes claimed a third straight crown together in 2008.

“It’s taken me a long time to learn this place [Bathurst], it took 10 years to be proper-fast here all the time,” van Gisbergen said.

“Each stint we got more and more competitive, and then perfect.”

Ford’s fears of more Chevrolet dominance were proved correct as Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney appeared destined to join van Gisbergen and Kostecki for an all-Camaro podium.