Kiwi motorsport ace Shane van Gisbergen charged from last to a podium finish in the V8 Supercars’ 200km race in Townsville on Sunday.

Van Gisbergen, languishing 21st on the grid, was last after spinning on the first corner but blitzed his way to third with a remarkable drive and outstanding tactics.

The result was an impressive turnaround from Saturday’s debacle when the New Zealander went from ARMOR ALL Pole Position to finish 17th after a disastrous mistake by the crew during the pit stop.

The Ford Performance Racing pair of Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom finished one-two on Saturday but brilliant tactics on Sunday saw the Holden Racing Team duo of Garth Tander and James Courtney run first and second.

The turning point came with an early safety car period. Tander, Courtney and van Gisbergen were among the first to pit for soft tyres, gambling that an additional pit stop to use their bank of the faster soft tyres would pay dividends.

The bold tactics worked to perfection for the Holden pairing, and for van Gisbergen who went from 21st on the grid to third.

“That was awesome. I was turned backwards at turn one. There was some crazy stuff at the back of the field,” van Gisbergen said.

“To come out third – I didn’t believe it, but we had some good car speed which really helped as well.

“It was a great result and makes up for yesterday.”

Van Gisbergen now sits fifth overall in the Championship ahead of Tander and compatriot Fabian Coulthard, who was caught out on the slower hard tyres and finished 17th.