It is hard to believe Shane van Gisbergen is not a big fan of the renowned bumps at Pukekohe Park Raceway.
Not only was he a race winner at the lone New Zealand round of the V8 Supercars series in 2014, the 26-year-old Kiwi driver has picked up two other podiums and finished outside the top six just once in eight races there over the last two years.
If “The Giz” is once again towards the pointy end of the field at Pukekohe this weekend, it would not be a surprise to many.
“I’ve always gone good here racing growing up, but it’s tough here because everyone is so fast,” the pilot of the No 97 Team Tekno Commodore said.
“Bumps are never good, but the bumps make [the track] what it is. It is a big challenge trying to get the car to flow but it’s a cool track, you have to go hard to get the good lap times.”
Van Gisbergen never gets sick of coming back to New Zealand to race. Staying at home and having his family at the track, especially his dad Robert who doesn’t get to watch live much anymore, make the Pukekohe event special each year.
Like fellow Kiwis in the V8 Supercars championship – Scott McLaughlin, Fabian Coulthard and Andre Heimgartner – van Gisbergen also relishes the rare chance to race in front of a Kiwi crowd.
“We only get to race at home once a year so it’s good,” he said.
“You definitely see a lot more excitement when one of the Kiwis is doing well, it’s pretty exciting really. Sometimes you can hear the cheering in the car and that’s pretty cool. All four of us Kiwis get fired up.”
After finishing second to Jamie Whincup overall last year, an up and down 2015 campaign has van Gisbergen in sixth, one place behind leading New Zealand driver Fabian Coulthard, coming into Pukekohe.
While a maiden championship is out of reach, another top three finish is not, with third-placed David Reynolds 220 points ahead of van Gisbergen.
His focus, though, is firmly on continuing to make the most of his car’s improved speed, which has seen him in the top eight of the last six races, including a dominant win during the last round on the Gold Coast.
“I haven’t really looked at the points or where we are in relation to the others, but we’ve been going really well and moving forward,” van Gisbergen said.
“Our car has got a lot better. We’ve been working really hard at it and we’re fast again so we need to keep pushing for the wins.”
Although he has been around Pukekohe many times, this weekend will be Heimgartner’s first experience there as a V8 Supercars driver.
The 20-year-old rookie for the only New Zealand team in the championship, Super Black Racing, is still trying to secure a race seat for next year and knows this weekend is probably his best chance to impress potential teams before seasons end.
Despite just three top 10s in a testing first year in the class, Heimgartner is setting his sights high.
“I used to not like [Pukekohe], but now I really like it,” he said.
“The last couple of times I raced there I won and I got my first ever win there in Formula Ford when I was 13. There is a bit of history there so hopefully I can get my first V8 Supercars win there as well.”
“It’s a pretty high risk kind of track, but when you’ve done as many laps around there as I’ve done it’s not too bad.”
