Great speed and rotten luck again marked Shane Van Gisbergen and Simon Evans racing in the BNT NZ SuperTourers racing at Hampton Downs today.

The V8 Supercar star and his friend Simon Evans won today’s final race in the TR Group Waikato 400 meeting, following up from their victory in yesterday’s first heat.

But the meeting’s second race, this morning, brought a setback as Van Gisbergen had to make an extra pit stop to tape up a passenger door that started flapping open because the lock had broken. They finished eighth.

“That made up for this morning,” a beaming Van Gisbergen said after winning the final race. “We had to work for that one – I’m pretty excited by it.

“If race two had been the final race we’d be very disappointed now.”

In his last two V8 Supercar meetings, Bathurst and Surfers Paradise, Van Gisbergen had been devastatingly fast but scored only win from the three races as bad luck struck in the other two.

In today’s final race Aucklander Evans was a close third when he pitted around half-distance to hand the Holden over to his co-driver.

A quick driver change got Van Gisbergen out in second and he quickly caught up with Greg Murphy’s Australian co-driver Jack Perkins. Under strong pressure, Perkins ran his Holden wide on a corner, the Kiwi pounced and once in front was able to pull away.

Another full-time Australian V8 Supercar driver, Tim Slade, then fastened on to Perkins’ tail and eventually got his Holden past with a dive up the inside into the fast turn one.

“I got a better drive on to the straight and only just got the car turned into the corner – I went in a bit sideways, speedway-style, and I think we just touched slightly,” Slade said.

He added that he had tried to be extra careful as Perkins is a good friend and also a team-mate in the M3 outfit.

Slade and Aucklander Richard Moore had won this morning’s race and they also won the round overall in their Holden.

Moore took the final stint this morning and drove well to withstand pressure from Perkins not far behind.

“The car wasn’t so nice when I got in but as the race progressed I got more comfortable with it and I could keep a consistent pace,” the fast-rising young Aucklander said.

He was surprised and delighted when it was announced that he and Slade had won the round.

Murphy and Perkins took second in this morning’s race, ahead of Auckland teenager Andrew Heimgartner and his Australian co-driver Paul Morris.
Van Gisbergen and Evans were second for the round, despite their setback in race two, Murphy-Perkins third and Heimgartner-Morris fourth. Van Gisbergen leads the championship from Evans, Slade, Moore, Heimgartner, Morris, Perkins, Ant Pedersen (Hamilton, Ford), John McIntyre (Nelson, Ford) Mark Gibson (Auckland, Ford), Jonny Reid (Auckland, Ford), and Murphy.

TR Group Waikato 400 meeting, round two of BNT NZ SuperTourers championship, Hampton Downs.

Race one: 1 Simon Evans/Shane Van Gisbergen (both Auckland) Holden; 2 Greg Murphy (Havelock North)-Jack Perkins (Australia) Holden; 3 Andre Heimgartner (Auckland)-Paul Morris Australia) Holden; 4 Ant Pedersen (Hamilton)-Jonny Reid (Auckland) Ford; 5 Richard Moore (Auckland)-Tim Slade (Australia) Holden; 6 Paul Manuell (Auckland)-Shae Davies (Australia) Holden; 7 Mark Gibson (Auckland)-John McIntyre (Nelson) Ford; 8 Mitch Cunningham (Auckland)-Cameron Waters (Australia) Ford; 9 Tim Edgell (Auckland)-Steve Owen (Australia) Holden; 10 Angus Fogg (Auckland)-Tony Alberto (Australia) Holden; 11 Chris Hanley-Gene Rollinson (both Auckland) Ford; 12 Shaun Varney (Auckland)-Andrew Waite (Auckland) Ford.

Race two: 1 Moore-Slade; 2 Murphy-Perkins; 3 Heimgartner-Morris; 4 Gibson-McIntyre; 5 Manuell-Davies; 6 Pedersen-Reid; 7 Fogg-D’Alberto; 8 Evans-Van Gisbergen; 9 Edgell-Owen; 10 Cunningham-Waters; 11 Hanley-Rollinson; Varney-Waite did not finish

Race three: 1 Evans-Van Gisbergen; 2 Moore-Slade; 3 Murphy-Perkins; 4 Edgell-Owen; 5 Gibson-McIntyre; 6 Manuell-Davies; 7 Heimgartner-Morris; 8 Fogg-D’Alberto; 9 Pedersen-Reid; 10 Cunningham-Waters; 11 Hanley-Rollinson; 12 Varney-Waite.

Championship points after two of seven rounds: Van Gisbergen 778, Evans 758, Slade 698, Moore 680, Heimgartner 662, Morris 634, Perkins 624, Pedersen 623, McIntyre 622, Gibson 616, Reid 615, Murphy 606, Davies 558, Manuell 560.