Officials reviewed van Gisbergen-Waters clash

The late-race clash between Shane van Gisbergen and Cam Waters was reviewed by officials following a Triple Eight request.

Van Gisbergen and Waters made contact at the high-speed final corner in Sunday’s finale.

Both drivers avoided a major incident, with witness marks left on van Gisbergen’s front bumper.

The lap 35 incident came amid a stunning battle between the pair for the final Pukekohe win.

It fell to van Gisbergen, who completed the move at the same corner four laps later.

It helped van Gisbergen take his 18th win of 2022, and the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy.

The stewards’ report states that Triple Eight alleged Waters didn’t leave racing room.

It comes after van Gisbergen claimed in his post-race interview that Waters "just ran me off the road but maybe I wasn’t far enough up".

Van Gisbergen added: “But the second time, I wasn’t lifting, I was going on the fence."

The report states: "At the request of Triple Eight Racing, an allegation that Car 50, Cam Waters, failed to leave racing room for Car 97 at Turn 11.

"The broadcast footage revealed that Car 97 was not alongside Car 50 and Car 97 caused contact with the rear of Car 50."

Waters lamented being unable to hang on.

“Battling Shane in the last race was pretty cool, but it stings to not get the win there," he said.

"We had a good car, good strategy, and put ourselves in position.

“When it got down to the end I didn’t have enough rotation in the corners to hold Shane off.”

It wasn’t the first run-in between Waters and van Gisbergen this season.

At Winton in May, van Gisbergen clashed with Waters at the final corner.

Van Gisbergen picked up damage but rolled out of it, allowing Waters to cruise to the line.

Van Gisbergen leads Waters by an extended 525 points heading to Bathurst.

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