Van Gisbergen wins Pukekohe epic, JR Trophy

Shane van Gisbergen overhauled Cam Waters in a titanic battle to win the final Supercars race at Pukekohe.

In a fitting finale, van Gisbergen vaulted from eighth to score his 18th victory of 2022.

Win No. 18 helped van Gisbergen equal Scott McLaughlin’s record set in 2019.

Fittingly, van Gisbergen cleared Waters a move reminiscent on what he pulled on McLaughlin in 2018.

Van Gisbergen also secured the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for a third time.

“I didn’t give up,” van Gisbergen said.

“I knew he was going to be the hardest guy to get past.

“He was doing all the right things, but making some mistakes as well.

“I just kept moving around in the mirror… unreal."

Andre Heimgartner made it two New Zealanders on the podium in third.

The race was neutralised immediately following an accident for James Courtney at Turn 1.

Courtney was sandwiched between Jake Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood and fired to the left-hand side wall.

Wall repairs ensured the field remained under yellow for 11 laps.

Pole man Will Davison led the field away on the restart, with Waters and Anton De Pasquale behind.

Van Gisbergen’s charge began on lap 14 when he passed David Reynolds.

In the following laps, Scott Pye, Broc Feeney, Anton De Pasquale and Heimgartner pitted.

Heimgartner overhauled De Pasquale in the lane thanks to Brad Jones Racing’s quick work.

Waters stopped from second on lap 21, forcing Davison’s crew to react on the following lap.

However, the stop went pear-shaped, and the left-rear wheel wasn’t fastened to the #17.

Davison crawled back to the lane and tumbled down the order.

Davison, for the second time in as many events, was also penalised for an unsafe release.

Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 25 and emerged ahead of Feeney, who made a spirited attempt.

Heimgartner and van Gisbergen quickly caught Waters, who bowled a wide at Turn 5.

Van Gisbergen motored past Heimgartner on lap 31, and set off after Waters.

Waters gave van Gisbergen an invitation with another error, this time at Turn 8 on lap 34.

The same happened on lap 35, and the two rivals ran line astern to the final corner.

Van Gisbergen hit the rear of the Monster Mustang, and Waters somehow avoided incident and retained the lead.

With three laps to go, van Gisbergen made it count with a stunning overtake in front of his adoring Kiwi fans.

The reigning champion pushed out to a 1.1s lead and took home all 105 points on offer.

Heimgartner completed the podium, with Feeney and De Pasquale rounding out the top five.

The 2022 season will revert to enduro mode in Bathurst next month.

Tickets for the Repco Bathurst 1000 are available on Supercars.com and Ticketek.