The radio messages that prove SVG's mentality switch

Shane van Gisbergen’s shift to self-preservation in a bid for title No. 3 was again on show at Winton.

Van Gisbergen twice finished second behind Cam Waters at the Pizza Hut Winton SuperSprint.

The series leader was a combined 0.8s away from a clean sweep at Winton.

However, Waters’ two victories at Winton featured two vastly different van Gisbergen attacks.

The two made contact at the final corner in Saturday’s race, with van Gisbergen picking up steering arm damage.

A day later, van Gisbergen reeled in Waters and closed to within a second of the Monster Mustang.

Van Gisbergen took on three tyres in his stop, and caught Waters at a rapid rate of knots.

That charge included a fastest lap of the race, which awards drivers five bonus points.

All told, had van Gisbergen settled for second, it was only a net three-point loss.

On the penultimate lap, van Gisbergen asked race engineer Andrew Edwards if he had already clinched the fastest lap.

That then evolved into risk assessment, and van Gisbergen safely brought his car home in second.

Van Gisbergen: "Have I got the fastest lap?"

#97 engineer: "Yes, confirmed. Two to go."

Van Gisbergen: "Do you want me to take risk or not?"

#97 engineer: "I think it’s pretty tight to get him, so you don't need to take risk."

Van Gisbergen: "Thanks bro."

After Perth, van Gisbergen claimed his 2022 campaign had been "win it or bin it".

In Sydney, the defending champion qualified 21st, slid off the road and recovered to sixth.

At Albert Park, van Gisbergen was caught out by a red flag and qualified 23rd, and later raced to third.

He later suffered a puncture chasing eventual winner Chaz Mostert, and finished 20th.

His two-win weekend in Perth also featured a run from 11th to fifth after being impeded by Mark Winterbottom in qualifying.

Speaking after Sunday’s Winton finale, van Gisbergen admitted he could have pushed closer to Waters, but avoided further risk.

What helped van Gisbergen was the fact his closest title rival, Anton De Pasquale, suffered at Winton.

Van Gisbergen outscored De Pasquale to the tune of 117 points.

"I just asked for all the info on the radio," van Gisbergen explained.

"We took three tyres, a) to do something different, but b) to get the fastest lap.

"Getting the fastest lap, you only lose three points, so now that we had that and Andrew said not too much risk.

"Maybe I didn’t get to him enough anyway, but definitely the last two or three laps I left a bit on the table.

"It’s only a three-point loss at the end of the race.

"I’m conflicted in my own head this weekend… the old Shane would have [had a crack at Waters]."

Van Gisbergen will carry an extended 281-point lead to Darwin next month.

Purchase your Merlin Darwin Triple Crown tickets now.