Shane van Gisbergen took his first Bathurst win in front of a limited audience last year. Photo / Getty Images
Standings leader Shane van Gisbergen admits he’s not sure how the rest of the Supercars season will play out as the Covid chaos continues to sweep parts of Australia.
The reigning Bathurst 1000 champion said he was bracing for more schedule changes but was ready to do whatever it takes to finish the final five races of the season.
Supercars is in the middle of an extended off-season hiatus, having last raced Townsville on July 18 and won’t return to the track at Winton Raceway until October 2-3.
The series announced a revised schedule for the second half of the season in late July. Phillip Island will follow Winton at the end of October, Bathurst 1000 and Sydney Supersprint are scheduled for November and the Gold Coast 500 season end at the beginning of December.
The longer break gave van Gisbergen the opportunity this month to have a metal plate that he used to repair a broken collarbone after a mountain bike accident in March surgically removed.
The New Zealand racing driver defied the injury to get his 2021 season off to a brilliant start, building a 276-point lead in the championship over teammate Jamie Whincup.
Van Gisbergen is now itching to return to racing but with the next four events slated for the two states amid the Covid lockdowns, he admitted that more could change on the horizon and everyone on the series needed to be ready , to adapt .
“I’m not worried, I may think insecure, but I can’t control these things,” said van Gisbergen.
“I just have to be ready. Right now it’s October and I’ll be ready for October and if something happens and we have to be on the road for a few months or do anything, I’m ready to do it.
“Sure, the calendar will likely change again, but we have to be ready to adapt.
“Racing and supercars are my life and I’m sure all the people who drive it will see to it that we get something to do. Everyone just has to be patient and wait.”
Supercars postponed the Bathurst 1000 date to early November in the hopes of attracting many people to their flagship event.
Van Gisbergen, who took his first Bathurst win in front of a few spectators last year, said the great race needed the atmosphere from the fans.
“You want everyone to experience it there. Especially the shootout – it’s one of my highlights of the year. Fortunately, I was one of the last guys in the past few years and you just get cheered on – the crowd only cheers when they see everything green or red box appears.
“The atmosphere at that shootout was something I really missed last year. I would love to have a full crowd up there again.”
Van Gisbergen said his collarbone was “all right” after the panel was removed and he is now ready to leave the incident behind and return to his quest for a second V8 title.
“Fortunately it didn’t affect my races,” said van Gisbergen.
“It’s gone, it’s over. I’m just waiting for the season to start again, whenever that is.”
