He did this by recording the fastest ever lap at the iconic circuit to take pole position for tomorrow’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. The V8 Supercars star showed blistering speed in his Tekno Autosports McLaren, recording a lap of 2min01.286sec to ensure his team starts at the front of the grid for tomorrow’s race.
It smashed the previous fastest lap time at Bathurst of 2min02.6701, and was the perfect start to the year for Van Gisbergen who recently drove in the Daytona 24 Hour and will line up for Red Bull Racing Australia in this year’s V8 Supercars Championship. German driver Rene Rast wasn’t far behind as he recorded a lap time of 2min01.840 in his Jamec Pem Audi ahead of the Objective Racing McLaren of Warren Luff, Tony Walls, Tim Slade and Matt Campbell.
Van Gisbergen shares his McLaren with Jonathon Webb and Alvaro Parente.
“It was amazing – I’ve never been close to that fast around here,” Kiwi van Gisbergen said after the season.
“The car’s been quick all week and all three of us have been enjoying it. To put a lap like that down in qually is awesome but the main thing is the car feels great for the race – so I’m looking forward to it.”
Named after the late Allan Simonsen, earning the pole trophy may not be the key to a race win, but it was an honour for the quick Kiwi.
“It’s just a great thing to have,” van Gisbergen said.
“To win the Allan Simonsen trophy – if he was still here he’d be fighting for the pole, he was one of the quickest guys ever around here. It’s a great honour to win this, I’m stoked.”
Van Gisbergen and Webb started from pole position at the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and looked a strong shot at the win until a starter motor failure in pit lane late in the race.
