SVG crashes out of Whangarei rally

Shane van Gisbergen had another frustrating day to conclude the International Rally of Whangarei, sliding offroad and out of the event on the third Sunday stage.

The three-time Supercars champion was second only to Hayden Paddon in both of the stages which he started on the Saturday, having missed the first eight due to an electrical problem in his Audi S1 AP4.

Van Gisbergen began Sunday with a spin on the first run through the Waiotira test but set the second-fastest time in the Millbrook stage which followed.

However, he then strayed offroad on the first Waipu Caves special, one of three to crash out in that notorious stage.

Car #2’s official reason for retirement was listed as ‘Mechanical (permanent)’.

A tough weekend for us in Whangarei that’s for sure! We had a few issues but the stages we did complete we showed some speed at least. Reset and have another go in a couple of months. Rally is an addicting sport that’s for sure! pic.twitter.com/hZKOqpkLQR

— Shane van Gisbergen (@shanevg97) May 15, 2023

Paddon won all 16 stages over the weekend in a Rally2-spec Hyundai i20 N, prevailing by 3:35.6s in total.

Meanwhile, van Gisbergen’s Triple Eight Race Engineering team went scoreless in Race 2 of the opening event of Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS at Thailand’s Buriram International Circuit.

Luca Stolz/Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim had won Race 1 but the mandatory pit stop handicap put them on the back foot and a second-stint spin extinguished any hopes of a top 10 finish for the #88 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

It ended up 12th in Race 2, three positions ahead of the sister #888 entry of Broc Feeney/Prince Jefri Ibrahim.

Triple Eight’s Red Bull Ampol Racing Supercars team, comprised of van Gisbergen and Feeney, is back in action at Symmons Plains this coming weekend for the Ned Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint.

Van Gisbergen is set to undertake a further three Brian Green Property New Zealand Rally Championship starts this year.