Stone Brothers Racing's SP Tools-sponsored young gun Shane van Gisbergen was looking on the bright side on Sunday night despite a roller coaster couple of days at the latest round of the V8 Supercar championship at Darwin in the Far North over the weekend.
The 20-year-old Kiwi remains ninth overall in the series points standings after the Sky City Triple Crown even though he carding only one top ten result (out of the two races) at the fast, flowing Hidden Valley Raceway circuit.
"We certainly struggled, " he said, "to get grip - any sort of grip - in the qualifying sessions and the first race. But, you know, we got through the traffic today to finish ninth and we're still ninth in the points so it hasn't been all bad."
Indeed. In fact when van Gisbergen catapulted up the time sheets to shadow the fastest driver in the session, Holden's Will Davison, in the final practice on Friday, hopes were high of a breakthrough performance for the SP Tools Ford Falcon and its talented and motivated young driver.
But it was not to be.
Other teams found grip where van Gisbergen and Stone Brothers Racing teammate Alex Davison didn't in the first qualifying session of the weekend on Saturday with van Gisbergen ending up 23rd and Davison 30th on the grid for Saturday's 39 lap 'sprint' race.
With another chance to qualify on Sunday morning the decision was made to save the new, stickier, 'sprint' tyres for Sunday's longer race and the Stone Brothers Racing teammates ended up 19th (Davison) and 20th (van Gisbergen) in Saturday's race running on the standard control tyre.
The mood was more positive in Sunday morning and Alex Davison did end up breaking into the top ten in the second qualifying session. However grip continued to elude his teammate who ended up 21st.
"The car was handling OK, " he says, "It's just that there wasn't any grip, front or back!"
Despite that van Gisbergen made some progress in his first stint (on the regular tyre) before stopping for his 'sprint' set and working his way into the top ten in the second. Once there (on the top ten) he consolidated his position in the final stint to cross the line in ninth position just behind Russell Ingall and in front of defending series champion and '09 championship chase points leader Jamie Whincup.
Saturday's race was won by Whincup from fellow Ford Falcon driver Mark Winterbottom and Holden pair Will Davison and Garth Tander, Sunday's by Holden young gun Michael Caruso from van Gisbergen's Stone Brothers racing teammate Alex Davison, Craig Lowndes and Holden's Rick Kelly.
van Gisbergen was the top finishing Kiwi in Sunday's race, heading off Saturday pole man Jason Richards (11th on Sunday), Fabian Coulthard (20th) and Greg Murphy (21st). van Gisbergen is also now the top Kiwi in the series points chase, having displaced Coulthard who was eighth.
Action in the V8 Supercar championship series remains in the north with the seventh round at the new Townsville street circuit over the July 11-12 weekend.
