Shane van Gisbergen immediately found form in his Sprintcar return at Western Springs Speedway, taking a heat win and finishing third in the feature.
Annette and Brian Theobald’s United Truck Parts #97 Sprintcar, the three-time Xfinity Series race winner started his first heat from fourth and was second across the line, only 0.009 seconds behind Ryan Barry.
Contact between the pair as they greeted the chequered flag saw Barry receive a penalty that dropped him to third, and left Barry with a puncture and van Gisbergen’s #97A with considerable damage following contact with the wall.
Remarkably, his team, with assistance from others, worked wonders on the car and had it ready for his second outing, just 36 minutes later.
The three-time Supercars champion climbed from seventh to finish third, behind heat winner, 2015/16 New Zealand Champion Jonathon Allard, and 2020/21 champion Michael Pickens.
This put van Gisbergen on the front row for the feature, alongside Allard. The American star went on to win, while Pickens picked off the #97A to take third.
Van Gisbergen’s fastest lap, a 14.564-second flyer, was the third quickest of the race and only 0.001 seconds off Allard’s best.
Hayden Williams, the 2020/21 New Zealand Champion, won the BT Race 4 Mates in the Midget grade and was followed home by 3NZ Mitch Fabish, 1NZ Brad Mosen and 2NZ Brock Maskovich.
The event was held in honour of Bryce Townsend, raising “Mental Health Awareness within our Speedway community, whilst doing what Bryce loved.”
Townsend was a two-time New Zealand Champion in the TQ grade, and was runner-up in the 2003/04 Midget Championship.
The BT30 for TQ Midgets was won by Regan Tyler, who also claimed the Hunnibell Racing Developments hard charger award after surging through the field from grid 20 to win from Kayden Barker.
James MacDonald, 8A, followed the pair home in third.
Lukas Smith and Lucas Child were the winners in the Kiwi Kidz grade.
Van Gisbergen returns the the #97A Sprintcar at Western Springs on Boxing Day, with the event doubling as the first round of the Midget World Series.
SVG Sprintcar Schedule
| December 14 | Western Springs |
| December 26 | Western Springs* |
| December 28 | Baypark* |
| December 30 | Baypark* |
| January 1 | Waikaraka Park* |
| January 2 | Western Springs* |
| January 4 | Western Springs |
* Event is also a round of Midget World Series
