Van Gisbergen says Bathurst 1000 should include Super2 field

Shane Van Gisbergen says that the annual Bathurst 1000 race should include both the Supercars and Super2 grids to make the event “massively contested event like it used to be.”

As reported by speedcafe.com, last night’s third round of the BP Supercars All Star Eseries witnessed four wildcard entries join the field, including Super2 duo Thomas Randle and Brodie Kostecki.

Kostecki, who leads the current Super2 series standings after the opening round in Adelaide, has long been mentored under the guidance of Van Gisbergen.

The 22-year-old spent all three of last night’s races battling up the front, often being the fastest driver on the grid.

Now, Van Gisbergen admits last night’s virtual races prove why he believes the real-life Bathurst event should include the junior development grid in with the maingame.

“It was awesome to race against more cars on the grid last night with the wildcard entries,” Van Gisbergen told speedcafe.com.

“In my opinion, it should be like this in real life – Bathurst should combine DVS (Super2 Series) and the Supercars or allow other classes and make it a massively contested event like it used to be.

“When I first started my Supercars career there were more than 30 cars competing for the great race and it was awesome, so hopefully one day they can make that happen again.”

Van Gisbergen scored a win in the night’s opening affair and sits third in the point standings.

The No.97 Red Bull Triple Eight Holden Commodore also came within a whisker of stealing the night’s 14-lap feature race. Caught in a tussle with Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and the Commodore of Kostecki, Van Gisbergen had to settle for third at the chequered flag.

“It was great to have another three good races at Mount Panorama and score some more points,” he added.

“The reverse grid race was a tough one, but I had a heap of fun and managed to climb into the top ten from the back of the grid.

“The battle with Scotty (McLaughlin) and Brodie (Kostecki) in the last race was good – we had so much fun.”

Round four of the BP Supercars All Star Eseries will be contested on April 22 from 8 pm with races from Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Canada and Watkins Glen Internation in New York.

Source: Speedcafe.com