Hamilton unearths a new Kiwi star
If the Hamilton V8 Supercar event needed a boost, it got it in 2011 with Kiwi youngster Shane van Gisbergen breaking through for his first race win, followed by one hell of a party straight after as Good Charlotte rocked the night.
Big numbers of joyous Kiwis descended to Seddon Park, the international cricket ground that sits adjacent to the Hamilton street circuit, first to see ZZ Top perform their classic hits on Saturday night and then Good Charlotte on Sunday.
Good Charlotte twin frontmen Benji and Joel Madden visited the V8 Supercar pits on Sunday morning, checking in with fellow brother pairing Rick and Todd Kelly, who formed a bond with the rockers having given them hot laps at Phillip Island in 2010. The Maddens then did what they do best on stage, performing a one-hour set that could be heard right around Hamilton.
The Kellys, meanwhile, starred on Saturday as Rick claimed the first-ever race win for Kelly Racing, fittingly joined on the podium by older brother Todd. They survived the torrential conditions as others failed, with most of the casualties coming in the pits as drivers struggled to negotiate the slippery pitlane. This included van Gisbergen, who cleaned up a Channel 7 cameraman, who thankfully sustained no serious injuries, when he overshot his pit bay. Another pitlane victim was Championship leader Jamie Whincup, who clouted the wall on pit exit on a difficult weekend that saw his points lead almost halved.
But the star of the weekend was van Gisbergen, who after coming so close so many times finally claimed that debut win – what’s sure to be the first of many – at the perfect place; on home soil. He showed great maturity in holding out Lee Holdsworth in the latter stages of the race, on a weekend when a number of more experienced drivers came a cropper.
The battle for the 2011 V8 Supercar crown now returns to Australia for the return to Perth in a fortnight with the Championship much tighter and a young Kiwi brimming with confidence.
