Chevrolet’s first victory in Australia’s biggest Supercars race

(Motorsport-Total.com) – The introduction of the Chevrolet Camaro in the Gen3 era of the Australian Supercars series has proven to be a stroke of luck for GM. The car dominates the series and keeps the Ford Mustang at bay. This was the case in the biggest race under, the Bathurst 1000. After the Sandown 500, it was the second long distance race of the 2023 season and again Chevrolet was in front, driven by Shane van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway. .

Van Gisbergen will end his motorsport career at the end of the year with a victory at Bathurst, as the New Zealander turns his back on the series after the 2023 final and moves to Trackhouse in the US NASCAR series. In the Triple-Eight Chevrolet, the 34-year-old won the endurance race at Mount Panorama, opening a heated title battle with Erebus driver Brodie Kostecki, who finished second alongside Michael Caruso.

The number 97 Camaro took the lead on Lap 27 after the team brought the car into the pits for service due to the caution period. Van Gisbergen and Stanaway passed the sister Chevrolet from the Triple Eight of Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup. The two then controlled the action ahead.

The second Triple Eight Chevrolet retired during the race with gearbox problems, but even without any help, van Gisbergen and Stanaway took a big win at Bathurst. 20 seconds separated the starting number 97 from the Erebus Chevrolet of Kostecki and David Russell, who took second place. Four races before the end of the season, Kostecki remains at the top of the overall standings with 131 points ahead of van Gisbergen.

It was the third victory at Bathurst for van Gisbergen and the first for Stanaway, who will return to the series as a full-time driver with Grove in the 2024 season. It was the first win for Chevrolet at Mount Panorama and the tenth for Triple Eight, meaning the team led by supercar legend Whincup topped the list of all-time greats.

Due to Feeney’s technical problems, Will Brown in the Erebus Chevrolet, who finished eighth, overtook his brand-mate in the overall standings to take third. With 600 points still up for grabs in four races, the championship battle is still very close and could still cause a few surprises among Chevrolet’s top drivers.

Ford doesn’t see any ground against Chevrolet in the first year of Gen3 Supercars, which is why there was a lot of criticism from the blue oval camp about the balance of the cars. The Camaro has a 5.7-liter V8 engine, the Ford uses a 5.4-liter V8. The engines are designed to produce around 600 horsepower and therefore should respond accordingly.

Added to this are different aerodynamics, which can make a difference between cars. But those responsible for Supercars have so far decided to make major modifications to the cars. Despite the criticism, Ford managed to find some minor success at Bathurst, as Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto completed the top three in the Dick Johnson Ford and took the bronze medal. Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth (Walkinshaw-Andretti-Ford) along with David Reynolds and Garth Tander (Grove-Ford) completed the top five.