- Shane Van Gisbergen fears for future of Supercars
- Outlined four changes he believes are essential
- Kiwi driver, 34, is off to compete in NASCAR racing
Decorated Supercars driver Shane Van Gisbergen has outlined the four changes the sport must make as he moves onto the next chapter in his career behind the wheel.
The Kiwi, 34, believes a rebranding, wind tunnel parity testing, a change of tyres and the removal of mandatory fuel drops all need to happen for the sport to progress.
A three-time Bathurst 1000 winner, ‘SVT’ is now pursuing a fulltime career in the US with NASCAR racing – but wants to see Supercars remain relevant.
The first thing I would do is rebrand it [the sport] back to V8 Supercars,’ he told the Gypsy Tales Podcast.
‘Then, I would do the wind tunnel testing for parity, which they are doing.
Decorated Supercars driver Shane Van Gisbergen has outlined the four changes the sport must make as he moves onto the next chapter in his career behind the wheel
A three-time Bathurst 1000 winner, the Kiwi is now pursuing a fulltime career in the US with NASCAR racing – but wants to see Supercars remain relevant
‘I would then also put a different type of Dunlop tyre on cars. You need to spend more money on tyres, they are the most important part of racing.
‘Then, I would probably [look to potentially] get rid of all the fuel drop stuff.
‘If you could change the start level or how much you had to put in, you would bring in fuel saving, trying to have different levels of pitstops, or amount of how many pitstops; I think that would make the racing much better.’
Van Gisbergen leaves the sport a legend, with 81 wins from 508 races, 176 podium finishes and 48 poles after his debut as a teenager in 2007 at Oran Park.
He also gave NASCAR fans an indicator of his talent after his impressive win – on debut – at the Series event in Chicago back in July.
At times a fiery character, Van Gisbergen has been signed by Trackhouse, and he will be expected to quickly adapt to oval-track racing.
Trackhouse owner Justin Marks has developed a program where primary focus will be placed on Van Gisbergen ‘getting acclimated to super speedways as well as 1.5-mile tracks….things he has never previously experienced in his career.’
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