What a week this will be for New Zealand Motorsport. Shane Van Gisburgen wins at Bathurst for the first time. Scott McLaughlin gets his hands on the Australia Supercars championship for the third consecutive time and then wins the prestigious Barry Sheene award also for the third time. Scott Dixon wins America’s Petit Le Mans for the first time to add to his Rolex 24 win in January and that was just the start of the potentially epic week for New Zealand Motor Sport.
In fact, the week has just got started as to bookend it all, both great Scott’s will be making headlines in America to finish off the week at the IndyCar finale at St Petersburg, Florida.
For Van Gisburgen it was his maiden win at Mount Panorama and it couldn’t have come at a better time in Australian Touring Car history.
It was an emotional victory for Holden in the iconic Australian motoring brand’s last Supercars race before it is retired. On top of that, Shane was paired with a veteran and now four-time winner Garth Tander, who has won all four for Holden. For Shane, it puts to bed the near misses of being runner up in both 2016 and 2019.
He won the championship in 2016 and claimed 39 career victories, but the Great Race had never gone to plan, until last weekend.
While limited fans were on hand to witness the moment every motorsport fan in Australia was glued to the telly and the sight of Shane stopping to pick up the Holden flag on the slowdown lap will be etched in the memory for years to come and was a fitting tribute to what has been an age-old battle that has split Australian families into a loyal passionate allegiance of blue or red.
It was Holdens 34th victory for the marque and frankly, one of the most special.
Garth Tander commented saying, “That was pretty cool, we were all waiting at the podium wondering where he was, then we found out later he’d stopped to pick up the Holden flag.
“It was an awesome image, and that will mean a lot to all the Holden supporters, obviously being the last official involvement for Holden at Bathurst.”
The Bathurst 1000 was the first time Tander had been in a race car since March, with the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the season, as it has done for so many sports.
Perhaps the master stroke of the day was in the final 10-lap shootout between van Gisbergen and Cam Waters, in the Ford Mustang. After the late safety car interventions, van Gisbergen set the fastest lap of the day on the penultimate run around the mountain while holding off the Ford.
“I was wondering why it took him until the end of the day to get going,” Tander laughed. “To do the fastest lap on the second last lap was a bit of a statement that we had it under control, and if Cam wanted it, he’d have to come and get it”.
For van Gisbergen, “The car just got better and better throughout the day and the last couple of stints were really cool to drive.
“I’ve had some bad runs at Bathurst in the past, and today was all about making no mistakes.
“We’ve been the factory team for the last couple of years, and to not have Holden support racing anymore is devastating. To win the last Bathurst 1000 for them, was something pretty special,”
As for Scott McLaughlin who led the race in the early stages, it was back in his own car after the race and off to the airport. A quick 22-hour flight to Florida, for the 27-year-old New Zealander, to attempt one of the biggest challenges of his young career as he tries to replicate the form he had in single-seaters eight months ago at the Circuit of the Americas, where he was third quickest in his first IndyCar Series test.
That was just a test and the other Penske boys were doing everything they could to help the Kiwi. The plan was to have a soft debut into IndyCar at the Indianapolis road course in May, but Covid-19 put paid to that.
Instead, Scott McLaughlin will make his IndyCar debut in the toughest possible circumstances.
This weekend is the finale of the 2020 IndyCar season and for the 15th consecutive time, the championship is on the line with McLaughlin’s teammate, Josef NewGarden, the defending champion having to win every point on offer in a desperate, but far from impossible, effort to beat McLaughlin’s compatriot Scott Dixon.
It is also not the usual double -points final race and not at the flowing and forgiving Sonoma circuit in California. It’s a street race with walls everywhere and no margin for errors.
So, Scott simply has to navigate a full field of anxious drivers, all vying to impress for 2021 having honed their skills in the new car over 13 race weekends, while supporting team Penske and Newgarden in trying to foil fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon from achieving his sixth title. Accomplish all that and that would impress the captain. So, no pressure Scotty – give it full jandal.
In an interview with RACER magazine here in the States, McLaughlin summed it up this way.
“I have a huge amount of respect for everyone in the NTT IndyCar Series and what they do, and how close the racing is. I’m going in, fully expecting that it’s probably going to be the toughest challenge of my career.
“I think you take whatever opportunity you can get, and obviously with COVID changing so many things on my schedule, I never actually thought I’d get a chance to race in IndyCar this year. I loved my tests at the start of the year and I was so excited for what was going to be my race debut in May.
“I’m crossing all kinds of time zones for my IndyCar debut and it’s going to be hard. My body is going to be pretty torched after 1000 K’s at Bathurst. It’s a pretty mentally draining week. On top of that, jumping straight onto a plane, flying to the US and jet lag, then I jump in the simulator for a couple of days, then go live at St. Pete. I think it’s a hell of an opportunity.”
As for the other great Scott. Dixon has dominated most of the season and led all the way.
Dixon opened this season by winning the first three races and appeared primed to clinch the title in September. He led Newgarden by 84-points after he finished second to Takuma Sato in the Indianapolis 500 on Aug. 23. The following week at the World Wide Technology Raceway, Dixon’s lead increased to 117 points after winning his fourth race of the season. But Newgarden countered the very next day with his first win of the season and cut Dixon’s lead to 96.
Dixon could have wrapped up the championship at what has historically been his best event – the 200 at Mid-Ohio. This year was also a doubleheader, and it seemed possible that Dixon, with a record six wins there, could have built an insurmountable advantage.
Instead, it was the beginning of Newgarden’s chargeback into contention. He finished second and Dixon was 10th in the first race. The following day, Newgarden finished eighth and Dixon was again 10th.
“It has been a trying couple of race weekends. I’m still kicking myself for making a mistake at Mid-Ohio,”(where uncharacteristically spun off at turn one).
Going into the Harvest GP at Indy, Newgarden was out with a combine harvester again scything more points off Dixon’s lead with a win in the first of the double-header with Dixon 9th. Then he followed it up the next day with a fourth to Dixon’s eight and now the gap is just 32 points heading into St Petersburg.
Still, Dixon remains in control. If Newgarden scores every possible point at St. Petersburg – for winning the pole, leading the most laps, and winning the race — Dixon clinches the title if he finishes ninth or better.
“As always, the NTT IndyCar Series comes down to the last race of the season even without double points and the lead we had over 100 points not long ago,” Dixon said. “It’s nice still to be on the leading side of the points. It’s still a good margin. It gives us a little bit of a window.
“Josef has to get most laps led, win the pole, win the race and get all 54-points and we have to finish ninth. Josef has always been good at St. Pete, too. We’ll keep trying hard.”
Interestingly, Newgarden and Dixon finished first and second, respectively, in last year’s St. Petersburg race A race where Dixon has never won the event in 15 attempts.
“Look, we’re in it with a shot,” commented Newgarden “We’re going to go to St. Pete and try and win this championship. I just wish we were in a little closer position.”
“My first debut was going to be on a road course with heaps and heaps of runoff,” McLaughlin said with a laugh. “And now I’m going to head to a tight street course — a bit of a bullring-type thing — which will keep my attention.
“A lot has changed in regards to what’s going on inside the car technically, and then everyone that I tested against at COTA, they’ve had a year to get on with the car, the aeroscreen, all that sort of stuff where they’re coming in up to speed.
“All year, I’ve been watching every qualifying, every race, to stay up on things. It’s killed my body clock, but I enjoyed it! So, for me, it’s an opportunity to steer the car out on the street track and see what goes on and understand the qualifying sessions and learn. It’s hard to place anything more on expectations beforehand at this point.
“In regard to the championship, I’ve got to be fast enough to catch them first! But I’ll do my best and I’ll do what I need to do in regards to not being in the way. I’ve really enjoyed the battle between Josef and Scott. And obviously, Josef coming back in the last few races, it’s been impressive and many stories throughout the year, and after it all, you’re going to come down to two great drivers and two great teams settling it at St. Pete. I don’t think IndyCar could ask for more.”
Newgarden’s mission is a podium or bust, with a win as the only mechanism to potentially derail his rival and hope the No. 9 Honda of Dixon hits trouble.
Dixon’s mission involves a need to be good, but not great, and to dodge those issues for 100-laps in order to become a six-time champ.
So New Zealand motorsport fans and fans of good stories around the world, this weekend is all about “Great Scott”. ’
For you ‘young uns’, – ‘Great Scott’ is an expression that has died out of late, but was an expression of surprise and astonishment. Interestingly it has a connection to both Australia and the USA where this week’s memorable motorsport meetings are being played out.
It was first referenced to Sir Walter Scott in the Poem entitled “The Wars of Bathurst 1830” published in The Sydney Monitor on 27 October 1830.
Whose wild free charms,
he chanted forth “Great Scott!
When shall we see
thy like again? “Great Scott!”
So that’s Australia. Here in the States, it was used as referring to Winfield Scott, general‑in‑chief of the U.S. Army from 1841 to 1861:
“I follow General Scott. No Virginian need be ashamed to follow old Fuss and Feathers. We used to swear by him in the army. Great Scott! the fellows said. The general, known to his troops as Old Fuss and Feathers, weighed 300 pounds (21 stone or 136 kg) in his later years and was too fat to ride a horse.”
Since then it has been used in numerous movies and books from “Sherlock Holmes to “Back to the Future.”
Now the expression is ready for a dust off this weekend around the streets at St Petersburg.
All I can say is thank you Shane and the Scott’s, you’ve put on a hell of a show in these trying times.
So as the expression ‘Great Scott” means race fans prepare to be astonished and surprised one more time this weekend I can’t wait.
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