by Andy McGechan , bikesportnz . com
a three-time national ATV champion . So to see him challenging the then Kiwi ATV No . 1 Palmer and his peers in 2007 probably should have come as no real surprise to anyone – and , if you ’ ll notice in these photos , he was No . 97 on the ATV , the same digits he has continued to run throughout his V8 supercar career . In teaming up with now four-times winner Tander , Van Gisbergen conquered Mount Panorama for the first time as he won the 161-lap V8 supercar enduro this year . When a rain squall showered the Bathurst circuit midway through the race on Sunday , Van Gisbergen was able to take advantage of his dirt bike sliding experience , coping brilliantly with the treacherously slippery conditions as he moved up from third to first , a position he and team-mate Tander held until the finish . The Red Bull champion held off numerous fierce passing attempts late in the race from Ford ’ s Cameron Waters , who had started the great race in pole position . The Bathurst victory was Van Gisbergen ’ s 40th Supercars career win and the 34th time Holden car has won at Mount Panorama . The result means Commodores have won five of the past six Bathurst 1000s , with only fellow New Zealander Scott McLaughlin ( 2019 ) winning for Ford since 2015 . It is Holden ’ s last Supercars race in an official capacity before the red lion is retired by General Motors at the end of this year .
KIWI RIDER 95