WhichCar
wheels

VIDEO: Robert & Shane Van Gisbergen do Father’s Day battle

Father’s Day is a bigger deal in racing families, apparently!

2017 HRT Commodore Supercar
Gallery2

Father’s Day is upon us.

And what kind of day would it be in a racing family if there wasn’t some kind of battle for motorsport supremacy?

The Van Gisbergen name is arguably best known now thanks to Shane, or SVG, the 2016 Supercars champ.

Note: What a flashback! This story was first published in 2017, but as Father's Day nears, we couldn't resist sharing it again. Enjoy!

Also...

Robert and Shane Van Gisbergen

But a few people will remember his dad, Robert – or RVG, as we’ll call him.

Robert Van Gisbergen is a former rally driver, and probably helped kick-start his son’s career when he bought an ATV for Shane, when he was just five-years-old.

But despite being the person SVG learned the tricks of the trade from, RVG might just now be outgunned by his young lad.

2017 Holden New Zealand Barina Rally Car

Taking to the track at Norwell Motorplex in Queensland to see who reigns supreme on the blacktop, SVG and RVG jump in Shane’s Holden Racing Team Commodore Supercar to see who will be quckier.

“He’s beaten me in everything offroad, but I get him on the circuit now,” says SVG.

“But off-track… he’s always been a lot quicker.”

Robert Van Gisbergen testing

You might be able to guess who was quicker on the track.

With a time of 56.38s, SVG smashed Norwell. But his old man put up a surprisingly composed lap, and nipped at SVG’s time with a superb 56.80s. But this was never about the track.

The fact that his dad has always been better off-road means Shane’s time of 52.22 around the dirt track at their family home (how cool is that?) might not be enough to top it even as a pro.

Watch the video, and see for yourself if Red Bull will be employing a new driver next year!

Chris Thompson
Contributor

COMMENTS

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.