Two pole positions, two race wins.
The numbers don't get much better for New Zealand and Holden driver Shane van Gisbergen after the opening weekend of the Supercars championship in Adelaide.
As his Red Bull Holden Racing Team stablemate and defending champion Jamie Whincup failed to finish a Supercars race for the first time in 136 races, van Gisbergen made it four wins from as many starts on the streets of Adelaide in Sunday's 250km finale.
In front of a record crowd of 85,100, van Gisbergen made the most of Whincup's drama to leave South Australia with a 32-point lead in the championship standings.
Shane van Gisbergen celebrates in Adelaide. Photo: Photosport
"Jamie had the car to beat today and we went a bit far with our set-up and we were no good compared to yesterday," van Gisbergen said.
"It's a real shame we couldn't get a one-two ... I hate getting points gaps like that but that's part of racing and hopefully we can have fairer battles for the rest of the year."
It's the 2016 champion's 26th race win in his career and he joins Whincup (08, 09) and Marcos Ambrose (04, 05) as the only drivers to claim four consecutive victories in Adelaide.
"It's pretty special. I'm not sure what it is about this place but love driving it," he said.
Fellow New Zealander and Ford driver Scott McLaughlin, who started the day just behind van Gisbergen on the grid, had to settle for a 10th-place finish after a puncture on lap 25 scuppered any hope he held of a podium finish.
The championship's next stop is the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 22-25.
-AAP
