Supercars champ chasing Qld improvement
Jul 28, 2017 - 7:05 AM Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen has laid down the gauntlet ahead of this weekend's event at Queensland Raceway.The Red Bull Racing star was red-hot at the start of 2017, winning the first three races of his title defence but has since slipped to fourth on the standings with just one win from his past 11 starts.
Van Gisbergen heads into the Ipswich SuperSprint 231 points behind championship leader Scott McLaughlin and with teammate Jamie Whincup and Ford's Fabian Coulthard also sitting above him.
With the crucial endurance races of Bathurst and Sandown looming, Van Gisbergen knows he needs to start delivering some results to avoid losing touch with his rivals.
"If we're going to win, we need to," he said on Friday after finishing third fastest in practice.
"We just had a pretty average run in the mid-season, got caught up in those silly penalties at Phillip Island and then had a few tyre dramas.
"For us to be in the championship hunt we need to be consistently on the podium again like we were from this stage on last year and have a good enduro season.
"Not relying on the others to stuff up we just need to get better."
Van Gisbergen claimed his first win at Ipswich last year on his way to his maiden championship but is yet to secure pole position at the 3.12km circuit.
Qualifying is crucial at the track known as the Paperclip, so Van Gisbergen knows one-lap pace will be vital to a good weekend.
Source: AAP
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