While there may not be a shifter coming through the floor there is a whole lot of shifting going on in this video of New Zealand racer Shane Van Gisbergen setting a lap record a couple years back at Bathurst during qualifying for the 12 Hour race. It is a video that’s great on a couple of levels. The first is that it is in high definition clarity so you can literally see the world just as Van Gisbergen. The second is that you will rarely ever see a better depiction of what makes the Mount Panorama track so freaking difficult to race. The third is that the dude is just flat hauling ass and driving the car like he absolutely hates it. We’re not talking about sideways stuff or out of control stuff we’re talking about ragged edge of control, using the brakes to the maximum of their ability and literally throwing it out there all at once to lay down a number. You can’t drive a 12 hour race this way but you can drive a two minute lap this way as he shows us!
The craziest part of the whole video for us is how aggressively Van Gisbergen attacks and dive-bombs the back half of the track coming down the mountain. He is absolutely flying and handling the narrow switch back corners like a master. Combine raw talent with an amazing machine and some experience this is what you end up with.
As it turns out the McLaren team won the race and were followed by the Nissan Skyline and (our personal favorite) one of the big Bentley GT3 entries. That was the podium and those are three VERY different ways to go road racing. Turbocharged V8 in a huge car (Bentley), turbocharged V6 in a slightly smaller car (Nissan), and the way more fluid and lithe looking McLaren 650S with its 3.8L turbocharged V8 leading the way. It was an awesome race but this was the lap ‘heard through the pits.
Shane Van Gisbergen lays it down hard!
would have loved to ride shotgun on that one