Shane van Gisbergen entered the 2019 Supercars season determined to reclaim the championship after narrowly losing the title to Scott McLaughlin the previous year. Driving the #97 Red Bull Holden Racing Team Commodore, he faced an immediate challenge as the new Ford Mustang dominated the opening rounds, leaving Triple Eight searching for answers.
Van Gisbergen finally broke Ford’s winning streak with a commanding victory at Symmons Plains, delivering Holden its first race win of the season. He followed with another victory at Townsville before producing one of the defining moments of his campaign at Pukekohe. In front of a passionate home crowd, he claimed pole position, won Saturday’s race and secured the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, making it one of the most emotional and memorable victories of his career.
For the endurance season, van Gisbergen teamed up with Garth Tander, forming one of the strongest combinations in the field. The pair finished second in a dramatic Bathurst 1000 before bouncing back with a commanding victory on the Gold Coast, further cementing their partnership ahead of future success.
Although McLaughlin’s remarkable consistency ultimately put the championship beyond reach, van Gisbergen finished the season strongly with victory in the opening Newcastle race—his fifth win of the year. He ended the season second in the championship with five race victories, 12 podiums and four pole positions.
Beyond the results, 2019 marked an important turning point in van Gisbergen’s career. His maturity, sportsmanship and leadership throughout the season earned him the prestigious Barry Sheene Medal for the first time, recognising his growing influence both on and off the track. Combined with his race-winning performances and unwavering determination against Ford’s dominant campaign, it was another outstanding season that reinforced his standing as one of Supercars’ elite drivers and laid the foundation for his Bathurst-winning campaign in 2020.
