Motorsport: Van Gisbergen expects multiple podiums

Kiwi driver Shane Van Gisbergen has set multiple podiums as the minimum benchmark if he is to realise his goal of being competitive in the V8 Supercar Championship. Photo / Robert Cianflone.

Kiwi driver Shane Van Gisbergen has set multiple podiums as the minimum benchmark if he is to realise his goal of being competitive in the V8 Supercar Championship.

SP Tools' Van Gisbergen won the Friday 'Grand Prix' in practice at yesterday's Triple Crown at Hidden Valley in Darwin where tyres, or lack thereof, meant no real read could be made into the day's results.

He finished in front of Tekno Autosport's Jonathon Webb and Team BOCs Jason Bright. Championship front-runners Will Davison (8th) Mark Winterbottom (12th) and Jamie Whincup (13th) spent the day fine tuning.

All except five cars lapped within one second of the fastest time as an indicator of just how competitive - and unpredictable - the Darwin event will be this year.

Van Gisbergen cited the 2012 form of Davison and Whincup as where his team needs to be, believing they will ultimately get there.

"The next step is what FPR and Triple Eight have been doing," Van Gisbergen said. "Will Davison has only been of the podium twice this year. It really proves what you have to do to be at the top in this sport and be successful. We need to keep doing what we did at Phillip Island three weeks ago.

"We were top of the points that weekend with a second and a fourth. We are definitely getting there."

Van Gisbergen said the soft and hard tyre compounds being used this weekend would be the critical element, one that helped him with the first race in Darwin last year.