SVG blitzes the field at Mexican road course

Shane van Gisbergen, take a bow. The Kiwi overcame the chaos and unpredictability of Nascar’s first-ever Cup Series race in Mexico City. He also did it under a cloud of nausea.

Despite that, the Kiwi gave a masterclass, finishing almost 17seconds ahead of second-place getter, Christopher Bell.

NASCAR made its debut at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the first time in its almost 80-year history that a race was held in Mexico City.

Van Gisbergen came out firing, snatching pole position. It underlined his reputation as one of the sport’s most accomplished road course racers. With other aces like Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Larson in the mix, the stage was set for a thrilling race.

As the field navigated the first few corners on Lap 1, Van Gisbergen led cleanly. However, rain soon set in, triggering the first caution. The entire field bolted for wet tyres, and Chastain leapfrogged SVG in pit lane.

Restart chaos ensued. Van Gisbergen briefly dropped back as Ty Gibbs surged forward, but the Kiwi had reclaimed second spot by Lap 6.

A multi-car pile-up brought the next caution. SVG restarted alongside Gibbs and the battle resumed. Van Gisbergen finally pulled ahead, and from there began to assert himself.

With the rain fading and the circuit drying, SVG had built a 13-second lead and made the call to pit early for slicks with four laps of Stage 1 to go.

This positioned him well for the next stage. Starting from fifth in Stage 2, Van Gisbergen and Gibbs were soon in a tussle for the lead, also dicing with Suárez.

After some cautions, Gibbs elected to pit under green with two laps to go; SVG stayed out and won the stage.

The final 55 laps were all about SVG race management. At the restart, he briefly lost the lead to Bell but recovered quickly and retook control on Lap 52.

From there, there was no one else in it. His lead grew lap by lap, and was soon out to six seconds.

With 39 laps to go, rain again threatened but SVG opted to continue. Bell pitted with 38 to go, and SVG followed a lap later for his final stop.

Seconds after rejoining, Carson Hocevar brought out a caution, handing SVG the net race lead once the rest of the field pitted.

After the restart he surged away once again.

With 16 laps to go, Van Gisbergen’s lead was up to nearly six seconds. By the time the chequered flag flew, he was almost 17 seconds ahead of the rest.

On a day that delivered everything, Shane van Gisbergen triumphed. He fought off illness and the elements and reminded the NASCAR world that when it comes to road courses, he’s in a league of his own.

“What a week, I’ve really enjoyed myself,” said van Gisbergen.

“That last stint, man. What a pleasure. Unreal.”