Lucas Oil’s Shane van Gisbergen thrilled Townsville last Sunday, with a late-race surge to the podium in his VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Commodore.

Van Gisbergen, who qualified seventh, was able to show his speed in the closing stages of the Sunday race care of an ambitious three-stop strategy when most of the field stuck with just two.

The popular New Zealander enjoyed his fight to the podium, and pitted at the end of lap one along with the majority of the field after a first-corner collision brought out the safety car.

“It’s so much fun when you have a grip advantage,” Van Gisbergen said. “There was a lot going on, which made it exciting from the drivers’ seat.”

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Lucas Oil-backed race ace.

“Once we pitted for the second time, we were racing cars that were off-strategy – and not knowing if we would be competing with them at the end of the race, so I was just trying to get as much information as possible.

“I was trying to watch the big screens, and also talk with my engineers to get an accurate picture of what was going on around me.

“It certainly worked out at the end of the race with my VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Commodore having plenty of pace”

“Unfortunately, Jamie Whincup and Garth Tander were a long way up the road – in the lead and second place respectively, so we ran out of time. But, overall, it was a great race for us. The team did a fantastic job.”

As a result, the 25-year-old, who took a well-deserved fifth and fourth place in Saturday’s twin 125km races, has catapulted from sixth to fourth in the drivers’ standings – with seven rounds to go.

Van Gisbergen’s weekend was topped off with support from Lucas Oil’s global head of motorsport Tom Bogner (pictured above), who joined the TEKNO Autosports squad in Townsville for his first real taste of V8 Supercars.

“To be able to share the podium result with Tom was fantastic,” he said.

“He’s so enthusiastic about motorsport, and loves racing as much as I do.

"Tom was also one of the first on the scene to congratulate me after the race, so that was a great moment to enjoy with him.”

Bogner was impressed with the power of V8 Supercars, and paid testament to the strength of the technical partnership between Lucas Oil and TEKNO Autosports.

“I really enjoyed my time in tropical Townsville with TEKNO Autosports.

"Seeing Lucas Oil power the team to another podium was special, and a great example of what a strong partnership can achieve.”

The next round of the V8 Supercars is in just under four weeks’ time – the Coates Hire Ipswich 400 at Queensland Raceway on August 1-3.

2014 V8 Supercars Championship Series

Drivers' Championship

1. Mark Winterbottom: 1634
2. Jamie Whincup: 1538
3. Fabian Coulthard: 1361
4. Shane van Gisbergen: 1355
5. James Courtney: 1354
6. Craig Lowndes: 1352
7. Scott McLaughlin: 1211
8. Garth Tander: 1135
9. David Reynolds: 1099
10. Chaz Mostert: 1098

Teams' Championship

1. Red Bull Racing Australia: 2940
2. Ford Pepsi Max Crew: 2757
3. Holden Racing Team: 2514
4. Team BOC and Lockwood Racing: 2371
5. Erebus Motorsport V8: 1857
6. Norton Hornets: 1818
7. Valvoline Racing GRM: 1648
8. Wilson Security Racing: 1616
9. Jack Daniel's Racing: 1465
10. Tekno Autosports: 1380*

* Single-car team.