Kiwi Shane Van Gisbergen has clinched his second Supercars Championship from pitlane, after heavy rain forced the cancellation of the second race of the Sydney SuperNight event.
Five years after claiming his first crown, Van Gisbergen sat 349 points clear in competition standings, and needed to either win or finish within six placings of nearest rival and teammate Jamie Whincup in the season's 30th race.
He qualified second fastest, behind Nick Percat, with Whincup on the back foot at seventh on the starting grid, but as the start drew closer, all that became academic.
Heavy rain over the city played havoc with support races at Sydney Motorsport Park and the main event began under safety car, before it was suspended after five laps and eventually cancelled.
Van Gisbergen was standing beside his rivals, when race officials declared the race, leaving him with an unassailable lead for the last race of the competition - the legendary Bathurst 1000 in two weeks.
"It sucks that we couldn't put on a show, but super cool to win another championship," he says. "Over the moon.
"We haven't been fast enough, but we got the results and just been consistent, with less mistakes than others. We had one bad race, but we were always up there.
"I can't thank the team enough - it's been an awesome season and our cars have been strong almost everywhere. I'm super stoked."
Van Gisbergen put himself in the boxseat with victory in Race 29 on Saturday - his 14th win of the season to seal the teams championship for Red Bull.
Over the past three years, he has been overshadowed by fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin, who won a hat-trick of championship titles, before switching to the US IndyCar Series. Van Gisbergen finished second, second and third behind his compatriot.
The Kiwi says scoring a second title is a dream come true.
"It is still pretty fresh but it has been an awesome year," van Gisbergen says.
"We have had ups and downs but we came here and executed every race and did what we needed to do.
"It is my life dream and my life goal.
"I won the first one and just wanted to do it again. Now I want to do it again. It is an awesome feeling.
"I want to keep racing here as long as I can. It seems a while ago that I won my first one so it is a very cool feeling."
He and former champion Garth Tander will combine to defend their Bathurst crown in two weeks.
Join us for live updates of the Bathurst 1000 on December 5
