THE OLD saying ‘good things come to those who wait’ is often appropriate in our game.
There are endless stories of people who have chipped away for years and years, looking to push the doorway to success ajar just enough to taste what it’s like at the top.
Not all of them make it, of course, such is the world of competitive sport.
But sometimes they do – and such was the case at The Bend Motorsport Park last Saturday.
Andre Heimgartner’s remarkable win in the ninth race of the 2021 Supercars Championship was a full stop on a story that has been written for some time, but for a while looked like it would not find a happy conclusion.
To convert pole position into an emphatic victory was one thing, but to do it in the style he did was another.
That it was the first win for the revitalised, re-invented Kelly Grove Racing team and the first for the Blue Oval since September last year just added to the feel-good narrative.
Andre’s story has been well told in recent days, with lots of commentary around how his Mum helped find the cash to get him back into a Supercar after it looked like his career had come to a halt.
Then there was the substitute drive on the Gold Coast, Heimgartner filling in alongside Tim Slade in a performance that ultimately netted the pair a surfboard trophy in a remarkable turn of events.
Not discussed quite so much was Andre’s 2017 season racing in Carrera Cup, a year that arguably did as much for his racing confidence as anything in the period before he returned to being a Supercars full-timer.
Racing with the crack Sonic Motor Racing outfit, Andre burst out of the blocks by winning the opening round at the Adelaide 500, taking an early championship lead.
In an enthralling year long battle between he, Alex Davison, David Wall, Nick McBride and a young Jaxon Evans, among others, the Kiwi was a factor throughout the season.
A mid-season slump saw him drop points to Wall, but a critical win at Mount Panorama saw him head to the final round of the year very much in contention to take the title in a one-on-one battle with the experienced Sydney driver.
Heimgartner threw everything he could at the title tilt; Scoring pole, winning a race and narrowly finishing second for the round in a superb weekend.
Ultimately, he lost the title by just 20 points and though the near-miss undoubtedly hurt, the mission for season 2017 was an unqualified success; prove he could do the job in a competitive field, rebuild confidence after losing a full-time ride and show he belonged.
All those things were achieved and led towards the Kelly Racing drive the following year.
Saturday’s result was a feel-good story for all of those reasons and more.
That Kelly Grove are now shaping as serious contenders is also impressive and a boost for a championship that desperately needs a regular interloper into the ongoing Red Bull / Tickford / DJR trio of domination at the front.
With the fullest of respect to David Reynolds, who remains a gun, Heimgartner is just the young and fast kid the team needs to build themselves around – assuming they can keep him – on a long-term basis.
With the race team armed with involved (and financially able) new owners helping guide the team forward, they could very well be a dangerous combination in the long-term of Supercars competition.
Which is superb for our sport and superb for the young Kiwi aboard the NED Whiskey supported Mustang.
Oh yes, remember how earlier I said that Andre’s victory was a ‘full stop’ on his racing story? I was wrong.
Rather than a full stop, think a comma instead. Because while the weekend’s result may have indicated the end of a chapter, it is clear that this impressive young driver has the ability to write many more in his racing story in the years to come.
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