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Van Gisbergen: Triple Eight 'not feeling sorry for themselves'

Shane van Gisbergen says nobody at Triple Eight is "feeling sorry for themselves" amid a tough run of form for the powerhouse Supercars squad.

Shane van Gisbergen, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

Shane van Gisbergen, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

Edge Photographics

T8 has endured a relatively difficult start to the 2019 season, the squad only taking one win from the first 10 races, the other nine having been won by Ford Mustang drivers.

There have also been uncharacteristic issues such as an engine failure and a lost wheel for Shane van Gisbergen at Albert Park, before Jamie Whincup lost another wheel last time out at Phillip Island.

While van Gisbergen has that single win to his name he's still a whopping 256 points behind runaway leader Scott McLaughlin, as Whincup faces a 379-point deficit if he's to win an eighth title this season.

Still, van Gisbergen reckons there's a positive atmosphere at T8's Brisbane workshop, as the team works hard to make its way back to the front of the field.

“I’ve been here four years now and it’s not like this is the first time things haven’t gone exactly how we want them,” van Gisbergen told the Red Bull website.

“It happens in sport all the time, doesn’t it? It’s been challenging, but the atmosphere at the workshop has been pretty positive. Everyone’s working hard and digging in, and nobody is feeling sorry for themselves.

"I can’t fault how the guys are working together on car 97 even if we haven’t got the results we want, so far anyway.”

Van Gisbergen played down the "sensitive subject" of aero parity in the wake of the changes forced on the Mustang, claiming his focus is and always has been his own garage.

“Where we are, where the opposition is… that’s quite a sensitive subject at the moment," he said.

“For me, the approach I’ve taken is to concentrate on my own car, what I do and to help make it as good as I possibly can. Make the most out of every race that I can. If I’m not in position to win, which has been the case for quite a few races, get the best out of it, whatever that best is.

“We had a good opportunity in Tassie at a track that doesn’t have many corners, and getting the most out of that meant we got a win that day, so that’s the approach.

“I’m trying to focus more on myself as a driver and not all of the other stuff that’s going on. Things I don’t have an influence over or an understanding of, then that gets in the way of me doing my job as good as I can if I’m thinking about that as well as the driving side.

"Why are [DJR Team Penske] so fast? Is it the aero? Is it something else? I don’t know, and it’s not my job to know about that. Sure, it’s been tough and nobody’s crying for us, so I focus on what I can do and make the best of it.”

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