Shane van Gisbergen has described a broadside from Supercars legend Mark Skaife as a "kick in the teeth" and opened up about his radio silence after the Newcastle 500 on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 33-year-old driver, who stormed to the lead in the event's second race after being stripped of his win from the day prior, was short and sweet in post-race broadcast interviews and at the formal press conference.
He repeatedly answered "all our talking was done on the track today" when asked a variety of questions and largely refused to talk about his Saturday disqualification or bounce-back victory.
The Kiwi's actions drew a rebuke from a host of pundits, namely Mark Skaife and Garth Tander who slammed the reigning series champion on live television straight after Sunday's somewhat awkward press conference.
Skaife, in short, said van Gisbergen had a "duty as a custodian of the sport" to discuss the weekend's racing.
Tander said he didn't "need to play those games".
"He is better than that."
But having had time to reflect, van Gisbergen posted a 541-word statement on Facebook on Monday night responding to the criticism.
"It was a real kick in the teeth hearing those comments from a five-time champion - someone I look up to and respect," he said.
"I am not going to pretend it's all roses when it is not."
The Red Bull Ampol driver said he chose to stay silent on Sunday because Supercars' "top brass" were unhappy with what he had said about the new generation of cars.
"I probably said a bit too much publicly on Friday about the heat of the cars, although it did prove fruitful getting extra cooling for the drivers," he said, referencing the extra heat protection that was permitted in the driver's cabins near the foot pedals.
"Many still struggled, including myself with the heat.
'Unfortunately that upset some of the top brass and hence my adopted media strategy for Sunday 'if you don't have anything good to say, don't say it at all'.
"I just knuckled down and drove my arse off. I understand it's my duty to represent the sport in a good light ... I will do that to the best of my ability by being myself off track, racing hard on track ..."
The Newcastle 500 was the first Supercars round featuring the new Gen 3-era cars, which have been built to far different regulations in an effort to shake-up the category and improve competition.
Van Gisbergen, whose disqualification cost him 150 championship points, isn't happy with the changes.
"I haven't been a fan of the way the Gen 3 car feels and drives, and behind closed doors I've been pretty critical of things and tried to make it better, firstly with feedback to the category in the prototype testing and now with my team trying to make the ... car to my liking," he said.
"The category seems to think our complaints and gripes with the car will 'make better racing' if we are struggling ... I try to be as neutral as I can with my critiques of the car, I act with the intention of representing the drivers trying to make the car better for everyone."
Supercars resumes in Melbourne on March 30.
NEWCASTLE 500 STORIES
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Join the discussion in the comment section below.
Find out how to register or become a subscriber here.
