Shane van Gisbergen is gearing up for his last race in the country before he heads to the United States next month for NASCAR.
The three-time Super Cars champion is competing in the inaugural six-hour endurance race at Highlands Motorsport this weekend to celebrate the club's 10th anniversary.
“It’s amazing when you nail a lap here – it’s a pretty cool feeling,” he said.
It’s his first time racing in Central Otago since 2017 and is likely to be his last in New Zealand for a little while.
Van Gisbergen confirmed his move from Supercars to NASCAR in August, describing the future as “exciting”.
“It’s gonna be a challenge, something different. Doing the ovals, some road courses, living in a different part of the world.”
He will experience a new feeling during Sunday’s race, with a traditional Le Mans-style start to the race where drivers run to their car.
“I haven’t run for a long time, but the person who organised it, he doesn’t run, so I’m sure he did it on purpose.”
Highlands Motorsport Park owner Tony Quinn said van Gisbergen can do it all.
“He does rallying and he can drift – that’s incredible, really.”
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