Winner of the Speedsport Scholarship, Rookie of the Year and third overall in the 2004/05 NZ Formula First Championship, winner of the 2005/06 NZ Formula Ford Championship and then runner up in the 2006/07 Toyota Racing Series, it looked like a young Shane van Gisbergen was on a single seater trajectory. Yet this was a determined young man with talent-to-boot and his aim was squarely on driving ‘tin-tops’ and made it known that his destination was across the Tasman Sea and the Australian V8 Supercars Championship.
Van Gisbergen finished runner-up to Daniel Gaunt in the 2006/07 Toyota Racing Series. It was always going to be difficult. Gaunt was in his third consecutive season of TRS and had won the title in 2005/06. He went on to win eight races to van Gisbergens two.
Gaunt easily won the title by 328 points to van Gisbergen followed by Ben Harford, Andy Knight (who went on to win the 2007/08 TRS title) and Christina Orr. Gaunt also won both the NZ Grand Prix and the Lady Wigram Trophy race in the same season.
Van Gisbergen had been noticed and after the TRS season made his way to Australia and made his debut in the V8 Supercars Championship with Team Kiwi Racing later that year in Round 8 held at Oran Park Raceway. He was picked up by Stone Brothers Racing for the 2008 season and the rest, they say, is history.
Comments