Andre Heimgartner

Andre Heimgartner stays on with Kelly Racing in 2019, after replacing the retired Todd Kelly in '18.

The young Kiwi always had his sights set on Supercars, and moved from karting to Formula Vee at just 12 years old, followed by seasons in Australian Formula Ford and Carrera Cup.

Alongside an NZ V8SuperTourer Series campaign, he made his debut in the Dunlop Super2 Series in 2013, with his efforts over the next two seasons enough to catch the eye of the new Super Black Racing.

Heimgartner was signed for its Bathurst 2014 wildcard, then became the full-time driver for its maiden season, with highlights including qualifying third at Queensland Raceway and finishing seventh at Sydney Motorsport Park.

He moved to Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2016 and finished 25th in the championship, but looked set to go through 2017 without racing a Supercar.

While his focus shifted back to Carrera Cup and GT racing in Asia, Heimgartner was called up by Brad Jones Racing during the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 weekend to replace the injured Ash Walsh.

With Tim Slade, Heimgartner finished ninth in the Great Race, then starred in the wet on the Gold Coast to take his maiden podium with third.

That helped pave the way for a Nissan drive replacing team co-owner Kelly, with Heimgartner finishing a personal-best 17th in the points.

He finished the campaign strongly, with three top 10 race results and two Shootout appearances across the Pukekohe and Newcastle weekends.