Van Gisbergen eyes Australian Rally Championship debut

Shane van Gisbergen has cast his gaze to a start in the 2021 RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship.

Van Gisbergen, who leads the Repco Supercars Championship standings by 190 points heading to Winton next weekend, is no stranger to off-road driving.

Last year, the New Zealander won the inaugural Battle of Jack’s Ridge, and won his class in the City of Auckland Rally.

Van Gisbergen, who has won six of 11 races in this year’s Supercars campaign, recently got an opportunity to sit in and familiarise himself with Australian rally driver's Luke Anear’s AGI Sport Ford Fiesta R5.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver sat in an M-Sport prepared Ford Fiesta R5 which features a 1.6L turbo direct injection power plant.

Van Gisbergen sits in the car Pic: Supplied

It comes ahead of the second round of the ARC in Gympie, the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland, this weekend.

Van Gisbergen confirmed he will attend the rally across the weekend as he eyes a possible Australian national rally debut.

New Triple Eight co-owner Tony Quinn will also be competing at this weekend’s rally, which will feature 78 entrants across both the ARC and Queensland Rally Championship.

"(The ARC) is something I’ve followed snippets of the last few years, and now Tony Quinn as well, our team owner, is racing in it so it’s cool to watch," the 46-time Supercars race winner said.

"Seeing (the ARC) grow and get bigger, and the drivers up the front when you watch the onboards and the stage times and see how quick those guys are and how hard they’re pushing. It’s pretty impressive that’s for sure.

"I’d love to have a go and have a play and maybe do something in the future. I would love to do something here and have some fun in a car."

Van Gisbergen competes in the Battle of Jack's Ridge Pic: Supplied

Michael Smith, Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations, Motorsport Australia, added: “To have a driver of Shane’s calibre trying to find an opportunity to compete in the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship is certainly an exciting prospect for fans and competitors alike.

"We’re quite hopeful we’ll see Shane at an ARC event later this year and I’m sure he will have the rally bug after attending the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland in Gympie this weekend."

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to Victoria for the Winton SuperSprint across May 28-30. Tickets are available here.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus. Check out the weekend schedule here.