Brown, van Gisbergen's unique New Zealand link-up

Supercars champion Will Brown has been treated to a unique racing experience in New Zealand, courtesy of the driver he replaced at Triple Eight Race Engineering, Shane van Gisbergen.

Brown arrives in 2025 as the reigning Repco Supercars Championship winner, having sealed the 2024 crown at the VAILO Adelaide 500 last November.

It will be a big summer for the Queenslander ahead of the first round of the 2025 Supercars season, headlined by a Bathurst 12 Hour start alongside Chaz Mostert, and open wheel cameos in New Zealand.

Brown, who will be handed the keys to his native Toowoomba, will also compete for Australia at the 2025 Race of Champions, which will take place at Sydney's Accor Stadium in March.

The 26-year-old has headed across the Tasman for NZ NextGen Championship events at Taupō, Hampton Downs and Highlands.

Ahead of his Historic Grand Prix appearance at Taupō next weekend, Brown took to Franklin Dirt Kart Club's Ebbetts Raceway to sample off-road karts in a day organised by van Gisbergen.

For Brown, it was a first experience in a kart on dirt, labelling the day "a blast" on social media.

It comes after van Gisbergen spotted for Brown in the latter's NASCAR Cup Series debut at Sonoma last June.

Off-road competitive is nothing new for three-time Supercars champion turned NASCAR star van Gisbergen, who has claimed podiums in the Australian Rally Championship and WRC2.

Van Gisbergen has also been a headline act around speedways in New Zealand, with the three-time Bathurst winner balancing time at home with visits to dirt tracks around his native country.

The New Zealander will return to the United States ahead of his maiden full-time NASCAR Cup Series season, which will commence in February. Brown, meanwhile, will kick off his Supercars title defence in Sydney.

Tickets for the Supercars season-opening round in Sydney, on February 21-23, are on sale now.