Van Gisbergen shifts gaze to Australian rally debut

Shane van Gisbergen will swap his Supercar for a rally car this week as he readies for his national debut.

Van Gisbergen left the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight second in the standings, having won Saturday night's Race 1.

The two-time Supercars champion suffered an off-track excursion in Sunday's race, but still managed to finish sixth.

Van Gisbergen will make his Australian Rally Championship debut next month, with his livery revealed on Monday.

Red Bull will back his Skoda for his one-off ARC start at the National Capital Rally in Canberra.

Van Gisbergen will test his R5-spec Skoda prepared by Race Torque Engineering on Tuesday, just two days after he crossed the line in Sydney.

His Skoda will also receive backing from Omen by HP, Harvey Norman and Local Legends.

The 55-time Supercars race winner will take part in Tuesday's pre-season ARC test in Canberra.

There, he’ll be joined by experienced co-driver Glenn Weston.

"The livery looks amazing and the car is ready to go,” he said.

"I can’t wait to get behind the wheel at the pre-season test day in Canberra on Tuesday.

"To have the support of Red Bull, HP, Omen, Harvey Norman, Local Legends and Hoosier is great and has made this new challenge possible.

“So thank you to everyone for getting behind me for this event.”

Van Gisbergen has prior experience in rallying; notably, he won his class in last January's City of Auckland Rally aboard father Robert's Ford Escort.

He later won the Battle of Jacks Ridge event outright in a Mitsubishi Mirage.

Van Gisbergen said Tuesday’s test will prove an eye-opener as he switches from his Supercar to the outskirts of Canberra.

"The test day tomorrow will be one that is particularly important for me, and I will take every opportunity to learn the car and the Canberra roads,” he said.

"It will also be a great opportunity to work alongside Glenn who has a lot of experience in the Australian Championship and in Canberra.

"I can’t wait to get out there as we prepare for the Netier National Capital Rally in April."

Van Gisbergen will resume his Supercars title defence at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint.

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