British sports car team Von Ryan Racing has confirmed Shane van Gisbergen will join its driver line up at the Total 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium later this month.
Following his stand-out drive in February’s Bathurst 12 Hours in the VIP Petfoods Racing McLaren, Van Gisbergen will again be behind the wheel of a McLaren MP4-12C, partnering McLaren factory driver Rob Bell and a third still to be named pro-class driver for the Blancpain Endurance Series event.
Von Ryan Racing team boss (ex McLaren F1 sporting director) Dave Ryan, approached former McLaren colleague Steve Hallam, now general manager at van Gisbergen’s V8 Supercars team Tekno Autosports, to enquire about the New Zealander’s services.
“I watched Bathurst and saw that Shane did a really good job,” Ryan told Autosport.
“I didn’t know much about him, so I spoke to Steve Hallam, who is technical director at Tekno, and I think Shane is going to be really good.”
Formed by expatriate Kiwis Ryan and Warren Briggs, Von Ryan Racing return to Spa for a third consecutive assault on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after claiming 4th place in Pro-Am class in 2012 and 8th in in the Pro category in 2013.
Spa will be van Gisbergen’s second overseas GT race this year having also competed in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, co-piloting the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 to an eighth place finish in the GT Daytona class.
Van Gisbergen, who currently sits fourth in the V8 Supercars Championship standings, will head to Belgium to join the team after taking part in a test day with Tekno Autosports at Queensland Raceway on Monday.
Van Gisbergen joins V8 Supercars rival Craig Lowndes on the grid. Lowndes lines up with Ferrari team AF Corse in the Pro-AM category, while V8 Supercars co-drivers Steven Richards, Steve Owen and David Russell have teamed with fellow Australian Roger Lago in his Pro-Am Lago Racing Lamborghini, while Erebus Motorsport’s Australian GT driver Richard Muscat will join fellow Mercedes Customer Sports outfit Black Falcon in the Pro Cup.
The Total 24 Hours of Spa gets underway on Saturday 26 July with a grid of around 60 cars expected to take part.
