Repco Supercars Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen is ready to tackle one of the world’s classic races this weekend, the 24 Hour of Le Mans.
It’s the 90th running of the legendary event featuring four classes split between prototype and GT entries featuring 62-cars. Van Gisbergen will contest the GTE-Pro Class in a Riley Motorsports Ferrari 488 GTE partnering Brit Sam Bird and Brazilian Felipe Fraga.
It is a first-time appearance for the Kiwi ace, but he is experienced in overseas GT racing having won the 2016 Blancpain Endurance Series with McLaren, a year in which he also won the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Van Gisbergen was excited for the opportunity after a stillborn attempt in 2020 to make his Le Mans debut where he was due to enter the LMP2 Class with Eurasia Motorsport
“It’s an awesome opportunity and something I’m pretty thankful for,” van Gisbergen said.
“I’ve got two good teammates in Sam Bird and Felipe Fraga.
“I can’t wait to experience it; I’ve never driven a GTE car, never driven a Ferrari, never been to Le Mans.
“For sure, I’ll study as much as I can, there’s a lot of onboards and stuff.
“The hardest thing is going to be [racing around] the prototypes, looking out the back window more than the front.
“When we do the 12 Hour, we’re the fastest car looking out the front.”
Qualifying has already taken place where all the Hypercars consisting of Toyota, Glickenhaus and Alpine go through to Hyperpole alongside the fastest six entries from each class.
Van Gisbergen’s Ferrari was caught out by rain during the qualifying session and was the only GTE-Pro entry to miss Hyperpole and will start 40th.
There is strong antipodean representation through out the field as Kiwi and ex-Formula 1 driver Brendon Hartley is part of the crack Toyota Hypercar team battling for outright honours, while countryman Nick Cassidy is contesting GTE-Am for Ferrari factory team AF Corse.
Australian representatives include Ryan Briscoe for Glickenhaus, global LMP2 regular James Allen and Porsche Professional Matt Campbell.
The race begins at Saturday midnight AEST.
The race is entering an exciting new era as manufacturers continue to flock to prototype racing as Peugeot, Ferrari, Lamborghini, BMW, Porsche, Cadillac and Acura have all confirmed participation in either Hypercar or LMDh regulations, which will also be shared in the American Weathertech IMSA Sportscar Championship.