One question is on Shane van Gisbergen’s (SVG) mind when it comes to this year’s Supercars enduro rounds and that’s if he’ll have Richie Stanaway as a co-driver in 2024.
It was announced that the three-time title winner would be paired with the fellow countryman at the start of this year after former co-driver Garth Tander left for Penrite Racing.
With Stanaway now taking his place, he is set to share driving duties in both the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 with van Gisbergen who praises the 31-year old highly.
“It would’ve been good to keep Garth, but he made a change which was a real shame, but good for him,” van Gisbergen told Supercars.
However, he thinks Stanaway has what it takes to secure a full time drive for next year which could leave him looking for a new co-driver yet again.
“With Richie, it’s good and bad, because if he does a good job and goes awesome, he’s only going to be there one year,” van Gisbergen added.
“It’s a lot of effort to put into someone if they’re going to be leaving.
“He’s good enough to have a full-time drive, and he should have one if he wants one.”
Just how good is Stanaway you might ask? The Kiwi was paired with Greg Murphy as a wildcard entry for Erebus Motorsport at last year’s Bathurst 1000 to which he placed the car fourth on the grid in qualifying while the rain came down hard.
While the pair finished just outside the top ten in the race itself, it was an impressive performance nonetheless.
Not only that but Stanaway previously competed full time in Supercars up until 2019 when he left Garry Rogers Motorsport and retired.
But now comes another chance to shine in this year’s endurance rounds.
“We’re going to do all this prep and show him everything, show him how it all works, because we’ve got two big races,” said SVG.
“It’s a massive influence on the championship. He’ll do all this prep and hopefully get a full-time drive next year.”
We’ll have to wait until 15 to 17 September before we see the Kiwi duo get out on track at the Sandown 500 though, before they contest the Bathurst 1000 on 5 to 8 October.
Header Image: Supercars
