Shane van Gisbergen will make his long-awaited return to circuit racing in New Zealand when he joins the opening round of the South Island Endurance Series at Ruapuna on September 8-9.
The three-time Supercars champion and NASCAR race winner will partner Dwayne Carter in the Carters Motorsport #19 Brabham BT62 for the 3-Hour race. Van Gisbergen will miss Round 2 at Teretonga due to a prior commitment to the Daybreaker Rally on September 22-23, but it’s believed he will rejoin Carters Tyres Motorsport for Round 3 of the series at Levels Raceway on October 13-14.
The South Island Endurance Series has since confirmed van Gisbergen’s attendance for the Ruapuna round but have not confirmed his participation at Levels.
The Brabham BT62 appeared on the track for the first time at Hampton Downs in December 2021 before competing in the opening round of the South Island Endurance Series at Ruapuna, becoming the first instance of the car appearing in a series in the Southern Hemisphere.
The car lost a wheel due to a wheel-nut failure during the race and also ran into engine issues at Teretonga, initially unable to leave first gear before losing oil pressure. The Carters missed the final South Island Endurance Championship round at Levels and the New Zealand Endurance Championship race at Highlands Motorsport Park as a result.
The team sent the damaged engine back to Australia for it to be rebuilt, which has since been installed and shaken down last Friday at Ruapuna by Dwayne Carter.
It’s now set to make its long-awaited return to the track in New Zealand, along with a Superstar driver sharing the drive.
Van Gisbergen is no stranger to Carter’s team, having won the South Island Endurance Championship three-hour in 2013 at Highlands when he joined Dwayne Carter in the #19 Ford Falcon BF.
Just seven Brabham BT62s have been produced to date, making the Carter’s car a very rare one indeed.
This year’s South Island Endurance Series will be streamed online through The Pits Media.
Header Image: The Carter brothers in action in their Brabham BT62 last year. Image: Neville Bailey
