Nathan Herne will sport an Australian-themed livery on his Ford Mustang, when he races in the US Trans Am Championship at the Circuit of The Americas this weekend.

The #29 Steven-Millers Racing Ford Mustang will proudly feature an Australian flag, as well as the TA2 Australia logo on the bonnet, when it takes to the 3.426 mile (5.513 km) circuit as part of a 54-car field.

Herne’s drive was facilitated by TA2 Muscle Car Series founder Peter Robinson in conjunction with Joe Stevens, owner of Stevens-Miller Racing in an arrangement which began in 2018 to send Australian TA2 champions to compete in the United States with assistance from TA2 car constructor Howe Racing Enterprises.

“We are extremely proud to present opportunities for our Australian TA2 drivers to race internationally, as we have done with former champions Russell Wright and Ashley Jarvis,” Peter Robinson said.

In his first overseas outing, Herne will also be able to call on the counsel of two-time US TA2 title winner and 2022 IMSA LMP3 champion Gar Robinson.

The American has also previously driven Trans Am machinery in Australia, competing in the TA2 Class in the Combined Sedans Support Category at the Bathurst 12 Hour, which he won in 2018.

“I’m pumped to reunite with my Australian TA2 mates to help out their young-gun Nathan [Herne] at COTA this weekend,” the Texan native said.

“I have fond memories of my time at Bathurst with my Aussie mates in 2018 and 2019, and I’ve been itching to get there one day to race in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

“I first met Nathan when I raced at Bathurst in 2019 before he started in TA2, and it’s been great to see him progress to be a two-time Australian champion and hopefully he can take it to the yanks over here.

“Track position will be critical with over 50 cars on track, so my role will be just to get him familiar with how to get the most of these cars around COTA so he can maximise his time on track to put him in the best position to race well on Sunday.”

The final round of the American Trans-Am Series at COTA commences with a test session on Friday local time/Saturday morning AEDT, before practice and qualifying on Saturday local time/Sunday morning AEDT.

The TA2 race will commence at 11:45am local time Sunday/03:45 AEDT on Monday.