Rising Kiwi star Taylor Cockerton has secured a drive to contest the opening S5000 series round at Sandown this weekend.

The 21-year-old from Pukekohe, New Zealand is set to drive a third car prepared by MTEC Motorsport which is already fielding entries for Matthew Brabham and Tim Macrow.

Cockerton boasts a wealth of experience in open wheel racing having won the 2014/15 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship before spending three years in the competitive Toyota Racing Series.

“I’m not setting any expectations for myself. I’d like to be at the pointy end. I’ve got some good team-mates in Matt and Tim, so hopefully I’m getting into a rhythm early and move forward,” said Cockerton.

“The last race car that I drove was a Formula 4 car at the Grand Prix in March, so this is a massive step up in terms of performance. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, we can be challenging for the lead.”

Cockerton will join the already confirmed 11 drivers including Formula 1 race winner Rubens Barrichello for a private S5000 test at Phillip Island today ahead of this weekend’s maiden race meeting for the category at Sandown.

S5000 confirmed yesterday that the new V8 powered single-seater formula will kick off its 2020 season at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix from March 12-15.

Provisional Entry list: Round 1, Sandown International Motor Raceway