Shane van Gisbergen is a surprise inclusion in the field for the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series season finale at Highlands Motorsport Park next month.
The Tony Quinn-owned series is off to Highlands to race at the 10th anniversary meeting of the Quinn-owned track, on New Zealand’s South Island.
Van Gisbergen was already committed to the headline act, the Highlands 6 Hour for GT3s and the like, in which he will drive a Brabham BT62.
Now, he has added a debut appearance in the pint-sized Aussie Racing Cars.
He will get behind the wheel of a second Norganic Proteins-supported entry owned by Kent Quinn, who is aiming to seal the Masters Cup title.
Joel Heinrich is vying for Championship class honours and needs to finish seventh or better for the round to clinch the crown, with his nearest rivals being Josh Anderson and Reece Chapman.
2014 Aussie Racing Cars series winner Darren Chamberlin, stepfather of Anderson, has returned to the field for the weekend.
In the Gold Cup, Sheridan Phillips holds a 15-point lead over Jeff Waters, while Nathan Williams is just eight ahead of Brandon Madden in the Rookie Cup, with 25 points available at Highlands.
All cars and equipment arrived in Port Chalmers near Dunedin on October 19, and is set to reach Highlands Motorsport Park this week, when quarantine and customs procedures will take place.
The final round of the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series will be comprised of four races at the November 3-5 event.
The event will be television, in New Zealand on Sky from 12:45-18:00 on Saturday and 08:45-17:30 on Sunday, and in Australia on Fox Sports from 09:30-15:00 AEDT on Saturday and 07:30-14:30 on Sunday.
SCHEDULE
Friday, November 3
Practice 1 10:05am (NZDT) 8:05am (AEDT)
Practice 2 1:30pm (NZDT) 11:30am (AEDT)
Qualifying 4:20pm (NZDT) 2:20pm (AEDT)
Saturday, November 4
Race 1 9:40am (NZDT) 7:40am (AEDT)
Race 2 1:05pm (NZDT) 11:05am (AEDT)
Race 3 3:00pm (NZDT) 1:00pm (AEDT)
Sunday, November 5
Race 4 8:50am (NZDT) 6:15am (AEDT)
Entry list
| No. | Class | Driver | State | Team | Model |
| 1 | Championship | Josh Anderson | NSW | CoolDrive/Perenso Racing | Mustang |
| 3 | Rookie Cup | Steve Jakic | QLD | Black Diamond Building and Construction | Euro GT |
| 4 | Gold Cup | Brendon Tucker | QLD | Variety Motorsport | Camaro |
| 6 | Gold Cup | Ian Chivas | NSW | Chivas Motorsport | Altima |
| 7 | Masters Cup | Andrew Lorgelly | VIC | Muscle Motor Trimmers | Euro GT |
| 13 | Rookie Cup | Scott Gore | QLD | ASAP Marketing | Mustang |
| 16 | Championship | Joel Heinrich | SA | Osborn’s Transport | Mustang |
| 18 | Championship | Cody Brewczynski | NSW | Shell Rimula Topgun Race Team | Mustang |
| 19 | Gold Cup | Sheridan Phillips | NSW | Phillips & Co Automotive | Camaro |
| 20 | Rookie Cup | Scott Andriske | QLD | Harveys Towing/TFH Temporary Fence Hire | Camaro |
| 23 | Rookie Cup | Scott Dornan | QLD | Action Line Marking | Camaro |
| 25 | Championship | Reece Chapman | NSW | CoolDrive/Motorsport25 | Mustang |
| 28 | Masters Cup | Kent Quinn | QLD | Norganic Proteins | Mustang |
| 36 | Championship | Darren Chamberlain | NSW | Perenso Racing | Mustang |
| 48 | Rookie Cup | Keith Bensley | QLD | ASAP Marketing | Aurion |
| 56 | Championship | Joseph Andriske | QLD | Harveys Towing/TFH Temporary Fence Hire | Camaro |
| 57 | Rookie Cup | Brandon Madden | QLD | UNIT, Harveys Towing, Maddtrim | Camaro |
| 78 | Masters Cup | Grant Thompson | NSW | Western Sydney Motorsport | Mustang |
| 82 | Championship | Cody Mckay | NSW | Cody Mckay Motorsports | Camaro |
| 86 | Masters Cup | Brett Osborn | NSW | Osborn’s Transport | Camaro |
| 87 | Rookie Cup | Leslie Corrish | NSW | Corish Motorsports | Camaro |
| 95 | Rookie Cup | Nathan Williams | VIC | Nathan Williams Racing | Mustang |
| 96 | Gold Cup | Jeff Watters | VIC | Fight MND | Mustang |
| 97 | Championship | Shane van Gisbergen | NZ | Norganic Proteins | Camaro |
| 111 | Masters Cup | Kynan Yu | NZ | Highlands Motorsport Park | Toyota |
| 187 | Rookie Cup | Andrew Corish | NSW | Corish Motorsports | Camaro |
