Speaking on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, van Gisbergen said he had an opportunity to race in A1 Grand Prix.
A1GP billed itself as the ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ with drivers representing countries as opposed to traditional racing teams.
The short-lived series featured a smorgasbord of drivers who went on to enjoy successful racing careers.
New Zealand was represented by Earl Bamber, Jonny Reid, Matt Halliday, and Chris van der Drift across the four seasons.
Many have wondered how van Gisbergen would have gone in single-seaters had he pursued that path – and it nearly came to fruition.
“When I was in that transition phase, when I was doing single-seaters, I had a pretty decent chance or opportunity to do what was called A1GP at the time – a high-level single-seater series,” said van Gisbergen.
“But I loved V8 Supercars. I could have gone to Europe or world route. I don’t know, I just always wanted to be in V8 Supercars.
“In some ways, I wish I had tried and could have seen how far I went, but I loved Supercars at that time. I’m glad I did that too.”
After finishing runner-up to Dan Gaunt in the 2007 Toyota Racing Series, van Gisbergen made his Supercars debut with Team Kiwi Racing at Oran Park.
The following year, he was racing full-time with Stone Brothers Racing and went on to enjoy a successful career that netted three championships and three Bathurst 1000 wins.
Van Gisbergen’s former Supercars co-driver Alex Premat, who raced in the GP2 Series, hailed the New Zealander’s ability.
Premat was teammate to eventual seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton at ART Grand Prix in the 2006 GP2 Series – the single-seater series one run below F1.
“If Shane was smaller and lighter, he’d be a champion in Formula 1,” Premat told Speedcafe.com in 2016 when asked of van Gisbergen in relation to Hamilton.
“Shane is very talented. He has a lot of skill and is very smart with what he does on the set-up.
“He’s always thinking about what he can do better all the time. He’s always working.
“In Europe with all the comments from people I’ve heard, everyone rates him as an alien.
“They say, ‘How can he do that?’ And honestly, they’re right.
“In SMP (Sydney Motorsport Park), the first time that I drove the car I did a ride-along and Shane was next to me.
“The next lap I was next to him (as a passenger) and it was pretty amazing.
“That lap I will remember all my life, what he was doing, how he controlled it.
“He could put the car wherever he wanted and at whatever speed. It was amazing.”
Van Gisbergen will continue his NASCAR Cup Series campaign at Phoenix on Monday (AEDT).
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US
Discussion about this post