Aucklander Shane Van Gisbergen is taking time away from his V-8 Supercar job to do some driving in America. No, he is not signing up with ride-sharing service Uber. Instead, he will be driving in the Daytona 24-Hour race in the GT Daytona class, piloting a spanking new Porche 911 in which he earned a ride by finishing runner-up last year.
His employer will again be with Alex Job Racing. Van Gisbergen trailed last year’s winner by only eight seconds, an incredibly close finish in a 24-hour endurance race.
Van Gisbergen and four other drivers will take turns guiding the 911 around. He is very pumped about driving a car this go, because last year’s race was driven in an old Carrera Cup car that had been modified with a bigger motor. The 2016 car will have the complete package of aerodynamics, brakes and traction control.
Asked to compare his Daytona ride with the V8s he typically drives in the Supercar series, he said, “It’s gutless compared to a V8 but easy to drive with all the grip it has.”
One of the most intriguing aspects and challenges of the Daytona race is all the various classes of cars, with different speeds and handling capabilities, being out on the track at the same time, something like driving around Melbourne or Sydney CBD during peak times.
