There is no question about it that Shane van Gisbergen is hot property right now especially after seeing him win two from two V8 Supercar races in extremely wet conditions at Sydney Motorsport park last Saturday. The fact that he then proceeded to “drift” the track in the VIP Pet Food Commodore is a sure sign of SVGs love of drifting.
The real good news for all of us, is that Shane has now secured a drive in Formula Drift at Sydney Motorsport Park in the crazy 800 plus horsepower supercharged Commodore drift car of The Drift Syndicate team. SVG is sure to turn it on for the fans big time, as we all know, this guy does not go anywhere just to make up the numbers!
After last weekend’s performance, SVG is currently sitting in 4th position in the V8 Supercar series in the Tekno VIP Petfoods Commodore and it would be fair to say he knows a little about punting a Holden over a racetrack.
What is not so widely known, particularly in Australia, is that SVG is also an extremely competent drifter and has competed in many D1NZ rounds in his native New Zealand in the “Rattla” Falcon, but going up against some of the world’s best is something that the young Kiwi is really looking forward to.
“I’ve always been a fan of anything that goes sideways, starting from watching my Dad rallying to when I first started racing Speedway. I have gone out and done some testing in the Drift Syndicate Commodore and it shows a ton of promise and I will be working with the team to dial it in over the next few weeks.”
“It certainly has no shortage of grunt so it is guaranteed to be exciting. I am really looking forward to this. Drifting is something I always enjoy and to go up against some of the best in the business will be an awesome experience.”
The Drift Syndicate Commodore is the car that Max Orido drove in the Tectaloy Drift Challenge in 2013 but has since undergone some major reworks including a fresh 6.2 litre LSX engine with a Magnuson supercharger perched on top that revs “well over 8000rpm” and makes in excess of 800 horsepower.
“This is fantastic news for our team” said team principle Andrew Studdart “Shane was absolutely brilliant in testing and we are really looking forward to seeing him in Formula Drift.”
“The car is so strong now and we will continue to improve it right up to the event as Shane’s schedule allows in between his V8 Supercar commitments. This year we are certainly going to push for a win.”
