McLaughlin, van Gisbergen team up for Daytona 24 Hours GTD Pro one-off

Former Supercars rivals Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin will pair up in a one-off IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD Professional class entry for the Daytona 24 Hours in January.

The Kiwi pair will race a Corvette Z06 GT3.R entered beneath the Trackhouse by TF banner, the results of a partnership between NASCAR squad Trackhouse Racing and Corvette accomplice workforce TF Sport.

Van Gisbergen and McLaughlin, who between them gained three Supercars apiece whereas driving for the rival Triple Eight and DJR Team Penske operations, will share with Trackhouse protege Connor Zilisch and TF common Ben Keating within the one-off entry.

Zilisch is the one member of the quartet to have beforehand gained at Daytona, the 18-year-old NASCAR Xfinity racer triumphant within the LMP2 division this 12 months for Period Motorsports.

Keating, who gained the primary of his two World Endurance Championship GTE Am titles and Le Mans 24 Hours class victories with a TF Sport Aston Martin in 2022, has a greatest Daytona end of third with a JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi in 2022.

“It’s going to be a number of enjoyable and we’re actually grateful to have this chance, so an enormous thanks to GM and Corvette Racing who helped us put this collectively,” mentioned TF workforce boss Tom Ferrier.

“Ben isn’t any stranger to us and the opposite guys want no introduction. A massively gifted bunch and will probably be nice enjoyable. We’ll do all we will to win a watch!”

McLaughlin, who makes use of Chevrolet engines in his Workforce Penske IndyCar, praised van Gisbergen as “among the finest racers I’ve ever competed in opposition to” after securing hat-trick of Supercars titles between 2018-20 earlier than switching codes.

“When the chance got here up from Common Motors to run with Ben, Connor and Shane, I jumped at it right away,” mentioned McLaughlin.

“I’ve all the time wished to run an endurance race in a Chevrolet Corvette, and I couldn’t think about a greater group to affix.

“I’m assured we now have an actual likelihood of successful a Rolex with this workforce.

“Connor is a younger star who’s going to be round for a very long time, and Ben has gained Le Mans and a World Championship in a Corvette. We’re going to have some enjoyable.”

Van Gisbergen will embark on his first full season within the NASCAR Cup collection subsequent 12 months with Trackhouse after spending 2024 within the second-tier Xfinity Sequence.

The Supercars champion of 2016, 2021 and 2022 is making his return to Daytona for the primary time since 2020.

He added: “This can be a dream come true to get to drive alongside Scotty, Connor and Ben. I like the 24 Hours of Daytona and it’s superior to do that with this workforce.”