V8 powerhouse Shane Van Gisbergen will make his Porsche Carrera Cup Australia debut later this month when lining up in the championship’s annual Pro-Am – the headline act for the upcoming Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park on April 29-May 01, 2016.

The über talented 26-year old, who sits seventh in the V8 Supercars standings, will race in the all-Kiwi entry alongside countryman Paul Kelly, who competed in the Australian Porsche series across the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

The Kiwi pairing will race with Scott Taylor Motorsport, with the team’s owner Scott Taylor crafting the deal to place his Porsche, which has not raced this season, back on the Carrera Cup grid and in winning contention for the annual two-driver event.

Van Gisbergen, who was recruited by championship winning V8 Supercars team Red Bull Racing Australia in the off-season, has recent Porsche experience having raced in the past three Daytona 24 Hour events with the German marque before his Carrera Cup debut in the Scott Taylor Motorsport 911 GT3 Cup car.

“I’ve driven a Porsche quite a few times; I raced in GT3 Cup Challenge in New Zealand in 2009 and also at the Daytona 24 Hour in a Porsche each year; they are great to race and I like the style of car so I’m looking forward to racing in Sydney for the Pro-Am,” said Van Gisbergen.

“I watch Carrera Cup racing at V8 rounds and have seen the battles between [Scott] McLaughlin and [Nick] Percat at the Pro-Am before; they certainly don’t hold back. I really like the Sydney Motorsport Park circuit too so I can’t wait to get on track at Rennsport. There’s a pretty good line up of drivers so far and ‘PK’ is a great steerer so I think we’ll do well.”

Paul Kelly made his Porsche Carrera Cup Australia debut in 2011 upon the relaunch of the one-make series Down Under and has since gone on to claim two race and two round victories in the TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge class.