Supercars championship leader Shane van Gisbergen is eyeing a debut in the Australian Rally Championship later this year.
The reigning Bathurst 1000 champion recently had an opportunity to sit in and familiarise himself with rally driver Luke Anear's Ford Fiesta, and van Gisbergen will also attend this weekend's second round of the ARC in Gympie.
Late in 2020, van Gisbergen competed in two rally events in New Zealand, winning the Battle of Jacks Ridge and taking out his class in the City of Auckland Rally.
His father, Robert van Gisbergen, was an accomplished rally driver in his own right.
"I'm pretty inexperienced with the rally stuff," van Gisbergen said.
"Had a small taste last year, and it's something I've always wanted to do, that's what Dad was always into in motorsport, and I've always been around it, but never got the chance to have a go until last year, and just loved it and want to do more.
"(It's) so different to what I'm used to, so it will take a bit of time, but so much fun as well."
Michael Smith from Motorsport Australia welcomed the move as a big boost for the series.
"To have a driver of Shane's calibre trying to find an opportunity to compete in the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship is certainly an exciting prospect for fans and competitors alike," he said.
"We're quite hopeful we'll see Shane at an ARC event later this year and I'm sure he will have the rally bug after attending the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland in Gympie this weekend."
The Triple Eight driver is under no illusions that his switch from tarmac to gravel will be easy.
"It's cool to watch, up the front, when you watch the on-boards and the stage times, how hard they're pushing, it's pretty impressive," he said.
"I'd love to have a go and have a play and maybe do something in the future. I would love to do something here and have some fun in a car."
Van Gisbergen has a 190-point lead over teammate Jamie Whincup in the Supercars championship, having won the first six races of the season, and finished on the podium in nine of the 11 races to date.
The series continues at Winton in Victoria at the end of May.
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