{"id":354230,"date":"2023-12-17T21:50:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354230"},"modified":"2023-12-18T02:02:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T02:02:23","slug":"the-five-flying-kiwis-vying-to-take-svgs-mantle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354230","title":{"rendered":"The five flying Kiwis vying to take SVG's mantle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Confirmation that Jaxon Evans will race full-time in Supercars<\/a> will bring the number of Kiwis on the grid to five.<\/p>\n

That's a year-on-year increase despite three-time champion Shane van Gisbergen departing Australia for the United States where he'll begin his NASCAR career<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although van Gisbergen has left, there's a good chance the next wave of talent will fly the New Zealand flag from the front.<\/p>\n

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One by one, here are the next generation of talents set to shake up Supercars.<\/p>\n

\"Richie<\/p>\n

Richie Stanaway\ufeff (Grove Racing)<\/h2>\n

One team will have an all-Kiwi line-up. Grove Racing has signed van Gisbergen's Bathurst 1000-winning co-driver Richie Stanaway, who will race alongside young gun Matt Payne.<\/p>\n

It marks a return to full-time driving for the 32-year-old, who retired from motorsport at the end of 2019.<\/p>\n

A surprise comeback in 2020 was nerfed by the COVID-19 pandemic but those plans remained in place for 2021, when he made his return in the Bathurst 1000.<\/p>\n

From that, he was given an opportunity to join van Gisbergen in this year's Great Race, which they duly won in dominant fashion.<\/p>\n

Stanaway is one of New Zealand's great what-if stories. He was destined to reach Formula 1 until he broke his back in a terrifying airborne crash, which curtailed his rise to the top.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Matt Payne\ufeff (Grove Racing)<\/h2>\n

Stanaway's teammate Payne is the next big thing. At just 21 years old, he's already a race winner after taking out the season finale on the streets of Adelaide.<\/p>\n

Payne has enjoyed a steep rise to Supercars after a successful karting career. He swept the Toyota Racing Series in his first time racing cars and took race wins in the Porsche Carrera Cup later that year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Graduation to the Super2 Series bore race wins and third in the standings. This year marked his first as a full-timer in Supercars.<\/p>\n

\"Andre<\/p>\n

Andre Heimgartner\ufeff (Brad Jones Racing)<\/h2>\n

At 28 years old, Andre Heimgartner is the second-oldest driver behind Stanaway but easily the most experienced in Supercars land.<\/p>\n

The forthcoming season will mark his ninth in the championship. Sixth in the standings with Brad Jones Racing marked his best season to date with six podium finishes.<\/p>\n

Heimgartner is the team's No.1 driver and should expect to challenge for race wins in 2024.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/p>\n

Ryan Wood (Walkinshaw Andretti United)\ufeff<\/h2>\n

Perhaps the most exciting prospect for the 2024 season is debutant Ryan Wood.<\/p>\n

He'll join Walkinshaw Andretti United, replacing Bathurst 1000 winner Nick Percat.<\/p>\n

The Super2 Series race winner has been constantly compared to van Gisbergen for his aggressive driving style and race smarts.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old could be Supercars' new wild child if he finds himself up at the front.<\/p>\n

\"Jaxon<\/p>\n

Jaxon Evans (Brad Jones Racing)\ufeff<\/h2>\n

Then there's Evans. The little-known Kiwi has spent much of his career racing in Porsches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He won Carrera Cup Australia in 2018 and went on to race in Porsche's premier championship, the Supercup.<\/p>\n

He's been endurance racing since then in Europe and North America, which he'll continue to do alongside his Supercars commitments.<\/p>\n

"Having started my racing career here, returning to Australia at some stage has always been an aspiration," said Evans.<\/p>\n

"Supercars produces some of the closest and most exciting racing \u2013 a massive attraction for any driver here or overseas.<\/p>\n

"Of course a big change in scenery, but an exciting one. I think the challenge of something new is a situation I thrive in, so I can't wait to get going.<\/p>\n

"This opportunity gives me the chance to expand my profile as a complete driver and still engage with the GT and endurance racing I have been doing for the past four years in Europe and the USA."<\/p>\n

2024 Supercars Championship grid:<\/h2>\n

8 – Brad Jones Racing – Andre Heimgartner – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

14- Brad Jones Racing – Bryce Fullwood – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

96 – Brad Jones Racing – Macauley Jones – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

TBC – Brad Jones Racing- Jaxon Evans – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

3 – Blanchard Racing Team – Aaron Love – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

7 – Blanchard Racing Team – James Courtney – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

11 – Dick Johnson Racing – Anton De Pasquale – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

17 – Dick Johnson Racing – Will Davison – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

1 – Erebus Motorsport – Brodie Kostecki – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

9 – Erebus Motorsport – Jack Le Brocq – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

19 – Grove Racing – Matt Payne – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

26 – Grove Racing – Richie Stanaway – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

TBC – Matt Stone Racing – Nick Percat – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

TBC – Matt Stone Racing – Cameron Hill – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

18 – Team 18 – Mark Winterbottom – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

20 – Team 18 – David Reynolds – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

TBA – Tickford Racing – Thomas Randle – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

6 – Tickford Racing – Cam Waters – Ford Mustang\u00a0<\/p>\n

88 – Triple Eight Race Engineering – Broc Feeney – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

TBA – Triple Eight Race Engineering – Will Brown – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

23 – PremiAir Racing – Tim Slade – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

31 – James Golding – James Golding – Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

2 –\u00a0 Walkinshaw Andretti United – Ryan Wood – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n

25 – Walkinshaw Andretti United – Chaz Mostert – Ford Mustang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Confirmation that Jaxon Evans will race full-time in Supercars will bring the number of Kiwis on the grid to five. That's a year-on-year increase despite […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":337266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354230"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354237,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354230\/revisions\/354237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/337266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}