Son of ex-Super2 racer making Trans Am debut

It won’t be Shane van Gisbergen, but the Turtle Wax Trans Am Series will still have a debutant in its ranks this weekend at Mount Panorama.

Repco Supercars Championship leader van Gisbergen was due to juggle a maiden Trans Am expedition with a drive in the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour main event, until a COVID-19 positive test rendered him unavailable.

Brett Holdsworth had been among the competitors to hail van Gisbergen’s addition to the grid as “amazing”, but the opportunity to go door-to-door with the Kiwi will now have to wait until at least May 27-29 at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Nevertheless, there will be a fresh face on the 25-car grid in the form of James Simpson.

The youngster is a fourth-generation racer, his father Michael having raced to a number of podium finishes in what is now known as the Dunlop Super2 Series.

Simpson Snr also made a pair of starts in the Bathurst 1000, co-driving with Craig Harris in 2001 and Kevin Mundy in 2002.

Meanwhile, Elliot Barbour will return after missing the recent Phillip Island round.

Nathan Herne enters the Bathurst event holding a seven-point lead over nearest rival Tim Brook.

The Turtle Wax Trans Am Series will roll out for opening practice at 08:15 tomorrow.

Entry list: Turtle Wax Trans Am Series, Round 3

Number	Class	Sponsor	Driver	Model
1	Outright	Team Valvoline GRM	Nathan Herne	Ford Mustang
2	Outright	Micale Cabinets/Nuveau Group	Kyle Gurton	Ford Mustang
3	Outright	All American Driveline	Ben Grice	Ford Mustang
4	Masters Cup	Crutcher Developments	Mark Crutcher	Ford Mustang
6	Hoosier Cup	McAlister Motors	Hugh McAlister	Ford Mustang
8	Hoosier Cup	Wealth Rite Racing	Chris Pappas	Ford Mustang
12	Hoosier Cup	Shaun Richardson Motorsport	Shaun Richardson	Dodge Challenger
23	Masters Cup	Holinger Racing	John Holinger	Chevrolet Camaro
27	Outright	Pioneer DJ	Elliot Barbour	Chevrolet Camaro
31	Hoosier Cup	Bruce Lynton Service	Dalton Ellery	Ford Mustang
33	Hoosier Cup	Team Boley Racing	Brock Boley	Chevrolet Camaro
36	Outright	PBS Specialty Coatings	Cody Burcher	Ford Mustang
37	Outright	Dream Racing Australia	Jackson Rice	Dodge Challenger
38	Outright	Paynter Dixon Wall Racing	Tim Brook	Ford Mustang
45	Outright	Up2/11 Motorsport GRM	Lochie Dalton	Ford Mustang
48	Outright	Nic Carroll Motorsport	Nic Carroll	Dodge Challenger
67	Outright	Supercheap Auto	Nash Morris	Ford Mustang
69	Outright	Dial Before You Dig	Jon McCorkindale	Ford Mustang
73	Outright	Owen Kelly Motorsport	Owen Kelly	Ford Mustang
88	Hoosier Cup	Ownit Homes/Superior Jetties	John Harris	Ford Mustang
99	Outright	TPS Group/Breeze Holiday Park	Brett Holdsworth	Chevrolet Camaro
116	Outright	Sydney Property Care	Edan Thornburrow	Ford Mustang
117	Hoosier Cup	NAPA Auto Parts	Jett Johnson	Ford Mustang
777	Masters Cup	Dream Racing Australia	Craig Scutella	Chevrolet Camaro
782	Hoosier Cup	Seven82Motors	James Simpson	Dodge Challenger