THE reality is sinking in for Shane van Gisbergen that the bold new chapter of his career is now just around the corner.
One round remains in the Kiwi’s 15-plus-year Supercars tenure: this month’s VAILO Adelaide 500.
He enters that with a sniff of a fourth title, at 131 points back from Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki.
Then, whichever way the championship goes, the category will bid farewell to van Gisbergen, whose resume currently boasts 80 wins from 509 races.
“The future is so exciting, I don’t see it as a sad thing,” van Gisbergen told V8 Sleuth.
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The 34-year-old has already begun preparing for the move, which is set to happen in mid-December.
“It’s getting very real,” he said.
“I’ve started packing up my house and selling stuff off. It’s not long until we move over and start a new journey. It’s pretty exciting.”
Whether van Gisbergen ever returns to Supercars remains to be seen.
He has voiced an interest in returning for the 2024 enduros with Triple Eight, and team principal Jamie Whincup has said he’ll step aside to allow SVG to co-drive if he is available.
But that’s thought to be a relatively long shot given NASCAR road course races at Watkins Glen (September 15) and the Charlotte Roval (October 13) are tipped to clash with the 2024 Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.
Exactly how van Gisbergen’s 2024 program looks remains to be seen, with Trackhouse Racing having outlined it will deploy him across NASCAR’s three tiers for a developmental season.
One thing van Gisbergen is hoping for is close mate Scott Pye to use a Triple Eight co-driving opportunity next year to springboard back into a full-time drive for 2025.
MORE: Pye’s top priority for Triple Eight co-drive
Pye’s run of 11 successive full-time seasons in the main game will draw to a close after Adelaide.
“I think he’s as good as anyone in a good car,” said van Gisbergen.
“He’ll be a great asset to the team and might even be like Richie (Stanaway): do a good job and then get full-time again, because I think he definitely is good enough.”
