Shane van Gisbergen’s Rolex 24 ended with heartbreak. The Kiwi, who partnered with fellow Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin, Xfinity Series rookie Connor Zilisch, and veteran racer Ben Keating were part of a four-driver lineup steering a Corvette GT3 in the GTD class. Trackhouse Racing partnered with TF Sport to enter the prestigious endurance race, which ended in disappointment when Zilisch collided with an LMP2 car with just over an hour to go.

After suffering a drive-through penalty for the contact, the youngster was forced to settle for a ninth-place finish. While the result may not have been what the team wanted, Shane van Gisbergen has teased another collaboration with Scott McLaughlin for an iconic event, this time in The Land Down Under.

Shane van Gisbergen is enjoying his new friendship with Scott McLaughlin

Shane van Gisbergen hasn’t had the smoothest relationship with Scott McLaughlin. Despite both racers hailing from the same country, the Kiwi natives have had plenty of clashes with each other on track as they battled it out for supremacy in the Supercars Championship. In 2017, McLaughlin spun van Gisbergen at Sydney Motorsport Park after a frantic restart and the driver took revenge the following year by parking his vehicle in such a way that McLaughlin couldn’t get out of his car during the podium presentation. The pair even collided in the 2014 Bathurst 1000, adding more spice to the rivalry that many felt had already peaked.

However, all of it seems like a thing of the past. The compatriots have begun to bond now that they are not competing against each other, and Shane van Gisbergen has teased a collaboration as well. Sharing his thoughts on X (formerly known as Twitter), the 35-year-old veteran racer said, “Was awesome to finally share a car with this guy the past 2 weeks. Had a blast and a lot of laughs. Including both cheering for a Deb-Riss caution at the end of the 24! 😂 We spoke about one day doing the Bathurst 1000 together, how cool would that be! Maybe a 888/DJR Collab? 😉”

The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held every year as part of the Supercars Championship. Shane van Gisbergen has won three Peter Brock trophies so far, with his most recent triumph coming in 2023 while Scott McLaughlin secured his only win at the 1000-kilometer spectacle in 2019. Given their vast experience and many achievements, both drivers teaming up to participate in ‘The Great Race’ is an exciting prospect for fans, many of whom are eager to see rivals-turned-teammates dominate the racetrack together.

Both drivers recently moved to the United States to pursue their careers in different motorsports disciplines. McLaughlin found a place for himself in the IndyCar Series and is currently driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. Meanwhile, Shane van Gisbergen will be participating as a full-time racer in the NASCAR Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing in 2025. Even though both racers were part of a full-fledged rivalry while chasing the same dream in Australia, the deviation in their career paths has improved their friendship, with SVG going on to say, “Life’s obviously different for each other now. You’re cheering for each other and talking a lot.”

Fans excited at the prospect of an SVG-McLaughlin team-up

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As expected, fans couldn’t help but express their enthusiasm and excitement after hearing about the possibility of a team-up between Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin. The former rivals have already raced together at the Rolex 24 At Daytona earlier this year, but the prospect of the duo working together in their own backyard is one many didn’t consider possible just a few years ago. Sharing thoughts about a potential collaboration, one fan gave a slightly exaggerated response and said, “That would probably be out of this world. The greatest collab in the history of greatest collabs.”

Another fan urged the duo to compete at ‘The Great Race’ together, promising to make the long journey to Australia should the collaboration come to fruition. The X user went on to say, “Do it lads – I’ve never been to Bathurst but that is a journey I would make to see you fellas racing there together.” The race is held on the Mount Panorama Circuit, a track both the racers are very familiar with. Believing that it would give them an unfair advantage over others, a motorsports enthusiast chimed in by saying, “Would love to see that, but you pair sharing a car around the mountain wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the field.”

A fan made a NASCAR analogy to express excitement, comparing the team to two iconic stock car racing drivers who have won a total of 11 championships between them. The fan wrote, “To put it into freedom terms this would be gordon collaborating with Earnhardt levels of awesome if you do.” Urging Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin to go through with their plans of competing at the Bathurst 1000 together, another motorsports fan couldn’t help but write, “YESSSSSSSS DO IT PLEASE 🙏🙏” While the possibility of the duo teaming up is just in an infancy stage, the prospect is an exciting one, given the history of their rivalry. However, time will tell if their plans to compete at ‘The Great Race’ together fall into place.