Van Gisbergen was set to make his long-awaited Trans Am debut at the Ipswich circuit this week, only for his Supercars team Triple Eight to pull rank and stop him taking the drive.
Given T8 is generally lenient with van Gisbergen's activities outside of Supercars, it's thought that pressure came from the series itself, given the similarities between a Supercar and a V8-powered Trans Am.
However it has now emerged that another Supercars regular will take over the drive.
Erebus star Kostecki will replace van Gisbergen in the Tim Shaw-owned Camaro, which will mark the former junior NASCAR racer's debut in Trans Am.
The Camaro will carry backing from Boost Mobile.
“The Trans Am cars are pretty similar to what I drove in the States a few years ago,” said Kostecki.
“They have the same tyre and the cars are built relatively the same. It might take me a little while to get back in the swing of it, but I’m really looking forward to it.
“It’s exciting to get the call up for Tim to drive his car. I will race anything with four wheels and a roof. That’s what I’m all about.
“I love hard racing, and this is a very competitive series up front. It’s great that I have the chance to dip my toes in a new class and have a go.
“I’m pretty competitive, I want to go and do the best I can. I want to come home with a trophy, but we’ll see how the weekend unfolds.”
The Trans Am deal comes ahead of plans for Kostecki to return to the States and dovetail some NASCAR racing with his Supercars commitments next year.
Shaw, meanwhile, said he was happy to land a professional driver for the seat following the van Gisbergen ban.
“In the wake of SVG being restricted, the opportunity came up for Brodie to drive my Trans Am car,” he said.
“During a conversation with [Erebus CEO] Barry Ryan, it seemed like a good fit. Brodie did a couple of seasons in NASCAR style cars. He is a very talented driver and has a good relationship with the team at Norwell Motorplex, where our car is based.
“Barry is a hardcore racer and keen to promote his drivers. He wants to see his drivers in race cars and see them get miles. Will Brown races in TCR, so this is not a strange thing for him to allow his drivers to sample other, different machinery.
“The more they race, the more the drivers and their teams build their fanbase. I love Brodie and Barry’s attitude, it’s great for motorsport.”
The SpeedSeries round at QR will take place on August 5-7.
