Red Bull Racing Australia can confirm the worst-kept secret in Australian motorsport that two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner will race a V8 Supercar in 2013.
The 27-year-old will drive Craig Lowndes’ 2010 Bathurst-winning VE Commodore in the Dunlop Series – the development category – in all seven rounds.
Stoner will have a further two test days in his Red Bull Racing Australia Pirtek Holden before taking part in his first ever sanctioned race on four wheels in the curtain-raiser to Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 next month.
Stoner first met the Triple Eight Race Engineering team in 2011 and went on to complete his first test in a V8 Supercar the same year.
He was a regular fixture in the team’s garage in 2012 and as a long-time Red Bull athlete his joining the all-new Red Bull Racing Australia outfit for the 2013 season is a natural fit.
Since announcing his departure from MotoGP mid-2012, speculation had been rife that Stoner would return to Australia and race under Roland Dane with the 2012 championship-winning Triple Eight team. Only contractual discussions prevented an earlier announcement.
V8 Supercars is a new endeavour for Red Bull and Stoner, and both parties are excited at the prospect of what the 2013 V8 season holds.
Stoner will race with his trademark No.27.
