The sudden entry of rising Tauranga driver Richie Stanaway will spice up the next two rounds of the Toyota Racing Series (TRS).
Stanaway, who is not going to Europe for pre-season testing for this season's German Formula Masters series because of the severe winter conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, will race in the third round of the TRS at Hampton Downs this weekend and the New Zealand Grand Prix round at Manfeild a week later.
Stanaway (18), the 2009 New Zealand Formula Ford champion, is best known for his one-off debut appearance in the TRS round at the Hamilton street circuit last year, when he took pole position and won both races.
He went on to race three rounds of the Australian Formula Ford championship and finished sixth overall despite missing six races because of European commitments.
In Europe last year, he competed in the final three rounds of the German Formula Masters series and, despite being a stranger to the tracks, scored two pole positions and finished second and third in two of the races.
"I got a call from Trevor Sheumack's ETEC team on Friday and got a deal together to race the next two rounds of the TRS," Stanaway said.
"I was due to be in Europe for pre-season testing with the Ma-Con Motorsport team for whom I raced in the German Formula Masters last year but this has been postponed to March because of the winter conditions over there," he added.
Stanaway said he was unsure what to expect in the TRS as he was just wanting to get some seat time and experience ahead of returning to Europe.
"I will basically put all my theories into practice before going back to Europe. In terms of results, I'm not really expecting anything other than to do my best."
Reminded that he had won on his debut last year, Stanaway said: "I'm sure we can push for race wins."
With drivers such as Earl Bamber, Mitch Evans and internationals such as current series leader Sten Pentus and Brazilian Lucas Foresti on the grid, Stanaway said it was a very competitive field and he looked forward to testing his skills against them.
The two rounds in the South Island have seen four different winners from six races and the top five in the overall standings are separated by less than the points (75) for a single race win heading into Hampton Downs.
Estonian Pentus tops the standings with 379 points followed by Evans on 374, Bamber 352, Taumarunui carpenter Daniel Jileson 333 and Foresti on 310.
Stanaway's entry has swelled the grid to 14 cars and more than likely will have an impact on where the championship title is headed.