This time last month, Tony D’Alberto was preparing for the opening round of the Australian GT Endurance Championship, in which he won with co-driver Max Twigg.
Fast forward a month and the 32-year-old will be lining up in the first round of the Australian Production Car Series (APC), which has seen an incredible 48 entries sign up for the race.
The DJR Team Penske endurance driver will be partnered with TV personality, 2016 Australian Endurance Champion, and similarly heighted Grant Denyer.
D’Alberto is looking forward to adding another string to his bow in the Lotus Exige 350 sport, as well as having a good time with his co-driver.
“I haven’t done any production car racing before so it’s going to be a new challenge,” D’Alberto explained.
“Partnering up with Grant Denyer is going to be a lot of fun. We raced the Maranello Ferrari in GT a couple of years ago and it’s always a bit of a laugh, so we are looking forward to having a good weekend.
“The Lotus won’t be the car to beat with the two big straights, but it certainly handles really well so we will just have to do the best that we can and see how we go.”
D’Alberto isn’t the only big name entering a different category at the Shannons Nationals, with fellow Supercars driver Aaren Russell to take part in the Australian Prototype Series.
“As a race driver you’re always trying to as much racing as possible and I saw this as a really good opportunity to jump in a good car,” Alberto added.
“Being with a good teammate and really sort of go and challenge for a win, that’s what we’re trying to do.
“It also gives me great mileage going into the Supercar enduros later in the year as well.
“I always try and do as much racing as I can so when I get to the enduros, I’ve got a few races under my belt.”
D’Alberto will get his first experience for the Australian Production Car Series with practice sessions and qualifying on the Friday afternoon, before competing in two races on both Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday’s action will be available on the Shannons Nationals live stream, available at speedseries.com.au and the Shannons Nationals Facebook page.
