Van Gisbergen retained as McLaren GT factory driver

Van Gisbergen, 26, has been racing in Australia's premier touring car racing category V8SC since 2007 and has 11 wins to his name.

His partnership with McLaren in GT racing, meanwhile, has yielded two Blancpain Endurance victories with Von Ryan Racing last year, as well as a recent Bathurst 12 Hour triumph that saw van Gisbergen smash the existing lap record at the legendary venue.

"I am really pleased to confirm that Shane will race in a McLaren again in 2016 after such a strong debut season," said McLaren's Andrew Kirkaldy.

"He has proved himself as one of the quickest drivers on any grid since joining us last year, and his record of results speaks for itself.

"The Blancpain Endurance Series is one of the toughest on the calendar, so to compete so competitively, and take two victories is a huge result.

"The recent performance in Bathurst with Tekno Autosports reinforced what we already knew about him, and underlined the level of talent and ability he has, and we are looking forward to getting back out on track this season and seeing what more we can achieve."

Van Gisbergen will once again drive the McLaren 650S GT3 in selected and as of yet unconfirmed races, dovetailing his GT career with his commitments in V8 Supercars with his new team Triple Eight.