New Zealand driver Jordan Michels will steer one of Wall Racing’s Honda Civic Type R at this weekend’s Shannons Nationals at Queensland Raceway.

The 21-year-old will be behind the wheel of the car driven by Jordan Cox at this month’s round at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Michels will join fellow Wall Racing drivers Tony D’Alberto and John Martin for the category’s first ever visit to the Ipswich circuit.

While this marks Michels’ first race meeting on Australian soil, he is not a TCR rookie. The reigning New Zealand Formula Ford champion raced a Mark Petch-owned Hyundai i30 N in two NZ endurance series races alongside Gene Rollinson.

“It’s very exciting. It’s all a bit last minute, but I’m genuinely looking forward to the weekend,” Michels said.

“The amount of hype around the category has been unreal, so to have an opportunity to be on the grid is just amazing.

“I’ve done a couple of races in a Hyundai TCR in New Zealand, so I have a few miles in a TCR car, but they were different circumstances, completely different tyre, so this weekend will still be a steep learning curve.

“The opportunity to be a part of Wall Racing in this category is awesome, so I want to soak it all up, enjoy the experience and see how we go.”

Wall Racing owner David Wall said Michels’ visit to Queensland Raceway was planned as a cameo appearance, but the door was certainly left ajar should he impress on the track affectionately known as the ‘paperclip’.

“At this stage, it’s just a one-off but we are keen to see how Jordan goes in our car and the series,” Wall said.

“We met Jordan at the launch of TCR New Zealand. He had a long discussion with (Wall Racing team manager) David Fyfe and we all felt that he’d be a good addition for our team.

“Our team is looking forward to Queensland Raceway. I feel like that if we can get the car right, the rest will take care of itself. John Martin has a pep in his step after The Bend, Tony D’Alberto has a point to prove and it’s always nice to have some fresh blood in the team.”

Tickets for Queensland Raceway can be purchased here, or at the gate.

TCR will hold two practice sessions on Friday, before qualifying and race one on Saturday, with two races to round out the weekend on Sunday. All TCR sessions on Saturday and Sunday are live streamed on thenationals.com.au, with the races also broadcast live and free on SBS and SBS HD.