Kiwi racer Chelsea Herbert is one step closer to her motorsport dreams, the latest female driver to ply her trade in the Toyota Racing Series.
Having just turned 21, Herbert has signed on for this summer's series with Giles Motorsport, hitting the track in a single-seater for the first time in her senior career.
She'll be the sixth female driver to race in the Toyota Racing Series, and the first Kiwi since Fiona Hamilton in 2005.
"For me it's sort of exciting to know it's been done, the whole female thing," she told 1 NEWS.
I'm just going in there to be just another racer."
Herbert is hoping that the 2020 series will help catapult her racing career, the Toyota Racing Series having launched numerous names into the world of motorsport.
"I've been working so hard for my goal of V8 supercars in Australia."
"For me that's still where I'm pushing for. I know a lot of those drivers that have reached the top step have come through some form of single seater."
The Toyota Racing Series has long been a proving ground for some of the world's most promising drivers, current Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris of McLaren and Lance Stroll of Racing Point both having lifted the title in the past.
Current title holder, Kiwi Liam Lawson, is now driving for Red Bull's junior Formula 3 team.
Herbert being backed for greatness by those in the know.
"We're here to try and fundamentally help find the next world champion for New Zealand," Toyota New Zealand motorsport manager Mark Whittaker says.
"Chelsea could well be that person."
The 2020 Toyota Racing Series begins on January 17 at Highlands Motor Park, Cromwell.
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