Season review: Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup raises the bar in 2019

The 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia season will go down as one of the most competitive in series’ history

The 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia season will go down as one of the most competitive in series’ history

2019 will be remembered as the benchmark year in Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia’s 15-year history, not only for the records broken and standard of competition but the success of the series both on and off the track.

The first stop on the 2019 calendar was the Superloop Adelaide 500 in South Australia. The opening round of the 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia season saw Porsche Centre Melbourne driver, Nick McBride take a spectacular clean sweep of race wins in the Pro class, while Anthony Gilbertson claimed the TAG Heuer Pro-Am round victory, despite an impressive final race from newcomer Liam Talbot.
Australia’s premier one-make championship would again feature as a Formula One support category for round two of the 2019 season at Albert Park.

While Dale Wood would take a solid points haul and the round win, his teammate Jordan Love proved to be the dominant Michelin Junior for the Melbourne round, placing third and second in the opening two races before winning race three and race four. Love’s prize for winning the Michelin Super Round meant he would embark on a unique trip to the FIA Formula E event in Germany for the Berlin E-Prix.

Love carried this form into Round 3 at the iconic Phillip Island circuit, winning all three races to complete a clean sweep of the weekend. Liam Talbot would again take the TAG Heuer Pro-Am race, while Stephen Grove took the round victory moving him into a tie for the top spot in the all-time winners’ list.
Cameron Hill would then deliver on the promise he had shown since joining the category in 2018 at Round 4 in Darwin. The Canberra driver took a superb pole position and a bold pass for the lead in the 33-lap Enduro Cup race at Hidden Valley, delivered a stunning win to the single-car family team.

The overall round victory in Darwin would go to South Australian Michael Almond, however, while Adrian Flack completed a sweep of all three races to win the Pro-Am class. Unfortunately, a massive accident between Love and Talbot saw Michelin Junior sent to the hospital with a broken hand, placing pressure on his Sonic Racing crew to ready the car in time for Townsville only two weeks later.

Following Almond’s victory in Darwin, the championship had witnessed four different outright winners from the first four rounds in the Pro class, while Adrian Flack added his name to three other winners after four rounds of TAG Heuer Pro-Am competition.

Townsville saw a future star take centre stage when Cooper Murray recorded a dominant clean sweep of race wins – making him the youngest ever victor in Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup history. Of equal significance, was the efforts of TAG Heuer Pro-Am Roger Lago to not only break the outright pole record in qualifying for the street circuit but top the overall timesheet. This was the first time in Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup’s history a Pro-Am driver had out-qualified the entire Pro field.

The crews then headed south and turned their attention to Round 6 of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship in Tailem Bend, a fast, flowing South Australian track that is tailor-made for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.

On the track, Jordan Love marked his return to peak form at the best possible time, sweeping all three races, the round and the lap record, while in the TAG Heuer Pro-Am class, Adrian Flack too completed a remarkable weekend via a pair of stunning Sunday performances.

After Pro-Am class rival Liam Talbot finished third outright in Race one, Flack repeated that performance on Sunday morning, before finishing fourth in the final race. That secured him a spot on the outright podium but also a comfortable win in his class over Talbot and Roger Lago.

Love’s crushing performance delivered the 20-year-old Sonic driver his first wins since Phillip Island in May and also ensured he sealed the Porsche Michelin Junior driver nomination towards the Porsche Shootout in Europe later this year.

With only two rounds remaining, the championship battle in both the Pro and the Pro-Am class was at fever pitch as the teams converged on the infamous Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst for Round 6.

Jordan Love would complete a remarkable sweep – his third of the season – to top off his meteoric rise from his Darwin Injury and in the process reducing a more than 200-point deficit to zero in the space of just six races.
Adrian Flack, meanwhile, ceded the race lead to Liam Talbot in Bathurst’s final nine-lap affair but still emerged from the penultimate round as the new TAG Heuer Pro-Am class leader.

The 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup championship titles would thus go down to the wire on the streets of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in the final round.

David Wall ended a year-long race-winning drought by sweeping to victory in Race 1 ahead of title contender Love and Murray. Love’s second position not only extended his lead in the overall championship but also clinched the Enduro Cup championship for 2019.

David Wall would continue his winning ways on Sunday and go onto secure the round win and third position in the overall championship in the process. Wall became the sixth different winner from the eight rounds this year, while Sam Shahin also completed a round sweep to take out TAG Heuer Pro-Am honours.

The big story, however, surrounded the remarkable championship battle between Sonic Motor Racing teammates Love and Wood. Leading by 14 points entering Sunday’s two 17-lap sprint races, Love needed to only finish in front of Wood in each race to claim the championship.

But contact in Race 2 between the championship pair sparked tensions and produced a remarkable comeback drive by Love from the back of the grid to eighth. Wood was later penalised 15 seconds by race officials for his role in the incident; ensuring he finished seventh on corrected results and returning the title lead to his teammate in the process.

The pair started side-by-side in a tension-riddled season finale. In the end, Love was classified fifth and Wood seventh – following a post-race penalty for short-cutting the turn one chicane. The result ensured Love of the overall Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup championship, backing up his 2017 title win in the Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge to showcase the strength of both the Porsche driver development Pyramid and Michelin Junior programs in Australia.

Liam Talbot’s victory in TAG Heuer Pro-Am was also only decided in the final race after a year-long battle with closest class rivals Adrian Flack and Roger Lago. Talbot, who claims the second title for Wall Racing in Carrera Cup history, ultimately won by just 30 points over Roger Lago, with Adrian Flack in third a further eight points back.

All the 2019 champions and past champions were celebrated in the series’ annual awards night on Sunday evening following the last race. On the night the 2020 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia calendar was announced together with a two-year extension by series sponsor PAYCE.

The 2020 calendar aligns with rounds of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and the Australian Grand Prix, with the country’s premier support category encompassing an eight-round series headlining at Australia’s marquee motorsport events across the country.

Porsche pays homage to past and present champions at 2019 Carrera Cup Awards Dinner

Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia crowns 2019 champions with record Prize pool

Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia crowns 2019 champions with a record prize pool

One of the most anticipated highlights of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia season is the Awards Dinner. This year the event was again held at the prestigious QT hotel on the Gold Coast after the final round and played host to drivers, teams, sponsors and media partners of Australia’s premier one-make championship.

The theme to this year’s event was inspired by Cirque du Soleil with guests entertained by a host of performers and musicians throughout the evening. While the evening is intended to celebrate the achievements of both the drivers and teams of the current season, 2019 also marks the 15^th anniversary of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.

As a result the series’ took the opportunity at the start of the evening to pay homage to its past champions in attendance including: Jim Richards (2003); Alex Davison (2004); Fabian Coulthard (2005); Craig Baird (2006, 2008-2013); David Reynolds (2007); Steve Richards (2014) and David Wall (2017). Nick Foster (2015); Matt Campbell (2016) and Jaxon Evans (2018) were the only champions not in attendance due to their racing commitments abroad.

Thanks to the support of the series’ sponsors the 2019 winners will also enjoy the largest prize pool in Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia’s history. Three new initiatives for 2019 include the Meguiar’s Best Presented Award; Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year and the Mechanic and Engineer of the Year awards.

With strong interest across every class including Pro, TAG Heuer Pro-Am and Michelin Junior for 2020, Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia continues to be the premier one-make series in Australia showing continued interest from top drivers, teams and sponsors.

Here is a list of the award winners and prizes for 2019:

Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Champion                 JORDAN LOVE

Winner: Trip to the Porsche Ice Experience (Finland) in March 2020

Trip to the Night of Champions Dinner (Germany) in December 2019

Season entry to the 2020 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia

Second: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                          DALE WOOD

Third: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                              DAVID WALL

Class: TAG Heuer Pro-Am                                                                  LIAM TALBOT

Winner: Trip to the Porsche Ice Experience (Finland) in March 2020

Trip to the Night of Champions Dinner (Germany) in December 2019

Season entry to the 2020 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia

Second: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                            ROGER LAGO

Third: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                               ADRIAN FLACK

Michelin Junior Champion                                                                    JORDAN LOVE

Winner: Trip to compete in the 2019 Porsche Motorsport Junior Programme

Shootout (Europe)

Trip to the Night of Champions Dinner (Germany) in December 2019

Porsche Teams Championship                                                          SONIC MOTOR RACING

Winner: Loan of a Porsche Cayenne for the 2020 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia season

TAG Heuer Fastest Lap Award

Pro: TAG Heuer Watch PRO:                                                                       COOPER MURRAY

Pro-Am: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                         LIAM TALBOT

Porsche Endurance Cup

Pro: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                                  JORDAN LOVE

Pro-Am: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                          ADRIAN FLACK

Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year Award                    MICHAEL ALMOND

Winner: Trip to the Night of Champions Dinner (Germany) in December 2019

Meguiar’s Best Presented Award                                                    CAMERON HILL

Winner: $5000 of Meguiar’s Care Car Product

Engineer Mechanic of the Year                                                       SONIC  MECHANIC – JAIDYN JOB

Winners: TAG Heuer Watch                                                                       SONIC ENGINEER – MICHAEL RITTER

Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Champions

2003 Jim Richards           Jim Richards Racing

2004 Alex Davison           Greg Murphy Racing

2005 Fabian Coulthard   Greg Murphy Racing

2006 Craig Baird              VIP Petfoods Racing

2007 David Reynolds      Sonic Motor Racing

2008 Craig Baird              Fitzgerald Racing Services

2011 Craig Baird              Alliance Group Racing

2012 Craig Baird              Alliance Group Racing

2013 Craig Baird              Alliance Group Racing

2014 Steve Richards       Steve Richards Motorsport

2015 Nick Foster              Sonic Motor Racing

2016 Matt Campbell       McElrea Racing

2017 David Wall               Wall Racing

2018 Jaxon Evans             McElrea Racing

2019 Jordan Love             Sonic Motor Racing

Porsche announce 2020 calendar and PAYCE as series sponsor for next two years

2020 Porsche Carrera Cup calendar and extension of PAYCE as series sponsor

2020 Porsche Carrera Cup calendar and extension of PAYCE as series sponsor

Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia has announced an all Australian calendar for 2020. Troy Bundy, Head of Motorsport for Porsche Cars Australia made the announcement to teams, drivers, sponsors and media partners at the series’ annual Awards Dinner after the final round on the Gold Coast.

The 2020 calendar aligns with rounds of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and the Australian Grand Prix, with the country’s premier support category encompassing an eight-round series headlining at Australia’s marquee motorsport events across the country.

The 2020 calendar kicks off with its traditional start at the Superloop Adelaide 500 on the 20-23 February followed by the glitz and glamour of the Australian Grand Prix on the 12-15 March. There is an early break over April and May before the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Championship reconvenes for round 3 at the Watpac Townsville 400 in 26-28 June.

The Championship stays up north for round 4 in Darwin Triple Crown on the 17-19 July before heading back south for the highly anticipated Sydney Super Night Race on the 28-10 August.  A month later the teams will again enjoy the fast and flowing curves of The Bend Motorsport Park, before heading to the Bathurst 1000 in early October. The final round again will be at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 on the 30 October – 01 November.

After the reveal Bundy explained the key factors when developing the 2020 calendar, “Every year we get feedback from our customers through a survey and from that feedback what stood out was that everyone wanted to continue to race at the biggest motorsport events of the year in front of the biggest crowds, while enjoying the best support and television package available.”

“This calendar delivers on these objectives with every race being a marquee event with great tracks, big crowds and just a premier class experience for our customers, teams and sponsors.”

The second big announcement of the night was that PAYCE have resigned as the title series’ sponsor for a further two years.

On the announcement Bundy said, “It gives me great pleasure to announce that PAYCE have secured the title partner rights for Carrera Cup for the next two years, taking them to the end of the life the 911 Gen II program.”

“Partners like PAYCE are incredibly important to us as we just couldn’t deliver the level of programme we do without their support,” he continued.

“We have been fortunate enough to secure the largest sponsorship support in Carrera Cup’s 15 year history and for us that has allowed us to reinvest that support back to the drivers and customers through improved calendars, television packages, prizes as well the Michelin Junior program,” Bundy continued.

“Personally, it’s hugely gratifying to secure PAYCE as our title partner for the series for the next two years as they have been a fantastic partner of the category for a number of years both partnering with the series as well as a range of teams and drivers. They secured our title partner rights at the end of the last year and we are very grateful for the faith they have shown in our program to continue until the end of 2021.”

According to John McMellan Director PAYCE Consolidated Pty Ltd, “PAYCE has a long-time association with Australian motorsport through its support of drivers, teams and categories. At PAYCE, we see many synergies between our company and this popular sport, including sharing a passion for what we do.”

“PAYCE has had a long term association with Porsche Carrera Cup Australia for quite some time on both the driver side and the series. This year we decided to take up the series title rights and it’s been a great partnership ever since,” McMellan said.

“PAYCE’s renewed investment in the series’ is a testimony to the standard of racing and presentation of Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup, both on and off the circuit. We are very pleased to confirm the extension of our series partnership for another 2 years,” he concluded.

2020 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Calendar

Round 1 Superloop Adelaide 500 Adelaide 20-23 February

Round 2 Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne 12-15 March

Round 3 WatPac Townsville 400 Townsville 26-28 June

Round 4 BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown, Darwin 17-19 July

Round 5 Sydney Super Night Race, Sydney 28-30 August

Round 6 The Bend OTR 500, Tailem Bend  18-20 Sept

Round 7 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Bathurst  08 – 11 Oct

Round 8 Vodafone Gold Coast 600 Gold Coast  30 Oct– 01 Nov

Jordan Love and Liam Talbot crowned 2019 champions

David Wall and Sam Shahin claim Gold Coast sweeps as dramatic day decides 2019 series champions

JORDAN LOVE has completed one of the more remarkable comebacks in recent racing history by claiming the 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship.

Liam Talbot clinched the TAG Heuer Pro-Am title in a dramatic day on the Gold Coast that saw both classes go down to the wire in the final race of the season. .

David Wall won all three races this weekend to claim his first overall round victory since the 2017 season, securing third position in the championship in the process.

Wall became the sixth different winner from the eight rounds this year, heading Cooper Murray and Cameron Hill on the outright podium.

Sam Shahin also completed a round sweep to take out TAG Heuer Pro-Am honours in Queensland, while Tim Miles posted his best result of the year in second and Dean Cook in third.

The big story, however, surrounded the remarkable championship battle between Sonic Motor Racing teammates that reverberated across a tension-filled day.

Leading by 14 points entering today’s pair of 17-lap sprint races, Love needed to only finish in front of Wood in each race to claim the championship – but of course it was never that easy.

A controversial touch between the pair on the opening lap of race two saw Love spun in the turn one chicane, dropping to the rear of the field.

While Wood continued on in third place, Love carved his way to finish the race in eighth position with his 14-point lead turning into a similar deficit in the title race. In front, Wall won the race ahead of a charging Cooper Murray.

However, Wood was later penalised 15 seconds by race officials for his role in the incident with his younger teammate; ensuring he finished seventh on corrected results and returning the title lead to his teammate in the process.

The pair started side-by-side in a tension-riddled finale with an ultimately straightforward race ending with Love finishing fifth and Wood seventh – following a post-race penalty for short-cutting the turn one chicane ensuring that Love sealed the championship.

Cooper Murray crossed the line first in the finale’, however he also copped a five second penalty for a kerb cut that handed the win, and a clean sweep of the weekend, to David Wall.

The 18-point final margin between the Sonic pair is the closest ever in Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia’s 15-year history: Love, at 20, also becoming the youngest ever winner of the championship.

The title story is made even more remarkable due to the fact that Love broke his hand during an incident at the mid-way point of the championship in Darwin.

He competed in Townsville soon after surgery and left Queensland more than 200 points behind Wood.

However a remarkable streak of wins at The Bend and Bathurst two weeks ago ensured he was able to return to contention in time for the final round this weekend.

It was Sonic Motor Racing’s first title since Nick Foster claimed the 2015 championship, the team finishing 1-2 for the first time ever.

Love backs up his 2017 title win in the Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge to showcase the strength of both the Porsche driver development Pyramid and Michelin Junior programs.

“It’s been an awesome journey and I can’t put into words how this feels right now,” Love said.

“I’m incredibly proud of the team and everyone who has helped me on the journey to get to this point here. I can’t explain it!

“After Darwin it was a case of head down, keep pushing and to come back from that is incredible.

“We’ve had some mega ups and some pretty low lows; it’s been one hell of a journey.

“It’s been an awesome battle with Dale all year. It’s tough competing against your teammate but it’s been awesome.”

Sonic’s 1-2 result is the first ever in the championship, Dale Wood recording his best ever finish since joining the series having led for a bulk of the year.

David Wall has finished first, second or third in each of the last four years and ultimately fell just 30 points short of the championship in third.

Meanwhile, Talbot’s victory in TAG Heuer Pro-Am came after a year-long battle with closest class rivals Adrian Flack and Roger Lago, with all three in the calculations entering this weekend.

Ironically, the Queensland based driver was an innocent victim in the crash that also claimed Jordan Love in Darwin – that incident ensuring neither driver scored many points in the top end yet still managed to rebound to claim their respective class championships.

Talbot, who claims the second title for Wall Racing in Carrera Cup history, ultimately won by just 30 points over Roger Lago, with Adrian Flack in third a further eight points back.

“I’m stoked – after Darwin we had a massive crash where Jordan and I got together. It wasn’t our fault but we both thought the championship was over,” Talbot said.

“Our guys just put so much work and effort getting the car back on track after the write-off and I just can’t thank the team.

“A national championship is just so special – what an amazing season. We’ve been building; we’ve had a lot of momentum. We had a lot of bad luck in the first part of the year but we put that out of the way, parked it, and said ‘lets do this’. It’s an amazing feeling winning the championship.”

The 2019 champions and prize winners will be celebrated in the annual Gala awards this evening on the Gold Coast, while the 2020 championship calendar will also be announced in due course.

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Jordan Love 1047
2. Dale Wood 1029
3. David Wall 1017
4. Nick McBride 899
5. Cooper Murray 869
6. Cameron Hill 810
7. Michael Almond 727
8. Warren Luff 658
9. Thomas Maxwell 493
10. Duvashen Padayachee 455

TAG HEUER PRO-AM

1. Liam Talbot 958
2. Roger Lago 928
3. Adrian Flack 920
4. Sam Shahin 800
5. Tim Miles 749
6. Dean Cook 694
7. Anthony Gilbertson 610
8. Stephen Grove 603
9. Indiran Padayachee 460
10. Scott Taylor 306

Drought ends for Wall as Love seals Enduro Cup

Sam Shahin takes TAG Heuer Pro-Am class win in Enduro Cup test

DAVID WALL has ended a year-long race winning drought by sweeping to victory in the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia’s Enduro Cup decider on the streets of Surfers Paradise.

In a pulsating 25-lap affair, Wall headed home title contender Jordan Love and Cooper Murray today to take his first win since Bathurst last year. Jordan Love’s second position not only extended his lead in the overall championship, but also clinched the Sonic Racing driver the Enduro Cup championship for 2019.

Also tasting success on the streets of Surfers Paradise was Sam Shahin, who was never headed en-route to TAG Heuer Pro-Am success and an outstanding ninth outright finish in the process.

Wall’s ninth career win came in style as he executed a perfect race start and controlled the race from the outset.

Surviving an early Safety Car restart, he pulled away from Love and Cooper Murray who spent the entire duration battling for second, position and ultimately won by five seconds.

“I feel like we’ve been close to that all year, I just couldn’t get the car off the line,” Wall said.

“It’s great to finally get the win on the board again. We’re trying to do all we can to stay in this race but young Jordan finished second. We’ll just keep our head down and see what we can do.

“We gave up a few this year through mistakes and not getting things right but we came good and it’s good to get a win.

“Thoroughly enjoyed that race and racing on the streets of the Gold Coast – we’ll keep bouncing off those kerbs and see what we can do tomorrow.”

Love fended off attack after attack from Cooper Murray, ensuring he finished with one car between he and direct title rival Dale Wood, who was fourth.

With Murray disrupting the inter-team Sonic Racing team battle Love’s overnight lead of two points has now stretched to 14 heading into Sunday’s pair of sprint races.

Murray’s podium was his sixth from the last six straight races, while Wood had a quiet run to fourth place, finishing three seconds behind Love but two clear of Cameron Hill in fifth.

Hill made a flying start and passed both Nick McBride and Michael Almond on the opening lap to climb into the top five. Almond was another improver, gaining two spots to finish sixth, while McBride dropped two spots to seventh.

After his slow start, McBride spent much of the race dicing with Thomas Maxwell with the pair ultimately making contact in the final turn late in the event – the latter forced to pit lane with damage while McBride was able to finish without dropping a spot.

Steven Richards was another mover and shaker, gaining two spots, while Sam Shahin finished just behind the Bathurst champion and first of the TAG Heuer Pro-Am runners in a potentially championship-changing day for the Carrera Cup ‘race within a race’.

Starting from the class pole, Shahin was away strongly and settled into a comfortable class lead as drama unfolded on the opening lap.

A big move from Pro-Am class leader Adrian Flack on the opening lap saw him slice down the inside of Tim Miles at turn eleven – failing to stop the car in time, making contact with the tyre barrier and ending his race on lap one.

It was a potentially championship-changing moment for the Queenslander as he saw a provisional lead slip to third place in the TAG Heuer Pro-Am standings with two races remaining.

With a ‘drop your worst round’ calculation to come, Liam Talbot provisionally leads the class over Roger Lago and Flack.

Shahin, meanwhile, was untroubled by those dramas as he powered to his fifth career class victory in The Bend Motorsport Park entry.

“I’m just so happy. It’s customary to thank a lot of people after a race win, but I really feel like I’ve worked my butt off all year but just haven’t had the results to show for it.

“It’s been disheartening to go to some tracks and not walking away with the results, but after my incident here last year I really came committed to do well and I’m so relieved.

“This is satisfying on so many levels. It’s a mental commitment to performing and I had to keep my head straight for the entire race – it’s pleasing on a lot of levels.”

Talbot finished second in Pro-Am while Miles was third; his first podium finish since Townsville in July.

Today’s race sets up a winner-take-all finale’ tomorrow in both classes, with 120 points up for grabs across a pair of sprint races on the Gold Coast.

Love leads Wood in the outright championship battle by 14 points while victory today for Wall means he remains in contention; 74 points behind the leader.

Both races will be shown live on FOX Sports 506 and Kayo Sports with the decider also shown on Channel 10.

STANDINGS – ENDURO CUP

1. Jordan Love 286
2. David Wall 259
3. Dale Wood 251
4. Cooper Murray 235
5. Nick McBride 229

STANDINGS – ENDURO CUP (TAG HEUER PRO-AM)

1. Adrian Flack 270
2. Liam Talbot 258
3. Roger Lago 242
4. Dean Cook 223
5. Sam Shahin 190

STANDINGS – OUTRIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Jordan Love 985
2. Dale Wood 971
3. David Wall 897
4. Nick McBride 809
5. Cooper Murray 773

TAG HEUER PRO-AM
(Including ‘worst round’ dropped prior to Round 8)

1. Liam Talbot 890
2. Roger Lago 854
3. Adrian Flack 842
4. Sam Shahin 680
5. Tim Miles 647

Wall, Shahin star in thrilling Gold Coast qualifying

TAG Heuer Pole Awards decided in record-smashing Surfers Shootout

ONE OF the great Gold Coast qualifying laps has seen David Wall storm to his second-straight Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia TAG Heuer Pole Award today in Surfers Paradise.

An equally impressive effort saw Sam Shahin superbly claim his second TAG Heuer Pro-Am pole position of the year and qualify his car ninth outright in one of the tightest fields of the entire season.

Exactly one second covered the top 14 cars in a pulsating 20-minute session that saw David Wall bank a new Qualifying record on the Gold Coast with a stunning 1m11.9712s flyer – the first ever lap under One minute, twelve seconds by a Cup Car at the circuit.

Title contenders Jordan Love and Dale Wood qualified second and fourth, respectively, and were split by Cooper Murray.

Love was also beneath the existing qualifying record – set last year by Wall – while the two on the front row were 0.2 seconds quicker than Murray and Wood who make up row two.

Remarkably, just 0.6 seconds covered third to fourteenth in the qualifying order, setting the tone for a stunning Enduro Cup decider tomorrow afternoon.

Wall’s pole was the ninth of his career and the third of his season, ensuring he finishes the year with more TAG Heuer Pole Awards than any other driver.

The Sydneysider sits third in the championship and remains in title calculations heading into race one tomorrow.

“I said to the boys before Qualifying that if we could be in the elevens it would be quite cool,” Wall said.

“You come from such a place of finesse like Bathurst and come here and basically hang on, it’s a very different atmosphere for sure. But I felt like we maximised the car and I felt like I got 99 per cent from it.

“It’s the business end of the year and we’re making sure we don’t leave anything behind. I had a red-hot go and glad to come out with the P1, for sure.”

The pulsating session saw Wall on top for a majority, banking his best lap on his final flyer even after his key rivals had finished their final laps.

Love jumped to second late in the session while Wood was also a contender throughout – the Sonic Racing teammates often trading positions.

Murray survived a hefty brush with the wall at turn two to qualify third while Nick McBride, the round winner on the Gold Coast twelve months ago, qualified fifth.

Michelin Juniors Thomas Maxwell and Cameron Hill were next, the latter remarkably surviving a wild spin in the beach chicane without making any contact with the wall.

Michael Almond put all four full-season Sonic Racing entries in the top eight with his effort.

Sam Shahin left his run to TAG Heuer Pro-Am pole to late, banking his 1m12.7855 on his 11^th of 13 laps completed.

He then had to watch as class title contender Liam Talbot came agonisingly close to beating The Bend Motorsport Park-supported car to the category pole; the latter falling short by a tiny 0.01 seconds.

Tim Miles qualified third in TAG Heuer Pro-Am – at one stage leading the class – while title leader Adrian Flack was fourth in class and 14^th overall.

Shahin’s pole was the third of his career and his second of the year, his last one coming at Albert Park in March this year.

His effort was equally satisfying given a hefty crash at the same venue twelve months ago left him with an injured ankle and a lengthy recovery.

“It feels actually amazing. I’m incredibly relieved and I’ve done the hard work throughout the year but without the results to show for it,” Shahin said.

“I’ve had to overcome some demons this weekend, I had a nasty, high-speed crash at this track exactly twelve months ago and only four weeks ago I had the pins and plates removed from my ankle. I really wanted to get that out of my mind before I came to this track again.

“It’s a track that needs a lot of commitment. I had my thinking cap on today and I was committed.”

While Steven Richards’ return to form following a tough season continued with a strong 10^th outright, the pair of graduates from the Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia series impressed with their debut Carrera Cup efforts.

Harri Jones qualified his McElrea Racing entry 12^th outright while his Cup Challenge title rival Aaron Love, the younger brother of Jordan, was 16^th.

Despite the spread in positions between the Love siblings, in reality the margin between the pair was just 0.9 seconds – showing how tight the field is this weekend.

With the grid set attention now turns to the finale’ of the Carrera Cup Enduro Cup, which concludes on Saturday afternoon via a 28-lap challenge on the Surfers Paradise circuit.

The first major championship of the year to be decided has Jordan Love holding a 23-point lead over Dale Wood across the five longer-distance races contested to date.

Nick McBride, nine points further back, and David Wall (one behind McBride) also remain in contention for the prestigious award.

With 60-points up for grabs, Adrian Flack can-not be beaten for the TAG Heuer Pro-Am enduro cup championship thanks to his 64-point margin over Roger Lago.

The latter, however, sits just two points in front of Liam Talbot in the battle for second and third.

The enduro cup race commences at 1:25pm on Saturday afternoon and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 506, Kayo Sports and Channel 10.

Liam Talbot and Wash it raise awareness for breast cancer

Liam Talbot reveals new Gold Coast livery in support of breast cancer awareness  

Liam Talbot reveals new Gold Coast livery in support of breast cancer awareness  

While Liam Talbot’s full focus will be on the Championship battle with TAG Heuer Pro-Am rivals Adrian Flack and Roger Lago on the Gold Coast this weekend. The Queenslander and his local sponsor Wash it Mobile Truck Washing has embarked on a noble charity initiative revealing a distinct Pink bubble livery on his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car at the Surfers Paradise circuit.

Ben Hennock founder of WASHIT Mobile Truck Washing, has pledged to donate one dollar to breast cancer awareness charity for every truck washed nationally by Wash it for the month of October

On unveiling the new livery, Hennock said, “The partnership with Liam and the exposure the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship provides sponsors like ourselves is great and it made sense to use the platform at the final race to get awareness for this new charity initiative.”

Wash it Mobile Truck Washing was founded in 2009, offering specialized washing services for warehouse and cold room cleaning as well as the washing of a range of industrial vehicles from prime movers, trailers and buses to containers and forklifts.

“We expect to donate in excess of $20 000 to breast cancer awareness by the end of October based on our customer database across the country.”

“We’ve always had bubbles feature in our corporate identity, shirts and vehicle designs and my wife made the suggestion to change them from blue to pink. People associate pink with breast cancer awareness so it made sense for us to launch the charity campaign using Liam’s revised livery at this race” Hennock continued.

Wash it is also planning to launch a prostate cancer awareness campaign in March next year, returning Talbot’s car to its signature blue. Interested parties looking to support the cause can contact Wash it on info@washit.com.au or get in contact with Liam Talbot direct via his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/liamtalbotracing

Porsche extends partnership with Formula 1®

Three-year contract: Porsche extends partnership with Formula 1®

Three-year contract: Porsche extends partnership with Formula 1®

Porsche will continue to run as a support series to Formula 1 in the future: The Stuttgart sports car manufacturer has extended its contract with the pinnacle of motorsport for another three years. As a result, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and Porsche’s national one-make cup series will run as part of the FIA Formula One World Championship™ up to and including 2022. “We’re proud to forge ahead with the close and long-established partnership. Formula 1 offers an exclusive setting with a unique flair. This fascination and high media importance represent an ideal overall package for our racing series,” explains Fritz Enzinger, Vice President Porsche Motorsport.

The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup has been part of the Formula 1 support programme since its debut season in 1993 – with famous circuits such as the Belgian Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy and Monaco’s street circuit in Monte Carlo as regular fixtures on the racing calendar of the international one-make cup. All drivers compete in 485 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. All racing vehicles are technically identical, as are the tyres and the fuel – guaranteeing equal chances for all.

The Supercup represents the pinnacle of Porsche’s one-make cups and offers an ideal training platform for talented racing drivers. Earl Bamber, Jörg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Michael Christensen, Kévin Estre, Richard Lietz, Sven Müller, Nick Tandy and Dirk Werner made an impression in the international one-make cup series and now belong to the works squad at Porsche. The Porsche Young Professionals Matt Campbell, Matteo Cairoli, Mathieu Jaminet, Dennis Olsen and Thomas Preining also underlined their talent in the Supercup. Today’s DTM professionals Philipp Eng and René Rast used the series as a springboard into professional motor racing.

“In the future, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will focus on eight European rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Porsche’s national one-make cup series will enhance the Formula 1 support programme at many other events around the world, which showcases Porsche in an attractive environment,” says Michael Dreiser, Director Porsche Motorsport Sales.

The renewal of the contract means that the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will celebrate its 30th anniversary with Formula 1 in the year 2022. The very first round of the one-make cup was contested at the 1993 Grand Prix of San Marino in Imola. “We are pleased to have extended our long-standing partnership with Porsche for a further three years. This one-make series provides some of the most spectacular racing of any series and contributes significantly to the show that’s on offer over a Grand Prix weekend. Furthermore, in the thirty years during which it has run alongside Formula 1, the Porsche Supercup has provided an excellent launch pad for many drivers who have also made their mark in international races at all levels,” says Ross Brawn, Managing Director, Motorsport at Formula 1. In 1950, Formula 1® racing began and is now the world’s most prestigious motor racing competition, as well as the world’s most popular annual sporting series. The 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship™ runs from March to December and spans 21 races in 21 countries across five continents.

The debut of the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in 2021 marks a new milestone in the history of Porsche Motorsport. The latest generation Cup vehicle will be unveiled next year and fielded in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and selected Carrera Cups in 2021. The world’s most widely produced GT racer is run in all of Porsche’s one-make cup series. From 1990 up to and including 2019, Porsche produced 4,251 units of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at the main factory in Stuttgart and subsequently prepared the vehicles ready to race.

FORMULA 1, F1, FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX, PADDOCK CLUB and related marks are trademarks of Formula 1 Licensing BV, a Formula 1 company. All rights reserved.

Final nominations for 2019 Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year

Miles, Almond & Talbot nominated for Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year award

Miles, Almond and Talbot nominated for Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year award

Following the nominations of Adrian Flack, Nick McBride and Cameron Hill for the Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year award earlier this year. Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia has announced the remaining nominations for this prestigious award ahead of the final round of the 2019 Championship on the Gold Coast this weekend.

The list of new nominations includes two TAG Heuer Pro-Am drivers in Tim Miles and Liam Talbot, as well as the Bob Jane T-Marts sponsored driver of Michael Almond in the Pro category.

Like Flack, McBride and Hill, the three nominated drivers were adjudged to be excellent ambassadors for Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship in the manner they conduct themselves both on and off the track.

From this list of six nominations, one driver will be awarded the Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year award at the Awards presentation dinner after the final race on Sunday evening. Each nomination was selected from the drivers in the 2019 championship that exhibited a passion for Porsche brand and the Series as well an enthusiasm and dedication to improve on track.

The award takes into consideration how each nominated driver treats their fellow competitors, team members, race officials and fans, demonstrating respect, fairness and integrity both on and off the track. The support, encouragement and advice shown to fellow competitors, team members and officials are also taken into consideration when selecting not only the nominations but the overall winner. The overall winner is the nominee that best distils and exhibits all of these traits.

Tim Miles is one of the most respected characters in not only the Porsche paddock but in Australian motorsport.  The Sydney based businessman has also made a successful ascent of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid over the past few seasons, progressing from the Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge series through to the ultra-competitive Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship.

Miles’ racing resume over the past years includes a Bathurst clean sweep in the premier class and is sprinkled with strong appearances not only as Porsche Pro-Am driver, but co-driver for the likes of Renee Gracie and McElrea Racing teammates Matt Campbell and, in 2017, Jaxon Evans.

Liam Talbot is relatively new to the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Championship by comparison and heads into this weekend in contention for the 2019 TAG Heuer Pro-Am Championship, along with fellow nominee Adrian Flack. Talbot’s career includes victories in the 2013 Radical Australia Cup series, two class wins in the Bathurst 12hr endurance race in 2013 and 2017 as well as a podium finish at the famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany.

Further highlights include a first place in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup (AM) in 2016, a Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hour class victory as well as GT3 race and GT4 round wins on debut in the Australian GT Championship.

Talbot, who recently proposed to television personality and social influencer, Charli Robinson on the 2019 Bathurst grid, only started his racing career at age 30 but has since built a strong competitive resume both in Australia and abroad.

Michael Almond needs little introduction and is one of the leading Porsche drivers since bursting onto the scene in 2010 when he qualified on pole on his debut in the Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia. He has since gone on to and forge a strong career with the Porsche brand.

A race winner in GT3 Cup Challenge, Almond also won races in the classic Touring Car Masters series, racing a 1973 Porsche RS against much larger and more powerful cars – against drivers like Jim Richards, John Bowe and Glenn Seton.

A move to Carrera Cup in late 2012 has seen his career blossom and climb towards a breakout season in 2016 that netted his first career win. Appropriately for this Adelaide born driver, it came in front of his home town fans and friends on the streets of Adelaide at the Adelaide 500.

The overall winner of the Morris Finance Sportsperson of the Year award on Sunday night will receive a Business Class trip to Germany to attend the 2019 Porsche Motorsport Night of Champions at Weissach, Germany.

Follow the awards, news and announcements from the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia awards evening on our social media pages: Instagram – @carreracupaus / Twitter – @CarreraCupAus / Facebook.com/CarreraCupAus

Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Championship to be decided in Gold Coast thriller

Love and Flack lead into Carrera Cup Championship decider on the Gold Coast  

Love and Flack lead into Carrera Cup Championship decider on the Gold Coast  

The streets of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast of Queensland will play host the eighth and final round of the 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship this weekend.

The infamous street circuit – famous for its sharp kerbs and unforgiving nature – has hosted Australia’s premier one-make category every year it has been in operation. This year is the 15^th time the championship has raced on the Gold Coast and the 10th time it has hosted the championship’s final round.

The Gold Coast is also the site of the closest finish in Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup history – though it probably didn’t feel like it at the time! David Russell crossed the line 5.0456s in front of Steve Richards to win the first race in 2014, however, a five-second penalty for a start infringement meant the official margin was only 0.0456s in the final results!

No driver has ever won a Gold Coast Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia round without winning at least one of the races on that weekend. After dominant performances in the last two rounds at both Tailem Bend and Bathurst, the SRG Global Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car of Jordan Love leads the outright Championship and the Michelin Junior has won the last six races in a row, becoming the first driver to do this since Craig Baird in 2006.

Love is also only the fourth driver in series history to win six races in a row, joining Jim Richards, Alex Davison and Baird on the exclusive list. The record for most race wins in a row, however (8) was set by Richards in 2003.

Love’s 13 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia victories in his short career are only bettered by Baird, Davison, Richards, Matt Campbell and Fabian Coulthard in the series’ history books.

The 2019 series could end up having the closest margin in title history given Love enters the final round only two points in front of Sonic Racing teammate Dale Wood. The smallest series-winning margin in history is 20 points in 2017 when David Wall beat Andre Heimgartner to the title.

Cooper Murray will be Love and Wood’s biggest threat for race victory, based on his recent form and the fact that McElrea Racing has won three of the last four rounds on the Gold Coast (Matt Campbell 2015 & 2016, Jaxon Evans 2017)

Another race favourite in contention for the overall Championship fight is 2017 champion, David Wall. The Wall Racing driver and team owner, scored his 15th Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia podium finish in the last round at Bathurst, which moved him to fifth on the all-time podium list in series history behind only Craig Baird, Alex Davison, Jim Richards and Steve Richards. The ever-competitive Porsche Centre Melbourne entrant of Nick McBride lies in fourth in the championship on 780 points, behind Wall (837), Wood (929) and Love (931).

Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Championship leaders Harri Jones and Aaron Love will make their Carrera Cup debuts in the Pro class as well this weekend in preparation for the 2020 season. The Michelin Junior pairing along with TAG Heuer Pro-Am driver Greg Ward become the 212th, 213th and 214th drivers to compete in the series.

All eyes will also be on the TAG Heuer Pro-Am battle with Championship leader, Adrian Flack (842) expected to come under fire from Liam Talbot (836) and Roger Lago (818). Others to watch in the fiercely competitive Pro-Am class include Sam Shahin, Tim Miles, Dean Cook and Scott Taylor.

The weekend gets underway at 09:35 on Friday with two practice sessions, before a 20-minute qualifying session at the end of the day. Race 1 on Saturday will crown the Porsche Endurance Cup Champion in both classes while Sunday’s last two races will decide both the overall and TAG Heuer Pro-Am champions for 2019.

Every session will be shown live on Fox Sports 506 and streamed on Kayo Sports, while both Saturday and Sunday races will also be shown on Channel 10.

Race Schedule – Round 8, Gold Coast

FRIDAY OCT 25            Session            Television broadcast

09:35 – 10:00                 Practice 1         FoxSports / Kayo

13:00 – 13:25                 Practice 2         FoxSports / Kayo

16:10 – 16:30                 Qualifying         FoxSports / Kayo

SATURDAY OCT 26

13:25 – 14:05                 Race 1              FoxSports / Kayo / Channel 10

SUNDAY OCT 27

08:45 – 09:10                 Race 2              FoxSports / Kayo / Channel 10

13:40 – 14:05                 Race 3              FoxSports / Kayo / Channel 10

Love’s preparation on track for Porsche Junior Shootout in Europe

Jordan Love's preparation in top gear ahead of Porsche Junior Shootout in November

Jordan Love’s preparation in top gear ahead of Porsche Junior Shootout in November

Jordan Love will head to the final round of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship on the Gold Coast this weekend with a slender two point advantage over Sonic Racing teammate Dale Wood.

While sealing the 2019 Championship will be Love’s primary focus this weekend, the young Porsche driver has also been preparing himself for arguably the biggest opportunity of his racing career, the Porsche Junior Shootout in Europe in late November.

Despite an unfortunate mid-season accident, Love’s comeback in the second half of the season has been dominant, claiming the most race and round wins so far this season. Should Love lift the outright trophy on Sunday night, the next step up the Porsche Motorsport pyramid will be to attend the Junior Shootout in late November.

This year, the shootout takes place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal with each Porsche Carrera Cup Championship around the world permitted to nominate one candidate for the shootout

A major part of Love’s preparation was to attend the Michelin Junior Training days in Melbourne recently, along with the leading junior drivers in both Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup and Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge. The Juniors underwent an intensive two-day training program receiving coaching on sports psychology, social media, branding, media training and nutrition from Australia’s leading experts on the first day.

The second day the Michelin Junior drivers also underwent physical assessments tests and analysis, while learning about aspects such as their body fat percentage, resting metabolic rate, body mass index and reaction rates to name but a few.

Jordan’s motorsport story began at the age of nine in go karting, finishing second in the West Australia State Championship in only his first year of competition. A very successful karting career followed winning numerous championships before making the shift from karts to formula car racing.

In his first year in international competition, Jordan won 14 out of the 15 Asia Cup races to become 2015 Champion in Formula BMW. At the final round of the series – at the age of 15 – he was given the opportunity to test a GP2 car as part of his prize for winning the championship.

A season in Formula 4 followed in 2016 finishing third in the Australian championship with 5 wins, 11 podiums and 4 fastest laps. Love’s first laps behind the wheel of Porsche Cup Car came when he contended the Bathurst 12-Hour in 2017, finishing third in class.

Love’s natural progression to Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge in 2017 saw him winning both the outright Championship as well as the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy in only his first year.

Love was also only the second recipient of the Porsche Junior Scholarship and during 2017 amassed the third most race victories in Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge history.

In 2018, Love progressed to Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia joining the successful Sonic Motor Racing team, finishing fourth in his first season, with 2 race wins, 1 round win and 1 lap record.

Love clinched the Porsche Junior Competition after round 6 of the 2019 championship as well as the inaugural Michelin Super Round earlier this season, after a strong performance at the Australian Grand Prix.

Jordan has been part of the Porsche Junior program in Australia ever since switching to sports cars in 2017. His impressive rise through the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid in Australia means his nomination for the 2019 Porsche Junior shootout is well deserved as he plans to continue his ascent in 2020.

Quotes:

JORDAN LOVE

‘I’ve been training hard on and off the track in the last few months with my team, Porsche and my trainer Josh. While sealing the championship this weekend is my main goal, I feel honoured to be the Australian nominee for this year’s shootout and it was my major goal since starting in GT3 Cup Challenge 2 years ago.’

‘The Michelin Junior program is fantastic and as we’ve seen with Matt (Campbell) and Jaxon (Evans) genuinely provides young drivers with the opportunity to take their careers to Europe.’

‘My ultimate goal is to use the Porsche pyramid to become a Porsche factory driver and it will be interesting to see how I fare against the best Carrera Cup drivers from around the world.’

‘I’m incredibly grateful and excited for the opportunity and I’m sure I will gain a lot of experience no matter what the outcome maybe.’

Aaron Love to make Carrera Cup debut at Gold Coast

Aaron Love will make his Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia debut

Aaron Love will make his Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia debut at the Gold Coast street circuit next weekend.

17 year-old Aaron Love will join his brother Jordan in the Sonic Motor Racing Services team, making him the youngest driver to make a start in the competitive and prestigious Porsche championship this year.

Love’s news comes on the back of the recent announcement on social media that fellow Michelin Junior Harri Jones will also make his first step up the Porsche Motorsport pyramid in Gold Coast in the Helimods McElrea Racing prepared entry.

Love’s entry also means that Sonic will have five cars on the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup grid at the championship’s final round – the most amount of cars entered by a single team.

While this will mark Aaron’s Carrera Cup debut, he needs no introduction to Porsche racing. The West Australian has been racing in the Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge class this year (for the previous generation Porsche 911 Carrera Cup cars). He currently sits second in that title race with one round remaining.

Despite his youth, Love is no stranger to the Surfers Paradise circuit either. He competed in the now-defunct Australia Formula 4 Championship in 2017, finishing with a best result of fourth.

An excited Love said, “It’s a really good opportunity to experience this higher level of competition,”

“Carrera Cup is a very high level of competition. There are guys in there who have raced overseas and in Supercars. In the past, most of my racing has been against rookies and people my own age, so it is going to be a whole new challenge.

“It will be a massive learning curve, so I have an open mind. Of course, you always want to get up the front, but because I’m experiencing something new, I just want to take as much as I can out of it and move forward from there.

“I love the circuit too. It is one of the most unique street tracks around the world, so I can’t wait for it.”

Michael Ritter, Team Owner, Sonic Motor Racing said, “GT3 Cup Challenge does such a good job of preparing drivers for Carrera Cup and we are pleased to be able to give Aaron this opportunity. said

“The GT3 Cup Challenge Porsche 911 Cup cars are quite a bit different to the Carrera Cup cars. There’s a bit of less aero and engine power, so it will take a new approach for him.

“It will be a good chance to see how he goes as we start to prepare for 2020.”

Love’s car debut will carry the support of SRG Global for the event.

The final round of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Championship will see Sonic drivers Jordan Love and Dale Wood go head-to-head for the title. The pair are separated by just two points.

Two practice sessions and qualifying will be held on Friday, followed by Race 1 on Saturday and the final two races of the season on Sunday.

Thrilling decider in store as Bathurst delivers two new leaders

Jordan Love and Adrian Flack lead titles heading into Gold Coast finale'

BOTH Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia titles will be decided on the streets of Surfers Paradise after both the outright and TAG Heuer Pro-Am title leads changed hands following the penultimate round of the season at Mount Panorama.

Jordan Love completed a remarkable sweep – this third of the season – on Sunday morning at Bathurst to top off his meteoric rise from his Darwin Injury – reducing a more than 200-point deficit to nothing in the space of just six races.

The Bob Jane T-Marts driver now leads the championship by just two points, having overhauled his teammate Dale Wood thanks to six straight victories from the last six races.

Adrian Flack, meanwhile, ceded the race lead to Liam Talbot in today’s nine-lap affair but still emerged from the weekend as the new TAG Heuer Pro-Am class leader heading to the Gold Coast.

Talbot, who proposed to now-fiancee Charli Robinson on the grid prior to the race, finished second in class and trails the leader by just six points with a round to go.

However in front of the field was Jordan Love, who fended off fellow Porsche Michelin Junior Murray to sweep the round and race his way to the title lead.

“I certainly didn’t expect to be in the lead of the championship after this weekend,” he said. “It was great at weekend, credit to the boys. The car was mint all weekend.

“We were fast here last year, and I had some good confidence from the Tailem Bend round, but I had to keep its clean at the same time.

“We probably weren’t the fastest car out there, especially in the first and the last race, but we always had good track position, I pushed hard when I needed to and I’m pretty happy to come away with this.”

Love said obtaining the championship lead with one round remaining was a surprise, given the misfortune he suffered earlier in the season.

“After Darwin, I didn’t think we’d be in this position. You always want to have belief in yourself, but I never thought that this would be the case coming out of this weekend.”

Today’s race was a clean affair with Love leading Murray into turn one. The pair were never split by much more than a car length for the duration, the Sonic car having just enough in reserve to hold off the repeated attacks from Murray.

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Event 12 of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Bathurst, New South Wales. Australia 10th-13th Oct 2019

He finished second overall for the round, while David Wall was third for the race and third overall for the weekend as well.

Nick McBride completed his sweep of four, fourth-placed finishes with another solid drive while Thomas Maxwell’s Bathurst debut weekend ended in fifth.

Cameron Hill completed his charge through the field following a race-one DNF in sixth position while former championship leader Dale Wood made ground, however could only manage seventh and lost the title lead by two points.

Talbot finished eighth to win the TAG Heuer Pro-Am class in race three after an exciting, mid-race pass on Adrian Flack around the outside at the chase.

Flack, who finished just behind his season-long class rival, made a superb start and comfortably led his class early before being caught and passed by Talbot’s Wall Racing machine, the latter now trailing Flack by just six points heading into the season finale’.

“By the end of the race Liam was hunting me down and I had no answer for him – it was a good stoush all weekend and I really enjoyed it,” Flack said.

“From where we started at the beginning of the year where we crashed the car and it was a bit of a disaster. We’ve fought our way back and put in the effort. The results have come and I’m really, really happy.”

Stephen Grove returned to the class podium via third overall while Roger Lago, who was fourth, also remains in class contention just 18 points behind new leader Flack.

The final round of the 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia will see the championship go down to the wire on the streets of Surfers Paradise on October 25-27.

Four drivers remain in contention for the overall championship with David Wall 94 points from the lead and Nick McBride 151 back; 180 up for grabs across the three races.

Flack, Talbot and Lago are the three in contention for the TAG Heuer Pro-Am class.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

1. Jordan Love 931
2. Dale Wood 929
3. David Wall 837
4. Nick McBride 780
5. Cooper Murray 725

TAG HEUER PRO-AM

1. Adrian Flack 842
2. Liam Talbot 836
3. Roger Lago 818

Title fights on as Love, Flack score back-to-back Bathurst wins

Five in a row for Love as Flack takes class lead at Mount Panorama

BOTH the Professional and TAG Heuer Pro-Am title battles have come alive following race two in the penultimate round of the 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship at Mount Panorama.

Jordan Love (Pro) and Adrian Flack (Pro-Am) both enhanced their title credentials by each taking their second race victories of the weekend – and both did it in crushing fashion.

Love led from pole position in today’s nine-lap affair and, thanks in part to another stunning opening lap on cold Michelin tyres, built an early buffer he’d never lose.

It was his fifth-straight win – the second time he has achieved that feat this year – and his 10^th of a remarkable season that in five races has seen him reduce a more than 200-point title deficit to series leader Dale Wood to just 29 points with four races remaining.

“It’s what we needed to try and close this championship margin,” Love said.

“I got a good start and the changes we made overnight were really good, so I’m happy we’re going in the right direction and we’ll make a few more for tomorrow and it should be good.

“It was a mega first lap but the car came on good early and we were able to get a bit of a margin.

“The guys behind then had a bit of a battle which let us do our own thing out in front which was great.”

Championship leader Dale Wood had a tough race, having started fifth on the basis of his race one finishing position.

While his Polyfloor-supported Sonic Racing entry initially launched well, he bogged down moments after and was swamped by the field to cross the line 14^th at the end of lap one.

He quickly commenced a process of working his way through the field and was able to salvage some points by finishing 9^th.

While Love pulled away in his Sonic Porsche, the battle for second became a reversal of the one seen in race one as Cooper Murray fended off David Wall for the duration.

The McElrea racer passed the PAYCE-supported Wall Racing car on the opening lap and edged out a margin in the early laps, however the series champion surged as the race progressed.

The pair battled wheel-to-wheel on several occasions with Murray able to hold off several attacks to secure second. The pair are now locked together on 102 points for the weekend; the final race to decide the battle for second in the round tomorrow morning.

Nick McBride enjoyed a quiet race to finish fourth, while Thomas Maxwell made up several spots to grab fifth and finish in front of Steven Richards.

Adrian Flack won his second TAG Heuer Pro-Am race of the weekend – not having to rely on any last corner theatrics like race one to secure the seventh win of his season in Pro-Am.

Talbot finished second for the second straight race while Roger Lago was third in class. Stephen Grove, third yesterday, was fourth with Tim Miles, Dean Cook and Sam Shahin producing an entertaining battle for fifth place that lasted much of the race.

Provisionally, the results move Flack to the lead in the TAG Heuer Pro-Am Championship, having entered the round tied on points with Talbot and 18 behind former leader Roger Lago.

“It’s awesome, I didn’t realise that – it’s proof that if you keep winning the results come,” Flack said.

“Once you get comfortable with the speed of some of those corners, it becomes quite fun and it’s not quite as daunting as the end of the weekend.

“We trimmed the car up overnight and had a few ideas of how to make it better today and it certainly seemed to go quite well and we were able to stick with the pros and pull them in a bit, which was great.”

Lago and Talbot are now tied in second position, just 12 points behind Flack with one race to go this weekend.

Arguably the drive of the day went to Cameron Hill, who having failed to finish race one was able to storm his way through the field to 10^th position today.

The Michelin Junior driver made up four positions on the opening lap, sat 12^th by mid race distance and climbed back into the top-10 with two laps remaining to keep him in contention for Sunday’s decider.

Not quite so fortunate was Michael Almond, who was running seventh before he locked his rear brakes and spun at The Chase on the third lap. Though he was able to quickly recover, the Sonic driver dropped to 17th position at the finish.

That race, due to start at 10:05am local time, will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 506, Kayo Sports and Channel 10 around Australia and serves as the curtain-raiser to the Bathurst 1000 enduro.

Four-straight for Love as Flack steals Pro-Am win in final turn

Michelin junior closes title margin and assumes Enduro cup lead at Bathurst

JORDAN LOVE’S RESURGENCE as a Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia title contender has continued unabated, the Sonic Motor Racing driver storming to his fourth straight victory in a pulsating Enduro Cup race at Mount Panorama today.

Meanwhile, Adrian Flack won the TAG Heuer Pro-Am class after a stunning last-corner pass on Liam Talbot saw him steal victory literally within sight of the flag.

Starting from the second row of the grid, Love stormed off the line to pass polesitter David Wall at turn one and early leader Nick McBride with a bold move around the outside at turn two moments later.

He then withered attack after attack from Wall and Cooper Murray, plus a near-miss at the Dipper late in the race, to take his ninth win of the year and his fourth in a row.

The result reduces Dale Wood’s championship lead to 66 points, Love’s Sonic teammate finishing fifth in today’s 15-lap race.

Love also assumes a clear lead in the Endurance Cup standings with a round to go.

“It wasn’t a good start, to be honest, the launch wasn’t that great but I was lucky it was narrow so Cooper couldn’t get past Wall,” Love explained of the opening laps.

“I got around the outside of Wally and then had a big crack around the outside of McBride, which doesn’t usually work but I had to work really, really hard for that one – so I’m pretty happy.

“I think we had a bit of confidence early on. It was a bit damp across the top and I had a bit more confidence than the others, so when that cleared it was a different story.”

Love said that despite his win, he was still searching for more from his Sonic Motor Racing Porsche.

“I’m still lacking a bit of pace so we’ll tune that up tomorrow. It’s all about championship points and we just need to be smooth, clean and consistent.”

The race was held in dry but challenging conditions with light rain around the circuit at the beginning.

Love’s opening lap was immense and in slippery conditions at the top of the Mountain he quickly built a margin, while a slow-starting Wall staved off Murray in the battle for second

McBride slipped to fourth while Cameron Hill led Wood in fifth and sixth in the early stages.

Hill was an unfortunate non-finisher after light contact between he and McBride while battling for position at turn two saw his steering damaged; the Michelin Junior parking his Porsche on the entry to the Cutting and bringing out the Safety Car.

That elevated Wood to fifth position and Steven Richards to sixth – the latter finishing in that position to record his best finish of the season.

Wood fended off both Richards and Michael Almond in their race-long battle for a spot in the top five with the championship leader doing enough to secure a solid points haul; ensuring his series advantage remains more than one full race victory.

With Almond seventh, Thomas Maxwell enjoyed a consistent race to eighth position while the final two spots in the top 10 were completed by a stunning race-long battle for TAG Heuer Pro-Am honours.

Class polesitter Liam Talbot and fellow title rival Adrian Flack – the pair tied on points entering the round –  battled all race for the victory with the result coming down to the final corner.

Flack executed a massive lunge into Murray’s and snuck through to steal the race in the final corner.

Talbot, trying to get on the throttle to get an over-under pass, promptly spun his car however was able to recover in time to save second place in class.

Stephen Grove finished third in class with TAG Heuer Pro-Am leader Roger Lago fourth.

“It was a great stoush!” a justifiably thrilled Adrian Flack said post-race.

“I was having a great run behind him (Talbot) and to get in front of him at the end was a good result.

“You just want a good race with your fellow competitors but in the end of the day wins are the most important!”

Race two will see the championship return to sprint racing while the third race will be contested on Sunday morning in the lead-up to the 2019 Bathurst 1000.

Both races will be shown live on FOX Sports, Kayo Sports and Channel 10.

Wall goes from crash to pole following Bathurst qualifying thriller

Talbot takes second-straight TAG Heuer Pro-Am pole position

A DAY OF contrast has seen David Wall go from a hefty practice crash to ultimately securing pole for Round 7 of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia championship today at Mount Panorama, while Liam Talbot grabbed pole in TAG Heuer Pro-Am.

Wall, a former series champion and one of the most successful Carrera Cup drivers at Mount Panorama, topped a thrilling 30-minute session that came down to the wire with drivers completing their best laps well after the chequered flag had dropped,

Wall’s 2m06.4306s flyer secured him his second Bathurst pole and the eighth of his career – and even more importantly placed him well in front of his two closest title rivals.

Perhaps more impressive was the fact that he ended practice earlier in the day on top of the times – but also in the fence at the top of the Mountain.

A lurid slide at McPhillamy Park saw him off the road and into the tyres late in the session, with the team completing a not insignificant repair job in the five-hour period between practice and qualifying.

Nick McBride was one of the last to complete his flying lap but jumped to second at the very end of the session, displacing Cooper Murray from the front row.

Jordan Love survived a wild moment at McPhillamy Park on his penultimate lap to qualify fourth while championship leader Dale Wood was seventh as the title battle builds in the penultimate round.

“I made my number one (Mechanic) work for it! It’s that point in the championship where we’re leaving nothing on the table and I probably stepped off it there,” Wall said.

“I did everything I possibly could to be P1 there and thankfully it was enough today. It’s a double pole for Wall Racing with Liam on top in Pole Position – credit to everyone at Wall Racing. The hard work has paid off.

“Last year we qualified fifth and won the first race; the field is so close so anyone in the top six can win. It’s Bathurst and everything can happen.”

The 30-minute qualifying session built and built across its duration with Wall among the early pacesetters.

A switch to a second set of brand-new Michelin Tyres saw times begin to tumble in the final five minutes, with most of the key positions changing hands with each lap.

The top 12 drivers in the session set their best lap on their second-last or final flyers with the top eight ultimately covered by just 0.60 seconds on the longest lap of the season.

Love’s wild moment saw him off the road but able to recover after a near-miss with the wall, while Cameron Hill wad fourth momentarily, before Love’s final flyer bumped him back to the third row of the grid.

There was relief from the O’Brien Racing camp as former champion Steven Richards qualified sixth – his best result of the season by a full six grid positions.

The five-time Bathurst champ was the last driver on a hot lap and moved to sixth from the bottom of the top-10 right at the end of the session.

Michael Almond (Eighth), Thomas Maxwell (Ninth) and TAG Heuer Pro-Am polesitter Talbot completed the -10.

He and Adrian Flack had their own battle for the class pole, Talbot coming out on top to record his second-straight pole award this season.

“Unbelievable! Wasn’t sure what was going to happen because you never know in these sessions. We put our best foot forward and got the setup right,” Talbot said.

“The team worked really hard behind the scenes, so it’s good that as a team we got the double pole positions.”

Flack will line up one position behind his title rival while Stephen Grove was third of the Pro-Am runners. Defending Bathurst round winner Tim Miles was fourth in class while championship leader Roger Lago was fifth.

Like Wall, Lago’s team was forced to repair his car after a hefty incident at the entrance to the dipper that brought out the red flag in practice earlier in the day.

His car lightly clipped the wall on drivers’ right before making more substantial contact with the barriers in the dipper on both sides of the car – though also like Wall, the damage was able to be repaired in time.

With the grid set, the field switches to endurance mode on Friday with the 16-lap enduro cup race to commence at 1:40pm local time.

Two further races, one each on Saturday and Sunday, complete the penultimate round of the 2019 series.

Race Schedule – Round 7, Bathurst

FRIDAY OCT 11
13:40 – 14:25             Race 1 FoxSports / Kayo

SATURDAY OCT 12
13:55 – 14:20            Race 2 FoxSports / Kayo / Channel 10

SUNDAY OCT 13
10:05 – 10:30            Race 3 FoxSports / Kayo / Channel 10

Wood and Love to resume Carrera Cup Championship battle in Bathurst

Round 7 of Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship intensifies at Mount Panorama

Round 7 of Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Championship intensifies at Mount Panorama

200 kilometres to the west of Sydney, lies one of Australia’s national treasures in the heart of the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. Like Albert Park and the MCG, Mount Panorama is haloed ground to any sporting enthusiast, enjoying global acclaim around the world as ‘the’ track to race in Australia.

In 2015, the NSW Geographical Names Board approved a dual official name for the track of Wahluu – after a 40-year campaign by the indigenous Wiradyuri Aborginal people to get the area historically recognised. Wahluu means a young man’s initiation place to the local people. Aptly in 2018, it was the youth and tenacity of Jordan Love that proved his tenacity and resolve to his more experienced counterparts around the challenging mountain circuit.

Love’s round victory last year was the second straight win for the Sonic Motor Racing team at the track, with Andre Heimgartner taking round honours in 2017. Love carries good momentum into round 7 this year, with the most round and race victories this season. A clean sweep in Tailem Bend helped him to narrow Dale Wood’s championship lead to 90 points.

Love’s return to the podium since his Darwin accident mid-year has earned the respect of all and along with line honours seen him secure the Michelin Junior shootout nomination after a season-long fight with Cameron Hill.

With the absence of Bathurst legend Warren Luff from this weekend’s grid, Wood and Love enter the race weekend as favourites for victory. But as the five different round victors (from the six rounds) have shown, they will not have it all their own way. The experience of the ever-consistent David Wall and Adelaide round-winner Nick McBride are sure to be a factor, with the pair lying third and fourth respectively heading into the penultimate round.

Others in contention this weekend will be Cameron Hill and Cooper Murray. The Michelin Junior pairing continues to show their raw pace in recent rounds – although both would have hoped to translate more of this into points during the second half of the season. Love’s fellow Bob Jane T-Marts teammate, Michael Almond will also be a factor this weekend, given the Sonic Motor Racing team’s domination of four of the last five rounds this season.

While the overall championship points log in the TAG Heuer Pro-Am class reflects Roger Lago with 74 point advantage over Liam Talbot. The 2019 Pro-Am class regulations allow for each driver to drop the points from their worst round over the course of the season. With this in consideration, the championship fight is actually far closer heading to Bathurst.

Taking into effect each driver’s best five scoring rounds from the 19 races thus far, Lago’s lead is only 18 points from Liam Talbot and Adrian Flack. The intensity of competition in the TAG Heuer Pro-Am class has witnessed a multitude of round winners from the six TAG Heuer rounds this year. The leading trio could also be challenged by the likes of a returning Stephen Grove (from his European Supercup campaign) and the McElrea Racing entry of Tim Miles.

Miles is the dark horse for the iconic event. Despite lying sixth in class, Miles will be aiming for his third straight TAG Heuer Pro-Am round win at Bathurst. No driver in the series’ 15 year history has won three Pro-Am rounds in a row at Bathurst. Rodney Jane won two in a row in 2006 and 2007.

The weekend gets underway at 08:50 on Thursday with a single 50 minute practice, before a 30 minute qualifying session that afternoon. Races 1 to 3 take place over the next successive days from Friday to Sunday ( 1 race per day) All races will be shown live on Fox Sports 506 and streamed on Kayo Sports, while both Saturday and Sunday races will also be shown on Channel 10.

For more race information, videos and interviews throughout the weekend, follow the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia social pages: Instagram – @carreracupaus / Twitter – @CarreraCupAus / Facebook.com/CarreraCupAus

VIDEO Preview: https://youtu.be/–HZUoxBnH0

Entry List – Round 7, Bathurst

Race Schedule – Round 7, Bathurst

THURSDAY OCT 10     Session            Television broadcast

08:50 – 09:40                 Practice            FoxSports / Kayo

15:15 – 15:45                 Qualifying         FoxSports / Kayo

FRIDAY OCT 11

13:40 – 14:25                 Practice 2         FoxSports / Kayo

SATURDAY OCT 12

13:55 – 14:20                Race 1              FoxSports / Kayo / Channel 10

SUNDAY OCT 13

10:05 – 10:30                Race 2              FoxSports / Kayo / Channel 10

Simona De Silvestro and Thomas Preining join Porsche Formula E project

New faces in the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team

New faces in the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team

In Simona De Silvestro and Thomas Preining, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team welcomes two newcomers on board. De Silvestro and Preining will support the works team as test and development drivers in its debut season. They are involved in the simulator work in Weissach and will be on-site at select Formula E races. The two drivers will also be available to the team for in-season testing.

Experience and expertise
De Silvestro is no stranger to the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. The 31-year-old Swiss woman already has experience of the world’s first fully-electric street racing series. She drove in the final two races of the Formula E inaugural season in 2014/15. She was then signed as a regular driver by Andretti for the 2015/16 season. Last season, 2018/19, she supported the Venturi Formula E Team as a test driver.

Even as a youngster, De Silvestro was passionate about motor racing. Since then, she has passed through many different professional motorsport formulas having started her career in karting, before moving to America at the age of 18. De Silvestro finished fourth in Formula BMW USA in 2006. She then raced in the Atlantic Championship and IndyCar Series. In 2010, she was named Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500. In 2013, she finished second to earn a spot on the podium in Houston. She then had a brief foray into Formula 1 as an affiliated driver with the Sauber F1 Team in 2014. The Swiss woman has spent the last three years competing in the Australian Supercars Championship. De Silvestro is the first female Porsche works driver.

Youngster from Porsche’s own talent factory
Thomas Preining has been a permanent fixture in the Porsche squad since 2017. However, in joining the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, the 21-year-old Porsche Young Professional is entering new territory, having previously driven in various GT classes.

Despite still being at the start of his career, Preining can look back on numerous successes. After starting out in karting, he raced up in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship, before switching to the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland as a Porsche Junior in 2017. The Austrian caught the attention of the motorsport community in the same year, finishing second in the rookie standings. The youngster then dominated the 2018 season, winning ten races on his way to the title. Preining also impressed in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. He finished third in the Drivers’ Championship and, together with champion Michael Ammermüller, secured the Team title for Lechner Racing. In 2019, now a Porsche Young Professional, Preining is driving for Porsche customer team Gulf Racing in the FIA WEC (GTE-AM class) and also competes in the ADAC GT Masters with Herbert Motorsport. He and his team-mates finished fourth in the 6 Hours of Fuji, the 1000 Miles of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Fritz Enzinger (Vice President Porsche Motorsport and Group Motorsport Volkswagen AG): “In Simona and Thomas, we have acquired two proven talents for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. Simona comes with a wealth of experience gained in various different race series and is also a familiar face in Formula E. We are looking forward to working with her and welcome her to the Porsche family. Thomas has been with us since 2017, during which time he has demonstrated his talent in GT racing on numerous occasions. With the Formula E programme, we are giving Simona and Thomas the opportunity to develop as drivers and to make a positive contribution to the Porsche Formula E project.”

Carlo Wiggers (Director Team Management & Business Relations Porsche Motorsport): “We are delighted to have secured the services of two outstanding racing drivers for the Porsche Formula E programme, in Simona and Thomas. As well as their sporting attributes, they are also both very well suited to our team. Simona and Thomas are excellent team players, who are very keen to help move the team forward. That is one of the keys to success in Formula E. Their experience and tireless dedication, both on and off the track, complete their profiles. With these two additional drivers, our overall package is really taking shape. This gives us confidence for our first season in Formula E.”

Simona De Silvestro (Porsche works driver): “It is a great honour to work for this prestigious brand. I am really looking forward to my new role as test and development driver for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. Over the last few years, I have gained a lot of experience from my previous involvements in Formula E. I will do my best to help Porsche on the road to success.”

Thomas Preining (Porsche Young Professional): “I am very much looking forward to my new role in the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. I have followed Formula E closely from the word go. I am very excited to see what it feels like to drive the Porsche 99X Electric on the track. It is great to be able to support Porsche in its debut season in Formula E, and to be a part of this future-oriented project from the outset.”