Campbell confirmed as driver for Porsche Penske Motorsport as new Porsche 963 prototype is unveiled

Porsche 963 prototype unveiled at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Porsche Penske Motorsport fields two cars each in world’s greatest endurance series

• Design of the new Porsche 963 hails from the victorious 956 and 962 classics
• Experienced works drivers and accomplished sportscar champions behind the wheel

Australian driver Matt Campbell has been announced as a factory driver for the new Porsche Penske Motorsport operation, as the new Porsche 963 prototype was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.

Stuttgart/Goodwood/Australia. Campbell, Porsche Penske Motorsport and the Porsche 963 will compete for overall victories in the world’s greatest endurance races.

It continues the meteoric rise for the 27-year-old from Warwick in Queensland, who has risen through the ranks of Porsche’s driver development program.

Campbell won the Carrera Cup Australia title in 2016, the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2019 and already has class wins to his credit in some of the world’s biggest sportscar races aboard GT class Porsches. Campbell will now step up to prototype sportscars and compete for outright honours.

Introducing the Porsche 963

From 2023, two hybrid LMDh-specification prototypes will be fielded by Porsche Penske Motorsport in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The 963 was unveiled today at Goodwood in England and wears the typical Porsche motor racing colours: white, red and black.

In the cockpits of the 500 kW (680 PS) racers, experienced and championship winning prototype drivers are paired with seasoned specialists from Porsche’s works driver squad. Porsche Penske Motorsport prepares for these missions at two locations: The branch in Mannheim, Germany is responsible for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship vehicles prepared in Mooresville, North Carolina, USA.

“After 7,889 test kilometres during the first half of 2022, we’re on a very good path but there is still work to be done before the start of next season,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Motorsport, Porsche AG.

“Our new Porsche 963 should continue the legacy of legendary models such as the 917, 935, 956, 962 and the 919 Hybrid. I’m positive that we’ll be well-positioned when it comes to technology and we’ve also created the relevant team structures to set us up for wins in the thrilling competition between many manufacturers and different concepts.”

The official race debut of the Porsche 963 is planned to take place in January 2023 at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the USA. In the meantime, the FIA WEC has opened the door for testing as part of the upcoming world championship races this year. Porsche Penske Motorsport is aiming for a non-competitive dress rehearsal at the final round of the season in Bahrain this November.

“Over the past few months, our people at Porsche Motorsport and Team Penske have grown into an efficient and committed squad – the Porsche Penske Motorsport Team,” said Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh., Porsche AG.

“We’ll have powerful driver crews in the four factory cars. The collaboration with our long-standing tyre partner Michelin and the chassis manufacturer Multimatic works flawlessly. The Porsche 963 should be homologated this autumn. Until then, we want to make further progress with test drives and gain additional insights. We can hardly wait for our first outing.”

The drivers selected for the races in the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship include the experienced works drivers Kévin Estre (France), Michael Christensen (Denmark), André Lotterer (Germany), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), Matt Campbell (Australia), Mathieu Jaminet (France) as well as the accomplished sportscar drivers Dane Cameron (USA) and Felipe Nasr (Brazil). In the initial development phase, Frédéric Makowiecki played a key role: during the rollout at Weissach in January, the Frenchman drove the first metres in the Porsche 963 and also turned the first laps in the simulator. Other driver announcements, including those for the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta (Petit Le Mans), will be made at a later date.

Porsche Penske Motorsport prepares a total of four 963 for the world’s most important sports car races at its bases in Mooresville (North Carolina) and Mannheim (Germany). The WEC facility in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg is a former Porsche Centre of Penske Automotive, built to state-of-the-art standards. The exchange of data between the three high-tech centres of Porsche Penske Motorsport occurs almost in real-time. The WEC team will move into the Mannheim premises this autumn.

Jonathan Diuguid is the Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport: “Expectations are extremely high,” acknowledges the American. “Not only from the public but also from Porsche and Team Penske, who have written great motorsport chapters together in the past.” Diuguid and Travis Law (Competition Director) will guide the global Porsche Penske Motorsport Team, with direct oversight and management of both the FIA WEC and IMSA programs. Daily operations of the FIA WEC team will be led by Bernhard Demmer (General Manager) and Francis Schammo (Team Manager). Joel Svensson (Team Manager) will be responsible in the IMSA championship in North America.

In compliance with the LMDh regulations, the Porsche 963 is based on an LMP2-category chassis. This newly developed vehicle chassis is supplied by the Canadian high-tech company Multimatic. Bosch, Williams Advanced Engineering and Xtrac contribute the standard hybrid components. At the heart of the powertrain lies a 4.6-litre V8 Biturbo. The engine is based on the high-performance 918 Spyder hybrid sports car. Its DNA goes back to the RS Spyder racing car, with which Porsche and Team Penske notched up many victories between 2005 and 2008. The design of the new Porsche 963 hails from the victorious 956 and 962 classics from the 1980s. A continuous strip of lighting at the rear echoes the distinctive feature of the latest 992-generation 911. The white-red-black vehicle design is a salute to Porsche’s successful racing cars. And another tradition lives on: The new Porsche 963 will be available to customers from the first year of competition. The first Porsche customer teams will already communicate their program in the next few days.

For its envisaged campaign in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSA) – the world’s two most long-distance racing series including the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Daytona 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring classics – Porsche Penske Motorsport joins forces with strong and proven partners. The tyre manufacturer Michelin continues its close alliance, as does ExxonMobil with its Mobil1 brand. In addition to the software specialist Ansys, which supports the global team with cutting-edge simulation solutions as the official technology partner, the Penske Corporation, which will highlight a number of subsidiaries and brands, is also on board as an official partner. With its expertise in development and engineering, Multimatic joins the project as a technology partner. The luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer also joins the global team as the official timing partner of the Porsche Penske Motorsport team. The fashion brand Hugo Boss as the team’s clothing partner and outfitter as well as the sports lifestyle company Puma as the technical partner for fireproof race clothing complete the portfolio of top-level partnerships of Porsche Penske Motorsport.

Further information, film and photo material in the Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com.au. The Twitter channel @PorscheRaces provides live updates from Porsche Motorsport with the latest information and photos from racetracks around the world.

EMA Motorsport confirms all-star line-up for TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa

Matt Campbell to drive EMA Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R in 24 Hours of

EMA Motorsport will make a debut appearance at the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa in July, focused on scoring a strong result with the #74 Porsche 911 GT3 R and a formidable driver line-up.

The Melbourne-based team has recruited a world-class trio of 2022 Rolex Daytona 24 Hours-winners Matt Campbell (AUS), Mathieu Jaminet (FRA) and Felipe Nasr (BRA) to contest the twice-around-the-clock battle.

With an impressive list of endurance racing accolades achieved by the drivers to-date, the Campbell-Jaminet-Nasr line-up will be certainly one to watch on the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa grid in July.

Between them, the trio have scored victories across the globe, including notable wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Bathurst 12 Hours and Rolex Daytona 24 Hours, all of which have all be scored at the wheel of a Porsche.

Porsche factory drivers Matt Campbell (2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Champion) and Mathieu Jaminet have enjoyed a strong start to the 2022 season. The pair have proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with and currently lead the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship standings, taking victories in Daytona and Laguna Seca.

Mathieu has risen through the ranks of GT racing and with Porsche, enjoying successes and competing at the highest levels. 2022 will be the fifth appearance at the Spa 24 Hours for the 27-year-old Frenchman.

Queensland-born Matt strengthens the Australian contingent within the team and has also enjoyed significant success over recent years. Racing with Porsche, the 27-year-old has claimed the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour title twice – 2017 and 2019 – either side of a GTE Am class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He joins the team looking to improve on a best Spa 24 Hours result of 4th, achieved in 2020.

Completing the #74 line-up is Brazilian former Formula 1 star and 2021 IMSA SportsCar Champion, Felipe Nasr. He brings significant multi-class experience and success to the team, reuniting with Matt and Mathieu after the trio joined forces to successfully take on the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours earlier this year. With three further podium finishes in Daytona, Felipe is no stranger to endurance racing, but this announcement marks a new challenge in his impressive career, with his first entry into the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.

EMA Motorsport returns to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS following an interrupted 2020 year. The team will use this event as a platform for further European endurance events in 2022, culminating in a planned Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli programme for 2023.

Ahead of the race, the team will complete a detailed testing programme which will include the 2-day test session at the infamous Belgian circuit this week, before heading back for the race event next month, over the weekend, 28-31 July.

You can follow Porsche Motorsport in Australia via @PorscheMotorsportAU (facebook, instagram, youtube) or @PorscheMspAU (Twitter).

Wood breaks Carrera Cup drought in Darwin sunshine

Liam Talbot takes maiden Morris Pro-Am round win at Hidden Valley

DALE WOOD’s three-year Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship winning drought came to an emphatic end in the Top End, the Timken Racing driver sweeping to both his first race wins and first round victory since 2019 today at Hidden Valley. 

Liam Talbot won the Morris Pro-Am class as the unpredictable race-within-a-race continued to entertain this season.

Remarkably, it was Talbot’s first Pro-Am victory in his Carrera Cup career having previously finished second on three occasions.

Wood’s path to overall and Professional class victory commenced with a superb opening lap to the first race on Sunday morning, sweeping past race one winner Harri Jones at turn one to lead all the way home.

He then backed that up with a second victory in the final race of the round to claim the overall honours – his first round win since the 2019 Grand Prix event.

Jones’ finished second, however more importantly extended his championship lead over his nearest rivals thanks to another round of consistent front-running performances.

Jones finished runner-up to Wood in both races today to build his championship lead to more than 100 points heading into the next round at Townsville in three weeks time.

Dylan O’Keeffe finished third overall in Darwin, scoring his second successive podium finish aboard his RAM / GWR Dexion entry and also securing himself in the same position in the championship in the process.

Just in front is David Wall, who finished fourth overall in Darwin however entrenched himself in the championship battle – the former champion sitting second heading into the fourth round next month.

Wood has climbed to fifth in the standings by virtue of his improving form, the Melbourne driver having gone 5th-4th-3rd-2nd-1st and 1st in his last six races.

Christian Pancione scored his best ever round result with fifth overall in Darwin, edging out teammate Jackson Walls by a single point for a spot in the top five round results. Both Michelin Junior drivers set their own race and round personal bests at Hidden Valley.

Luke Youlden, Callum Hedge, Max Vidau and Brad Shiels completed the top-1o in round 3.

The Morris Pro-Am battle delivered two winners from the two Sunday races in Darwin, with Liam Talbot ultimately edging out Dean Cook and Sam Shahin for the round victory.

Talbot trailed Sam Shahin home in race two, before passing The Bend Motorsport Park entry in race three to score his second race win of the weekend – though it was not without controversy as the pair bumped panels exiting turn one, Shahin ending up off the road and slipping down the order.

The results remain provisional pending a post-race investigation into the incident.

Tim Miles and Rodney Jane completed the top five for the Darwin round, while Shahin continues to lead the Morris Pro-Am title standings over Stephen Grove and Darwin winner, Talbot.

The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia championship returns to the track in three weeks at the NTI Townsville 500 on July 8-10.

QUOTES

Dale Wood, Pro round winner:

“That’s mega, that is one of the best weekends I have had in a long time, to get two race wins, the round victory and pole position, it really could have only been that one little bit better. But I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. I’ve been a bit critical of these new cars, in a sense that there is a lot more aerodynamics and they are hard to follow. Here you know the race is arguably going to be decided in turn 1 unless you go and make a mistake later on. So we had to get through Turn 1, Harri gave it a good crack so hats off to him for that, but we got in the lead and from there on we put our head down. Earl Bamber Motorsport has given me an unbelievable car this weekend and have not had this much fun with a team in a very long time. I absolutely loved it.”

Liam Talbot, Morris Pro Am round winner:

“Unreal, I think this my eleventh round and my first time getting the round win so pretty happy. Sam and I made contact in turn 1 although I left him plenty room, it felt like he drove into me. So it’s a bit of shame for Sam, but we had a cruisy run to the end, it was heaps of fun out there. Very hot, but good fun as I said, after all you’re in a Porsche. It’s been such a good change to come to Darwin, Brisbane has been so cold. Up here its 30 degrees and so nice, I can’t wait to come back.”

Sam Shahin – Race 2 Morris Pro Am winner:

“I’m absolutely thrilled, last time I came to Darwin it really was a bogey track for me and I really didn’t do very well. I haven’t been here for a couple of years and I really screwed up qualifying, so I had a lot of things to make up for in the race. I thought I drove very well today, you know when you’re on as a driver and today I was on. I got  a cracker start and was on the tail of Nick McBride for a while and I really enjoyed that because I have the utmost respect for Nick, he is great, honest and respectful driver. So I knew if I could stay with him it was good thing. As the pace picked up, I saw I had built a bit of a gap, so saved the tyres for the last race.”

Harri Jones wins again as Carrera Cup fight hits Darwin

Liam Talbot claims Morris Pro-Am class victory

PORSCHE Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia championship leader Harri Jones has continued his storming start to the 2022 season, leading from lights to flag in the opening race of Round 3 at Hidden Valley Raceway. 

Starting second, the McElrea Racing driver made a superior start from the outside of the front row and beat polesitter Dale Wood into turn one – and from there was never headed.

Liam Talbot won the MORRIS Pro-Am class, leading home Sam Shahin and Dean Cook in another competitive battle.

Jones’ pathway to victory came once he cleared Wood on the run into turn one, powering away to a one-second lead that he would ultimately never lose.

Wood’s second represented his best finish of the season, while a late pass secured David Wall third position in his 199th Carrera Cup Australia race.

Wall had trailed Dylan O’Keeffe for much of the race however was able to slip past at turn one with just a few laps remining.

O’Keeffe was fourth with Christian Pancione and Jackson Walls trading positions several times in their battle for a top five spot – the former ultimately coming out on top.

Max Vidau gained three spots to finish seventh, one position in front of his teammate Luke Youlden, with Bayley Hall and Callum Hedge completing the top-10.

Several Pro class contenders has issues in the hot Hidden Valley conditions.

Michael Almond spun at turn one while attempting a pass on Brad Shiels, while Nick McBride came off the road at turn five – having earlier copped a five second penalty for rolling at the start.

The MORRIS Pro-Am battle was similar to the outright fight, Talbot beating class polesitter Adrian Flack into turn one and then leading the duration of the race from there.

Flack would drop down the field later in the race following a spin at turn 12, which elevated Sam Shahin to second in class.

Dean Cook finished third, with Tim Miles, Rodney Jane and Geoff Emery next.

Two further races complete the third round of the championship tomorrow at Hidden Valley Raceway.

Jones’ provisionally leads the Pro championship by 85 points heading into Sunday’s action, with David Wall now second and Max Vidau third.

Earlier in qualifying, Dale Wood scored his first TAG Heuer Pole Award since March 2020 has he charged his Timken Racing / EBM entry to the top spot.

He edged out championship leader Harri Jones by 0.03 seconds in the closest ever Darwin qualifying session.

Round 2 polesitter Dylan O’Keeffe was third and David Wall fourth.

Personal best efforts from Jackson Walls and Bayley Hall saw them fifth and sixth, respectively, while Christian Pancione, Nick McBride, Simon Fallon – another personal best effort – and Max Vidau completed the 10.

The top 17 cars were covered by 0.5 seconds in qualifying, with the top 26 runner split by just 1.4s in one of the most competitive Carrera Cup qualifying sessions ever.

Adrian Flack stole the MORRIS Pro-Am pole award in the dying stages of the session, bumping Liam Talbot to second by 0.038s.

Geoff Emery was 0.1s further back with Dean Cook fourth and Matt Belford fifth.

Just 0.8 seconds covered the top nine runners in Pro-Am.

QUOTES: 

Harri Jones – Pro Class Winner

“That was another awesome race. I’m loving it up here in the heat. We got a pretty good start – I actually almost stalled it but I was able to recover and from there I just put my head down, tried to minimise mistakes and pull a little gap.

“The car felt amazing, massive credit to the team and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

“Our car behaved really well all race, the balance was very consistent and gave me the confidence to push really hard the whole time. Basically now we know the car is good and we can look forward to tomorrow and hope for the same again.”

Liam Talbot – Morris Pro-Am class winner

“It was good, I got a mega start! Going around the outside of turn one you never really know what is going to happen, but I had a dream run.

“I had (Adrian) Flack all over me but I was able to drive away. We were doing some good lap times and I was having a heap of fun out there – how can you not!

“It’s so hot, but that’s what you train for. You relish these moments at a track, in a Porsche, to be fast and win the race – how good!”

O’Keeffe tops fastest ever Friday at Hidden Valley

Adrian Flack heads tightly-packed Morris Pro-Am field in Darwin

DYLAN O’KEEFFE has topped the fastest ever Friday for the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship at Hidden Valley Raceway, heading a tightly-packed field across a pair of practice sessions at the Darwin circuit. 

Adrian Flack edged out Tim Miles to top the Morris Pro-Am class battle, with 24 of the 29 cars entered covered by just 1.5 seconds across 50 minutes of running today.

O’Keeffe charged to the top late in practice two, as teams fitted new Michelin tyres for a qualifying simulation late in the second of two practice sessions on the program.

His 1m06.5518s scythed seven-tenths from the existing practice / qualifying record at Hidden Valley with times likely to drop further during qualifying in cooler conditions on Saturday morning.

O’Keeffe’s Dexion / RAM Motorsport entry headed practice one pacesetter Harri Jones by just 0.13 seconds.

Jones had earlier topped the first session and backed up his early pace with a strong run in the second session later in the day.

David Russell was third in his EMA Motorsport en, continuing that team’s strong form from Winton Motor Raceway last month – where he was a podium finisher.

Christian Pancione was fourth while fellow Michelin Junior Callum Hedge was fifth for Team Porsche NZ / EBM.

David Wall – who will notch up his 200th career race start on Sunday afternoon – was sixth while Luke Youlden, Dale Wood, Michael Almond and Ryan Suhle completed the top-10.

Ultimately, eight drivers lapped beneath the existing Qualifying record at Hidden Valley with more lap time likely to be found in qualifying tomorrow.

Adrian Flack topped the Morris Pro-Am field, but that group was as tightly packed as the Professional class runners.

His 1m07.7957s best was just 0.08s quicker than Tim Miles, while Sam Shahin was a further 0.004s further back in third.

Flack topped both Pro-Am sessions on Friday having paced the earlier 25-minute opening session in the morning.

Liam Talbot was fractionally behind the leading trio with Rodney Jane, Stephen Grove and Geoff Emery all within 0.5 seconds of Flack’s session best.

Round 2 Pro-Am winner Matt Belford was next, with Dean Cook, Marc Cini and Scott Taylor rounding out the Pro-Am runners.

The lone 20-minute qualifying session to decide the TAG Heuer Pole Award winners will commence at 10:10am local time on Saturday, with the first race of the weekend – over 18 laps – to commence at 2:10pm in the afternoon.

Both sessions will be shown live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports, with the race also shown live on the Seven Network.

Dylan O’Keeffe – Pro 

“It was a pretty good day. I always like coming here and felt comfortable in the first session straight away. We were fairly quick, top five, in the first session and didn’t change too much for practice two. You just have to put a lap together, you’ve got to back right off and get a gap and then you only need a minute to set a lap. I made it work in the last one.

With these Michelins it’s the complete opposite to Winton, where you last lap was the fastest. This time it will be your first lap, which is different to what I’m used to on these tyres. My fastest lap would have been on lap one on my new set of tyres and that was to make sure we were up front for the qualifying session tomorrow – it’s about using your experience from the past and being smart about it. The car was really good.”

Adrian Flack – MORRIS Pro-Am

“I just love coming to Darwin! It’s such a good track, the people are great and it’s a really good event and I’m looking forward to coming out tomorrow and having a go. I felt good. I was just playing around with a few of the Pro’s and they weren’t pulling away on me which was good, so we’re up there. Qualifying will be head down and go for it, and see what happens at the other end.”

Bayley Hall joins Supercars Indigenous initiative by revealing Darwin livery

Famous Indigenous Artist Kurun Warun supports young Carrera Cup driver.

18-year-old Porsche Paynter Dixon Michelin Junior rising star, Bayley Hall, has excitedly collaborated with one of Australia’s most celebrated Aboriginal Artists, Kurun Warun for the first ever official Supercars Indigenous Round this weekend at the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.

Bayley shares the honour of displaying Kurun’s work with some very famous names, including Michael Schumacher, Oprah Winfrey and Pierce Brosnan – who are all collectors of Kurun’s artwork.

Darwin will be yet another new track for Hall to learn and adapt quickly to this weekend, but he’s excited for the challenge and the experience as he finds his feet in the new Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Car and the ultra-competitive Carrera Cup championship.

Darwin marks Bayley’s 5th ever round in a Porsche category, after Covid disrupted a planned full-season campaign in the 2021 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series.

Bayley Hall:

“We are yet to secure a naming right sponsor for the 2022 season, so I wanted to help make a difference by donating my prime car real estate for this initiative and give Kurun a platform to showcase his incredible designs, while showing respect for the local Indigenous people of Darwin. I’m so appreciative to Kurun for getting behind me and giving me this privilege of using his design,” said Hall.

Andy McElrea, Founder & Team Principal, McElrea Racing:

“Even though Bayley may have the least amount of experience in the field, he’s certainly moving forward in leaps and bounds with how fast he can adapt, with excellent race pace and race craft, we are extremely happy with his progress,” said Team Owner Andy McElrea from MR (McElrea Racing).

About Kurun Warun:

As an accomplished didgeridoo musician, Kurun has performed around the world in places as far flung as Italy and Korea. He played a role in the Sydney 2000 Olympic games as a traditional artist and has appeared on NBC in the United States.

He is an established Aboriginal Artist, learning from his mother at a young age. He paints many varieties of high-quality paintings – all with deeper meanings.

He has been involved in the design of Hall’s Darwin Carrera Cup Livery and is passionate about teaching the beauty of indigenous paintings and the culture of the indigenous people.

For more information:

Karun Warun – AAIA Aboriginal Art

Kurun Warun Aboriginal Artist – Kurun Warun Artwork

Stacked Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 992) field to line-up in Darwin

David Wall to make his 200th Carrera Cup Australia race start in Hidden Valley

The 132^nd round in Carrera Cup Australia history sees the country’s top Porsche teams travel to the tropical climate of Darwin in the Northern Territory for Round 3 of the 2022 season, following a forced two-season hiatus due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

In the nine occasions that Carrera Cup Australia has visited the Hidden Valley Circuit, Alex Davison remains the only driver to have won multiple rounds over the years, having taken victory in both in 2004 and 2016.

Of the current Pro field, Harri Jones will start the weekend as the race favourite, carrying strong form and momentum into the third round following both the opening round at the Melbourne Grand Prix and his round victory in Winton.

His McElrea Racing teammates (Christian Pancione; Bayley Hall, Tim Miles and Jackson Walls) are also likely to feature in both their respective Pro and Morris Pro Am classes, as the Queensland outfit is one of the only teams to have tested at the Hidden Valley Circuit in recent weeks.

The experience and consistency of David Wall is always a podium factor in the Pro class and the 2017 Carrera Cup Champion will celebrate his 200^th race start in Race 2 at Hidden Valley. He becomes only the second driver in Championship history to achieve this milestone (Marc Cini is the first and only driver to do so thus far) moving clear of Craig Baird for the second most round starts (Wall now has 67) and race starts in Winton last time out.

The recent pace of David Russell will also make his EMA Motorsport-prepared Dayco Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry one to watch, together with the Timken liveried Type 992 of Dale Wood. Hidden Valley was the scene of Wood’s most recent race win in 2019.

Dylan O’Keeffe’s form in Qualifying and all three Winton races will be another factor in the Pro battle, with the Victorian claiming the 2018 round win in Darwin without winning a race.

The last time Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia visited Hidden Valley in 2019, three drivers won the three races that weekend, with the ever-present Michael Almond eventually taking the round honours.

In the Morris Pro-Am battle, Geoff Emery remains the man to beat on pure pace and form, but the Championship remains wide open with the likes of Liam Talbot, Matthew Belford, Stephen Grove, Rodney Jane and Sam Shahin all featuring in the hunt for podium placings.

Incredibly, 16 drivers have filled the 21 available podium positions in the Morris Pro-Am class since the category’s first event there in 2004, this year should be no different. Hidden Valley is also a popular hunting ground for Porsche enthusiast, Scott Taylor, recording his best outright round result (14^th) and race result (11^th) in Darwin in 2019.

Following two practice sessions on Friday 17 June, Saturday’s qualifying and all three races will be broadcast live on FoxSports and Kayo Sports throughout the weekend.

For more Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia news and content follow the Porsche Motorsport Australia social pages: Instagram – @PorscheMotorsportAU / Twitter – @PorscheMspAU / Facebook.com/ PorscheMotorsportAU

Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia, Round 3, Darwin

Broadcast Schedule:

Friday, 17 June

1010 – 1035 Practice 1

1330 – 1355 Practice 2

Saturday, 18 June

1010 – 1030 Qualifying

1410 – 1435 Race 1  (18 laps)

Sunday, 19 June

0915 – 0940 Race 2   (18 laps)

1310 – 1335 Race 3   (18 laps)

Entry List:

Campbell and Evans to contest Nurburgring 24Hr race with Porsche customer teams

Porsche aims to defend its title in the Eifel

Former Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Champions, Matt Campbell (2016) and Jaxon Evans (2018) will contest this year’s Nurburgring 24-Hour race this coming weekend.

Porsche and its customer teams will make a bid for overall victory with eight 911 GT3 R in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Manthey contests the tradition-steeped race as the defending champion. The Eifel marathon celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and is regarded as one of the world’s toughest motorsport challenges. One 25.378-kilometre lap is a combination of the Nordschleife and the Grand Prix circuit. Once again, Porsche racing cars make up the lion’s share of the grid: 46 vehicles from the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer will tackle the endurance classic at 4 pm (CEST) this coming Saturday. No other manufacturer is better represented in the 138-strong field.

Last year, the Manthey customer squad notched up its seventh outright victory at the Eifel classic. Sharing driving duties in the 911 GT3 R “Grello” were the works drivers Kévin Estre (France) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) as well as Matteo Cairoli (Italy). For this year’s 24-hour anniversary event, the record-winners from Meuspath has again put together a formidable crew in their No. 1 car: Estre and Christensen share the green and yellow racer with their factory driver colleagues Frédéric Makowiecki (France) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium). In addition to Manthey, the customer teams Huber Motorsport, KCMG and Toksport WRT each field a GT3 vehicle from Weissach. Dinamic Motorsport and Falken Motorsports campaign two of the 500+PS Nine-Elevens each.

“The ‘Green Hell’ has made our preparations for the 24-hour race difficult again this year: the cancellation of the second round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series and one of the test days due to icy and wet conditions cost us critical track time. In such situations, it becomes even more important to work closely with the teams and share information,” explains Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. “Our first priority is that more Porsches make it into the decisive Top Qualifying. Spectators are finally allowed back to the track, so we’re all very much looking forward to the first highlight of the race weekend – the individual time trials.”

At the previous two qualification races for the Nürburgring 24-hour race as well as the first two rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series, competitors got the chance to jump straight into the final individual time trials for the top 19 grid positions: just like the 911 GT3 R from Manthey and Huber Motorsport, which have already secured a spot on the provisional entry list for the critical second part of the Top Qualifying. In the Top-Qualifying 1 session, the two Porsche fielded by Dinamic Motorsport and Falken Motorsports as well as the KCMG and Toksport WRT customer teams still have a chance to grab a place in the final shootout. In the two Top Qualifying segments on Friday evening, the name of the game for all competitors is to make the most of the free run over two timed laps on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife to set their best time.

Almost a third of the field drives a Porsche
The 24-hour classic on the longest and most demanding racetrack in the world is the highlight of the motor racing year. 138 vehicles in 22 classes make up the entry list for the prestigious event on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. “In the anniversary year of the 24-hour race, Porsche is represented by more than 40 vehicles – which makes us the largest contingent once again,” emphasizes Michael Dreiser, Director Sales Porsche Motorsport. “Our customers field different types and variants in ten different classes and have put their faith in the potential and performance of our products. Almost every third vehicle on the grid sports the Porsche crest. We’re thrilled about that and I would like to thank them very much for trusting our brand.”

Porsche’s history in the 24-hour race
Porsche’s success story at the Eifel classic, which has been held since 1970, includes 13 overall victories to date. In 1976, Fritz Müller, Herbert Hechler and Karl-Heinz Quirin clinched the first victory for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer at the wheel of a Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0. In the two years that followed, the 911 Carrera RS proved unbeatable. In 1988, Dören Motorsport was the fastest with a 911 Carrera RSR. Five years later Konrad Motorsport triumphed. In 2000, Pheonix Racing celebrated victory with a 911 GT3 R. Soon after, Manthey began its unprecedented winning streak: the team from Meuspath achieved four consecutive overall victories from 2006 to 2009, followed by two more triumphs in 2011 and 2018. In 2021, Manthey built on its record as the most successful team at the Nürburgring with its seventh overall victory.

Overview of the Porsche teams and drivers (SP9 class)
Porsche supports its customer teams Huber Motorsport, Dinamic Motorsport, Manthey and Toksport WRT in the Eifel with, among other things, drivers from its own squad. The works drivers Estre, Christensen, Makowieki and Vanthoor form the powerful quartet in the Manthey’s 911 GT3 R “Grello”. Matt Campbell from Australia and the Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet provide reinforcement for the fledgling Nordschleife team Toksport WRT. Austria’s Thomas Preining drives Dinamic Motorsport’s No. 28 car. Porsche’s test and development driver Lars Kern supports the Huber Motorsport team, which won the separate Pro-Am classification in the top SP9 class in 2020 and 2021.

Manthey (Porsche 911 GT3 R #1)
Michael Christensen (DK), Kévin Estre (F), Frédéric Makowiecki (F), Laurens Vanthoor (B)
KCMG (Porsche 911 GT3 R #18)
Dennis Olsen (N), Josh Burdon (AUS), Nick Tandy (GB), Earl Bamber (NZ)
Huber Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #25)
Nico Menzel (D), Joachim Thyssen (D), Klaus Rader (D), Lars Kern (D)
Toksport WRT (Porsche 911 GT3 R #27)
Julien Andlauer (F), Matt Campbell (AUS), Mathieu Jaminet (F)
Dinamic Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #28)
Christian Engelhart (D), Matteo Cairoli (I), Côme Ledogar (F), Thomas Preining (A)
Dinamic Motorsport (Porsche 911 GT3 R #29)
Matteo Cairoli (I), Adrien de Leener (B), Frederik Schandorff (DK), Christian Engelhart (D)
Falken Motorsports (Porsche 911 GT3 R #33)
Jaxon Evans (NZ), Sven Müller (D), Patrick Pilet (F), Marco Seefried (D)
Falken Motorsports (Porsche 911 GT3 R #44)
Klaus Bachler (A), Alessio Picariello (B), Patrick Pilet (F), Martin Ragginger (A)

Nürburgring 24-hour race – all Porsche overall wins:
1976 Müller / Hechler / Quirin (Porsche 911 Carrera)
1977 Müller / Hechler (Porsche 911 Carrera)
1978 Müller / Hechler / Gschwendtner (Porsche 911 Carrera)
1988 Dören / Holup / Faubel (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR)
1993 de Azevedo / Konrad / Wirdheim / Katthöfer (Porsche 911 Carrera)
2000 Mayländer / Bartels / Alzen / Heger (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
2006 Luhr / Bernhard / Rockenfeller / Tiemann (Porsche 911 GT3 MR)
2007 Lieb / Bernhard / Dumas / Tiemann (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)
2008 Lieb / Bernhard / Dumas / Tiemann (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)
2009 Lieb / Bernhard / Dumas / Tiemann (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)
2011 Lieb / Bernhard / Dumas / Luhr (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR)
2018 Lietz / Pilet / Makowiecki / Tandy (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
2021 Estre / Christensen / Cairoli (Porsche 911 GT3 R)

The schedule (all times CEST)
Thursday, 26 May
12:30 – 2:00 pm: Qualifying 1
8:30 – 11:30 pm: Qualifying 2

Friday, 27 May
2:10 – 3:10 pm: Qualifying 3
5:50 – 8:00 pm: Top Qualifying

Saturday, 28 May
11:00 – 11:45 am: Warm-up
4:00 pm: Start of the Nürburgring 24-hour race

Sunday, 29 May
4:00 pm: Finish of the Nürburgring 24-hour race

The event on live streams
Live footage from all sessions is available on the channels of the 24-hour race on YouTube (English live commentary: https://tinyurl.com/35d2c7wu), Facebook and TikTok. Moreover, the website https://www.24h-rennen.de/en/home/ shows the timing of all sessions.

Comments before the race
Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 GT3 R #911): “It’ll be very difficult to defend our title because our opponents did very well in the qualification races. Compared to last year, we’ve made very few changes – at least on the technical side. However, there are some changes in the line-up: While Michael Christensen and I are a regular pairing, we’re now joined by Laurens Vanthoor and Fred Makowiecki. This makes for a very strong line-up of drivers – and with Fred, we have someone in our crew who has already won the 24 Hours with Manthey. Let’s see what happens in the ‘Green Hell’ this time.”

Dennis Olsen (Porsche 911 GT3 R #18): “We’ve been very systematic in our preparations. The KCMG team is doing a great job. We’re competing with strong drivers and want to win at the Nürburgring. However, the weather conditions in the Eifel always pose a special challenge. Hopefully, we’ll make all the right decisions and end up on top of the podium.”

Nico Menzel (Porsche 911 GT3 R #25): “We have a very clear goal – after two victories in the Pro-Am class, we want to complete the hat trick this year. My teammates Joachim Thyssen and Klaus Radar have made great progress in the Huber Motorsport 911 GT3 R and are among the top amateurs.”

Matt Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R #27): “For me, the 24 Hours is the biggest race in the world and it’s one I want to win with my teammates Mathieu Jaminet and Julien Andlauer. Toksport WRT is in the spotlight as a new team on the Nordschleife and has really done a great job so far. We want to achieve the maximum of what is possible and bring home a good result.”

Thomas Preining (Porsche 911 GT3 R #28): “I also spent time in the simulator preparing for the event but you can’t simulate driving in traffic on the Nordschleife: only experience and every kilometre on the track can help. We have four experienced drivers sharing our Dinamic Motorsport car. Primarily, we see the race as a development project for the tyres and we’re making great progress in this respect. We want to achieve a top placing with a consistent and flawless performance.”

Marco Seefried (Porsche 911 GT3 R #33): “Falken Motorsport has once again put together a good team and is fielding two Porsche 911 GT3 R with a strong driver line-up. I’m pleased to be returning after 2017. Again this year there are slightly fewer competitors than usual entered in the race, and because there is less traffic on the track, you have to sprint right from the get-go.”

Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #44): “I’m really looking forward to the race because we’re finally driving in front of spectators again. The scenery at the Nordschleife is unique – this is especially true at night when the campfires are burning next to the track. Hopefully, the weather plays along so that the fans can have a nice motorsport party after a two-year hiatus.”

Harri Jones claims maiden Carrera Cup round win

Matt Belford takes Morris Finance Pro-Am for debut round victory

HARRI JONES has added another trophy to his growing collection, claiming Round 2 of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship following a final-race showdown with David Russell.

It was a pair of first-time winners at Winton Raceway as Morris Finance Pro-Am rookie Matt Belford claimed a home-state round win in just his second ever Carrera Cup event.

Jones’ pathway to victory was set up with his drive to win in race one, and backed up with a solid run to second in the 25-lap enduro race that commenced the Sunday program.

David Russell won that race – his first Carrera Cup victory since October 2015 – though Jones’ second position saw him lead the round points heading into the deciding finale’ later in the afternoon.

In a winner-take-all affair, Jones’ made the better start from the outside of the front row and led the experienced Russell into turn one – setting up a tense battle to the line but one that Jones’ would never not control.

The win delivered the young Michelin Junior his maiden Carrera Cup round victory in just his 10^th round start: and rocketed him from fourth to a clear first in the championship standings in the process.

Russell’s second overall was his 11^th podium finish in his lengthy Carrera Cup career and the first for the Dayco / EMA Motorsport team since joining the championship.

Dylan O’Keeffe completed the podium in his Dexion / RAM Motorsport entry.

The Victorian finished just behind Russell and Jones’ in the enduro cup race on Sunday morning and then finished fourth – behind a strong Dale Wood – in the 16-lap finale’ to book his first trip to the podium since Sydney Motorsport Park in 2018.

Wood’s strong weekend was his best in some time in the championship aboard his Timken EBM entry, while Luke Youlden finished fifth overall as TekworkX Motorsport continued their speedy start to the 2022 season.

Matt Belford’s pathway to victory in the Morris Finance Pro-Am came via a strong win in a dramatic Enduro Cup race early on Sunday morning.

The Victorian, driving for the Porsche Centre Melbourne team, survivied a dramatic race that saw the top two finishes from Saturday’s opener fail to finish.

He then held off a charging Rodney Jane in the closing laps to record his first Carrera Cup class win; having scored pole position earlier in the weekend.

Belford then backed up that performance with a second-straight race win in the third and final race of the weekend to do enough to claim his maiden overall win.

Jane was second, his first Pro-Am class podium finish since Bathurst in 2008, while Stephen Grove finished third overall for the weekend.

Round one winner Geoff Emery had a challenging Sunday, having won the opening race on Saturday afternoon: he failed to finish race two after early damage before recovering to ninth in class in the third race.

With two of eight rounds complete, Harri Jones has charged to a commanding 70-point lead in the championship – having entered the Winton weekend fourth in the championship.

David Russell has moved to second in the standings with a five-point margin to former champion David Wall in third.

Max Vidau sits fourth in the championship just two points further back, while Dylan O’Keeffe has moved to fifth.

Stephen Grove took over from Geoff Emery as the leader in Morris Finance Pro-Am class after two rounds, his lead 15 points over the Round 1 winner.

Sam Shahin sits third in the championship after his Sunday performances saw him rebound from a race-one DNF at Winton.

The tightly-packed Pro-Am field has the top five cars split by just 59 points heading into the third round of the championship.

Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia returns to the top end of Australia for Round 3, with the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown event to be held between June 17-19.

QUOTES

Harri Jones – Pro – Round winner

“That was an awesome race to come away with the win for the weekend and take my first Carrera Cup round. I’m really happy and want to say a massive thank you to the McElrea team, they gave me an absolute rocket this weekend. Winton is not our home track, so to come here after many years and get the win, its amazing and credit must go to the work the team has been doing to make our car fast this weekend, where we could get a good start and to lead the flag, I can’t thank everyone enough.

“I had a poor start in the race this morning, so we worked on getting more rear tyre temp and this afternoon it just hooked up. I can’t wait for Darwin, we were up there for a two day test a few weeks back, so I can’t wait, the track is absolutely amazing and will definitely be different weather to here. We’ve been freezing all weekend here and up there will be very warm, so looking forward to getting up there and getting amongst it.”

Matthew Belford – Morris Finance Pro-Am winner

“It was a great race and would like to dedicate this one to Karl Batson and the whole Porsche Centre Melbourne Team. The beauty of starting first in Pro-Am is you just get in behind the pros, Rodney Jane put me under a lot of pressure again. I was able to pull away a little bit, so it was just a perfect race. From what happened at Albert Park I wanted to come here and just have three clean races, so to get two race wins and a third is just a dream come true.

“I’m a bit like the young Pros to be honest (laughs), they go through the Porsche Pyramid, whereas I’m an old guy whose been through the Porsche Pyramid. I did all the levels of Porsche Track Experience training in Queensland, went onto Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge and worked my way up and now have come to Carrera Cup and I still feel like I’m a little bit less experienced. The fast Pro-Am’s in this championship are really experienced, so to be here and be competitive, that’s really what I’m after.”

Jones steals Winton win as O’Keeffe denied with late race pass

Geoff Emery takes Morris Finance Pro-Am victory to extend title lead

HARRI JONES grabbed opportunity when it was presented to score a stunning victory over Dylan O’Keeffe in race one of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia at Winton Motor Raceway.

Geoff Emery won the Morris Finance Pro-Am class after seeing off an early challenge from Liam Talbot.

Starting third, Jones’ took advantage of turn one dramas to climb to second position behind O’Keeffe on the opening lap.

Duvashen Padayachee locked a brake into the first corner immediately following the race start, running wide and forcing front-row starter Callum Hedge to also run off the road.

That allowed O’Keeffe to lead comfortably by the end of the first lap with Jones second and David Russell third.

As the race evolved Jones’ closed the margin to the leader with a freight train of several cars all battling for position.

Jones’ opportunity to pounce came on lap 13, when O’Keeffe hit lapped traffic at turn seven and was slowed.

The latter defended valiantly however the delay allowed Jones’ to pass around the outside of Turn 10 to grab the lead – one he’d never lose – before edging away to win his third career race.

O’Keeffe finished second with David Russell a strong third for his Dayco / EMA Motorsport entry.

Ryan Suhle lodged his best ever Carrera Cup Australia race result in fourth, while Dale Wood gained ground from his starting position to finish fifth.

TekworkX Motorsport teammates Luke Youlden and Max Vidau finished line astern in sixth and seventh, respectively, with Michael Almond, David Wall and Jackson Walls completing the top-10.

Following their turn one trips across the infield, Duvashen Padayachee ultimately finished 11^th while Hedge was stuck behind a host of Pro rivals in 16^th.

The young Kiwi did set a new Winton Carrera Cup lap record in his pursuit of the field, the new benchmark standing at 1m20.7697s.

In Morris Finance Pro-Am, Geoff Emery led from lights to flag to record his sixth career class victory and extend his championship lead following the fourth race of the season.

He fended off Liam Talbot in the early stages, however the former champion ran wide at turn six early in the race, ceding several positions.

That elevated Stephen Grove to second, however he was passed by Dean Cook’s Zonzo Estate entry on the final lap before ultimately finish second. Grove was third, with polesitter Matt Belford finishing fourth.

Rodney Jane was a season-best fifth with Talbot, Tim Miles, Adrian Flack, Drew Hall and Marc Cini completing the top-10.

The race one results provisionally place Harri Jones in the lead of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia championship for the first time, Max Vidau dropping to second position and David Wall to third.

The field returns for a pair of races on Sunday’s program at the Winton SuperSprint event.

Race 2 will see the field tackle a 25-lap endurance affair at 10:25am before the final sprint race commences at 2:20pm, local time.

Both races will be shown live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sport.

QUOTES:

Harri Jones – Pro

”That was an awesome race, we qualified third and I was pretty happy with that. I made a position up off the start and put my head down and got Dylan in the last few laps, so I’m really stoked. We have two more races tomorrow, so hoping to do a repeat. The last few laps Dylan and I caught the rear traffic, I took the opportunity and went high, got denied and managed to get the undercut. It was a good battle, we didn’t touch each other so it was good to be close without any contact and come away with the win.”

Geoff Emery – Morris Finance Pro-Am

“It was a really good race, especially with Liam at the start once he closed the gap and he was really making me earn it at the start. But I hung on and after he ran wide, I was on my own for a bit, which made it pretty easy toward the end, so I was happy with that. Tomorrow I’ll just keep the same strategy and stay alive out there. I’ve been really enjoying the Pro-Am Championship this year, the new 992 is a fantastic car to drive, so really enjoying the Championship.”

O’Keeffe, Emery top record-breaking practice day

Records set to fall as Carrera Cup returns to Winton after long absence

DYLAN O’KEEFFE and Geoff Emery have topped their respective classes in an intense day of practice as the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia returned to Winton Motor Raceway, in country Victoria.

Visiting for the first time since 2013, the 31-car Carrera Cup field posted remarkably close and competitive times across a pair of 25-minute sessions that set the tone for an intense weekend ahead.

While O’Keeffe topped the Pro class, Emery was fastest overall in the equally competitive Morris Finance Pro-Am battle.

The pair of sessions were held in cool but bright and sunny conditions, teams spending the day learning the conditions ahead of a pair of important 10-minute qualifying sessions – one each for Pro and Pro-Am competitors – tomorrow.

O’Keeffe’s 1m20.1090s flyer was set late in the second practice session and was a full 3.3 seconds quicker than Craig Baird’s existing Winton qualifying record, set way back in 2007.

The Dexion / RAM Motorsport driver ended the day just 0.1 seconds quicker than practice one pacesetter, Callum Hedge.

“It was very tricky out there with all the cars, I didn’t think I would get any lap in,” O’Keeffe said.

“At the start, we caught the Pro Am’s very quickly and didn’t get a lap in. I was stressing a little but at the end there trying to get a lap in, but I had one clean go at it and managed to put it together, that said it was a pretty scruffy lap.

“These 992’s are very tricky around this circuit with oversteer compared to the previous generation and some of the other cars I’ve driven around here. But I like working the car a little bit and they say a loose car is a fast car.”

The young Kiwi had topped practice one in his Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche and had led the way for much of the second session before O’Keeffe’s late flyer saw him jump to the top.

Duvashen Padayachee was third fastest overall, completing a strong day for the GWR Australia-run cars, while former series champion David Wall was fourth.

Simon Fallon was best of the Sonic Motor Racing entries in fifth aboard his Bob Jane T-Marts car, while Dale Wood’s Timken EBM entry was sixth.

Championship leader Max Vidau jumped to seventh on his penultimate flyer in practice for TekworkX Motorsport, while Harri Jones was eighth and best of the McElrea Racing stable.

David Russell and Nick McBride completed a competitive top-10 with eight different teams represented in the bunch.

The competitive nature of the field was clear to see with a remarkable 0.9 seconds covering the top eighteen cars and two seconds covering 24.

Emery topped the Morris Finance Pro-Am field with him 1m21.0465s best less than a second from the fastest time overall.

“It was an interesting session I struggled a bit at the start, but we set new Michelins on it and got a good result in the end,” Emery said.

“The car is really good to drive now, we tuned her up after the first session and took some of the oversteer out of it and its really good to drive. You had to manage the traffic, you have to roll out of it when you have to and press on because there’s only a second between the front and the back, once I got on with it, the traffic wasn’t too bad.”

Victorian Matt Belford was second in Pro-Am while Dean Cook was third – just ahead of the returning Adrian Flack and class champion, Sam Shahin.

The field returns to the circuit tomorrow for qualifying at 10:05am, the Pro-Am field to qualify first before the Pro’s hit the track.

The field then regroups for the first of three races this weekend at 2:25pm local time.

Both sessions will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.

Near capacity Carrera Cup Australia grid for Winton Supersprint return

Porsche teams return to Winton after nearly a decade

The second round of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship sees a return for all teams to country Victoria, for the Winton Supersprint. Marking the 131^st round to be held in the Championship history since it began in 2003, the traditional cold and wet climate of the Benalla track at this time of year will be sure to provide a mix of changeable conditions for the teams from their last visit in August 2013.

On that occasion, Michael Patrizi won the round, while three different drivers won the three races: Patrizi (Race 1), Shae Davies (Race 2) and Nick Percat the third race. The 3.0km National circuit is unsurprisingly the slowest circuit currently on the 2022 Carrera Cup calendar, as the last recorded average lap speed of 129kph was set in 2013 in the 997 MY11 generation of 911 GT3 Cup car. Expect to see lap records tumble from the get-go in the latest generation 992.

Of the 31 car field entered for the 20-22 May event, only two drivers – Marc Cini and Stephen Grove – were on the grid in 2013 the last time the Championship visited there. Ironically, both had a challenging weekend on that occasion, with each driver failing to score in each session. Ironically, there were more of the current Carrera Cup brigade on the grid when the Championship first debuted at Winton in 2003: that year, Cini, Rodney Jane and Tony Quinn were all present.

Most of the class of 2022 have already done test sessions at Winton, as every Porsche customer squad looks to not only learn more but hone the set-ups on their new 992 generation 911 GT3 Cup car.

With Aaron Love currently abroad contesting Carrera Cup France, the Tyrepower TekworkX Motorsport entry of Max Vidau starts as the form man, having won the opening round at the Australian Grand Prix.

Harri Jones will be another Michelin Junior hoping to take the momentum from his victory in the last race in Melbourne into Round 2, but the Queenslander is likely to face opposition from McElrea Racing teammate, Christian Pancione and the SP Tools Earl Bamber Motorsport entry of Ryan Suhle.

Expect the ever-present David Wall to be another in the hunt for the top of the podium, starting his 67^th round in Winton. The 2017 Carrera Cup Champion surpasses Craig Baird for second on all-time starts this weekend.

Wall together with experienced campaigners like Dale Wood, Michael Almond, Dylan O’Keeffe, Luke Youlden and David Russell in the mix, round honours are far from a certainty for anyone in the Pro class. It should make for a riveting spectacle.

In Morris Finance Pro-Am, the battle and competition level will be just as intense. Porsche Cars Australia has implemented a split qualifying session for Winton round, allowing for more indicative, unimpeded lap times for both classes.

Hot off his Bathurst 12Hr Class C win, Geoff Emerywill start as class favourite to take the round, but one cannot ignore the depth of competition in a field consisting of Liam Talbot, Stephen Grove, Dean Cook, Sam Shahin and Adrian Flack. Flack marking his return to Championship after missing Round 1.

Both Saturday and Sunday’s qualifying and races will all be broadcast live on FoxSports and Kayo Sports throughout the weekend.

For more Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia news and content follow the Porsche Motorsport Australia social pages: Instagram – @PorscheMotorsportAU / Twitter – @PorscheMspAU / Facebook.com/ PorscheMotorsportAU

Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia, Round 2, Winton

Broadcast Schedule:

Saturday, 21 May

10:05 -10:15 Qualifying – Pro

10:20 – 10:30 Qualifying – Morris Finance Pro-Am

14:25 – 14:50 Race 1   16 laps

Sunday, 22 May

10:25 – 11:05 Race 2   25 laps

14:20 – 14:45 Race 3   16 laps

Entry List:

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance reveals the potential of Mission R

From the IAA conceptual study to a fully-electric prototype on the racetrack

Porsche has begun testing the technology components of the Mission R with the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance. At the 2021 IAA MOBILITY in Munich, the conceptual study outlined the vision of a fully-electric GT racing car for customer motorsport in the future. Now, the innovative electric drive concept of the Mission R is demonstrating its potential on national and international racetracks.

The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance serves as a test vehicle. Like the Mission R, the all-wheel-drive racer uses the chassis of the proven 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport model. The entire electric motor and battery technology also comes from the IAA conceptual study, which in qualification mode translates to a maximum output of 735 kW (1,000 PS) and more. In simulated racing, a steady 450 kW (612 PS) is available for 30 minutes, i.e. the duration of a Carrera Cup race. In terms of lap times and top speed, the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance is on par with the performance of the current 992-generation 911 GT3 Cup.

“With the Mission R, we’ve shown how Porsche envisages sustainable customer motor racing in the future. The 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance now demonstrates that this vision works impressively on the racetrack,” said Matthias Scholz, GT racing vehicle project manager. “We’re very excited about the response because a one-make cup with electric racing cars would be an important addition to our existing customer racing programme.”

In 2030, Porsche aims to be CO₂ neutral across the entire value chain and life cycle of new cars sold. By then, the proportion of all new vehicles featuring all-electric drive should be more than 80 per cent.

Like with the Mission R, the fully-electric drive train of the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance is based on a permanently excited synchronous machine (PESM) on the front and rear axles. Together, they turn the racing car into an all-wheel-drive and can deliver a peak output of up to 800 kW (1,088 PS). The direct oil cooling of the e-motors and battery pack developed by Porsche counteracts thermally induced derating.

“The integration of oil cooling has significantly impacted the vehicle concept,” said Björn Förster, GT4 ePerformance project manager. “With experts in the fields of aerodynamics and thermodynamics as well as high-voltage and bodywork specialists, the development team created an architecture to tap the full potential of the battery cells for the first time, since there is no thermal derating. In this way, the power output in racing mode remains constant for half an hour.”

Thanks to 900-volt technology, the state of charge (SoC) of the battery at full charging capacity jumps from 5 to 80 per cent in about 15 minutes.

Under the direction of designer Grant Larson, a team from Porsche Style came up with the shape of the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance. The racing car is 14 centimetres wider than a 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. About 6,000 parts were designed from scratch. The body is made of natural fibre composite materials, among others, with the production intended to generate fewer emissions than the production of comparable synthetic materials. Recycled carbon fibres are also used for testing purposes. Compared to the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, the flared fenders allow more room for the wider 18-inch racing tyres from Michelin. Renewable materials make up a particularly high proportion of the tyres.

The GT4 ePerformance Tour #race2zero
The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance celebrates its premiere at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from 23 to 26 June 2022. At the famous motorsport festival in southern England, the all-electric concept car will take part in the ca. 1.9-kilometre hill-climb event. Its second outing is on 20 August 2022 at the Porsche factory in Leipzig on the occasion of the factory’s 20th anniversary. The facility boasts a 3.7-kilometre circuit that features famous sections of world-famous racetracks. The two 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance demo vehicles will travel through various European countries before heading to North America in early 2023. The world tour concludes in the Asia-Pacific region, where the all-electric racing car will tour until mid-2024. In line with the sustainability strategy of the entire “race2zero” project, transportation has been logistically optimised and will be done entirely by ship, train and truck.

“The 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance blazes a trail to Porsche customer racing with electrically-powered racing cars. As a first step, we will unveil this concept to our global partners,” said Oliver Schwab, Project Manager of the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance. “With drivers, teams, organisers, authorities and other interested parties, we’re also gathering ideas for Porsche racing formats in the future.”

GT4 ePerformance – the partners
The 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance heads off on its world tour with support from seven partners. All companies involved use the tour as a platform to further advance the topic of sustainability with Porsche Motorsport. DB Schenker is new to the project. The world’s leading provider of global logistics services contributes sustainable transport services, among other things. The long-standing partner ExxonMobil is involved through its Mobil brand via joint developments in the field of coolants and lubricants for the racing car. TAG Heuer, the Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches, supports this and other Porsche Motorsport projects as the timing partner. As a long-established technology partner of Porsche Motorsport, Michelin develops particularly sustainable racing tyres for the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance. The fashion company Hugo Boss is the official team outfitter. Fireproof clothing for drivers and mechanics is provided by the sports lifestyle brand Puma with the crew’s tools provided by the official supplier Hazet.

Further information, film and photo material in the Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com.au
You can follow Porsche Motorsport in Australia via @PorscheMotorsportAU (Facebook, Instagram, Youtube) or @PorscheMspAU (Twitter)

Craig Lowndes to headline Prostate Cancer Foundation Bathurst 12 Hr campaign

Lowndes joins Davison, Emery and Taylor for Bathurst 12 Hour

Craig Lowndes will headline a team formed with the sole purpose of raising funds and awareness for Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) at the 2022 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.

Lowndes, a two-time winner of the 12-Hour, will be joined by Alex Davison, Geoff Emery and Scott Taylor, aboard a Scott Taylor Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car at the May 13-15 event.

The car will field a livery entirely dedicated to PCFA, which will also be the official charity partner of the event for the first time.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation Porsche will be supported by experienced Porsche squad, Ashley Seward Motorsport.
Around 18,000 Australian men are diagnosed each year with prostate cancer, and over 3,300 will die from the disease.

Fundraising on the day will include donation points at the event this year, at the town-to-track activation on Thursday prior to the race and via online portals on the Bathurst 12 Hour and Supercars websites.

Lowndes has won the 12-Hour on two occasions and the Repco Bathurst 1000 seven times and remains one of Australian Motorsport’s most popular figures.

Thanks to a strong family history of Prostate Cancer, Lowndes has long been a supporter of the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s efforts to raise both funding and awareness for their efforts.

Alex Davison is a former Porsche factory driver, a Carrera Cup Australia champion and has 17 starts in the Bathurst 1000 to his credit.

Davison’s family has also been affected by Prostate cancer with his well-known father, Richard, also having battled the illness.
Geoff Emery is a multiple national circuit racing champion and last year finished runner up in the Pro-Am class of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, while Taylor is an experienced GT racer, Carrera Cup competitor and team owner.

The LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will be broadcast live on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and the Seven Network next weekend (May 13-15).

Donations can be made via the Prostate Cancer Foundation website directly at the following link: www.pcfau.org/car222 

For more information, please visit www.bathurst12hour.com.au

Craig Lowndes: “My family has a strong history of Prostate Cancer so it is an issue that has always been close to my heart.

“I have had a long relationship with the Foundation and their efforts to raise awareness about the disease. It can be a taboo subject for many men and it is important to talk about it and go and get checked. Hopefully what we are doing this year will encourage people to go and do just that.

“When this opportunity was presented, I couldn’t get behind it quick enough – it’s like the ideal weekend; a chance to raise funds and awareness for a really important cause, but also spend a weekend at Bathurst in a Porsche! It wasn’t hard to say yes.

“We’re all really excited about getting to the track. We’re going there to have a great time and really enjoy the whole race and everything around it.

“The important element of the weekend is doing what we can to get the word out about the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s efforts and then having a great time with a good group of guys in the Porsche.”

Shane Howard, CEO, Supercars: “The LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour is proud to be associated with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia as our official charitable partner for 2022.
“It is an important cause that men need to be aware of, to know their risks of prostate cancer and talk to a GP about having a PSA blood test. The 12-Hour is a platform that can spread that word far and wide, to the many thousands of people attending the event in person, or the millions watching the broadcast in Australia, New Zealand and around the world.
“We hope to make a significant impact on the foundation’s fundraising efforts and raise awareness among Bathurst 12 Hour fans in the process.”

Anne Savage, CEO, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia
PCFA’s CEO, Anne Savage, said the event would rapidly accelerate awareness of Australia’s most common male cancer.

“This partnership puts us in pole position to help close the distance between awareness and action on prostate cancer in Australia.

“Two in every three Australian men diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer will die within five years of being diagnosed, but if we can detect prostate cancer before it spreads, we can beat it.

“Having the support of Craig Lowndes and the 2022 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will enable us to get the message out to men – they need to know their family history and talk to their GP about PSA testing.”

For more Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia news and content follow the Porsche Motorsport Australia social pages: Instagram – @PorscheMotorsportAU / Twitter – @PorscheMspAU / Facebook.com/ PorscheMotorsportAU

Michelin and Porsche announce prize pool for 2022 Junior Programme

Michelin renews its support of both Porsche Sprint Challenge and Porsche Junior Programme

Michelin renews its support of both Porsche Sprint Challenge and Porsche Junior Programme

The continued support and development of the best young drivers from around the Australasian region has been a key priority for both Michelin Australia and Porsche Cars Australia for several years now. The domestic collaboration has seen the initiative grow into benchmark driver development programme in the country and remain a vital feature of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid.

For the 2022 season, Michelin will again be the Title Partner of Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia which gets underway at Round 1 of the national series at Sydney Motorsport Park from the 27-29 May. At the same time, the French tyre giant has announced that it will again support the Porsche Junior Development Programme offering eligible young drivers from the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship and Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series mentorship, support and training from the country’s leading sports professionals and coaches, as well as the opportunity to win their share of the $300,000 prize pool on offer.

The 2022 prize pool sees the top three Junior drivers from each Category, receive a set of Michelin competition tyres every round, while the top placed Junior driver at each round will also receive a complimentary entry for the round.

The Michelin Junior Champion – which will be awarded to the leading point scorer after round 6 of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia season in August 2022 – will receive a trip to Germany to attend the Porsche Motorsport Night of Champions Dinner in December 2022. The main prize for the Michelin Junior drivers is to be nominated to attend the global Porsche Motorsport Junior Shootout to represent the Carrera Cup Australia.

The Junior Shootout continues to play a crucial role in the development of the best emerging talent from the Australasian region and is seen as the most proven pathway for talented drivers to progress to the highest level abroad. To be eligible for nomination all Carrera Cup drivers must commit to a full season, carry additional Michelin branding and be born within the following time frame: 30/11/1998-01/03/2005.

Cooper Murray was the Porsche Michelin Junior Australia Winner last year, earning PCA’s nomination to attend the Porsche Junior Shootout in Europe that year. Murray arrived prior to the Shootout to test drive the new 992 generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car at Portimao Circuit in preparation for the Shootout and conducted a further two-day test session with Porsche Mobil1 Supercup Team, Martinet by Almeras, at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France on the 20-21 November. The Victorian then finished on the podium at the final round of the Porsche Carrera Cup France Championship on the 22 – 24 October.

Martinet by Almeras is the same team which supported 2018 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Champion, Jaxon Evans, to second position overall in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup Championship in 2021.

Other drivers that have progressed up the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid in recent years via the Australian Junior Programme, include the likes of Matt Campbell (Porsche factory driver), Nick Foster, Andre Heimgartner, Jordan Love and Cameron Hill, who have all gone on to succeed at the highest levels of the sport both locally and internationally.

QUOTES:

Barry Hay, Motorsport Manager, Porsche Cars Australia: “It’s fantastic to have our long term partner in Michelin join with us again and provide the crucial support needed for young talented athletes within this country. Both Michelin and Porsche are aligned in our passion for developing young athletes both on and off the track, which we have had great success in the past, and we are looking forward to continuing this support for the next batch of talented athletes coming through.

Hugo De-Boischevalier, Marketing Manager Oceania, Michelin Australia: “Porsche continues to be the go-to championship for drivers who are looking to further their career, either locally or internationally. The Junior Program is like no-other in terms of support and development from the Porsche team; with young drivers given the fantastic opportunity to round out their skills both on and off-track.”

“There is a genuine community feel within the whole Porsche pit lane, that has a strong alignment to our own values of respect, performance and helping people achieve their goals. Michelin Australia are excited to be supporting the Juniors again in 2022 and wish all the teams a successful season ahead.”

2022 Porsche Michelin Junior Programme drivers

Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia

Max Vidau – Tekworkx

Angelo Mouzouris – Sonic

Harri Jones – McElrea Racing

Christian Pancione – McElrea Racing

Ryan Suhle – SP Tools / EBM

Simon Fallon – Sonic

Jackson Walls – McElrea Racing

Callum Hedge – Team Porsche NZ / EBM

Bayley Hall – McElrea Racing

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge

Madeline Stewart – Team Porsche NZ

Lachlan Bloxsom – McElrea Racing

Tom Sargent – CHE Racing

Aron Shields – McElrea Racing

Ollie Shannon – Tigani Motorsport

Courtney Prince – Sonic

Ryan Wood – EBM

For race information, videos and interviews, follow the Porsche Motorsport Australia social pages: Instagram – @PorscheMotorsportAU / Twitter – @PorscheMspAU / Facebook.com/ PorscheMotorsportAU

Jones Breaks Through in Albert Park Finale, Vidau takes Round victory

Shahin takes final Morris Finance race, Emery seals round win

HARRI JONES has broken through for his first victory of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia season in an action packed finale on the roads of Albert Park.

After making another storming start, Jones had to survive a pair of safety car restarts en route to victory.

In Morris Finance Pro-Am, Sam Shahin also earned his first class win of 2022.

Following the first event of season 2022, Max Vidau tops the overall Pro standings from David Wall and Aaron Love, with only seven points separating the top three, while in Pro-Am, Geoff Emery leads the way from Shahin and Stephen Grove.

After being victorious in the opening three races, Love won the initial kick away from pole position, but Jones repeated his flying start from yesterday, claiming the lead as the field raced through turn one.

Wall then forged his way into second position, passing Love around the outside of turn four.

The action then came thick and fast after Nick McBride spun into the turn 11 gravel at the end of lap two.

Callum Hedge then spun entering the main straight, lightly tapping the pit wall, before a coming together between Angelo Mouzouris and Jackson Walls saw the latter make contact with the second turn tyre barrier.

Before the safety car was finally called, Bailey Hall spun at turn three.

Upon the resumption of action, Luke Youlden and Love made contact at corner 11, with Love following McBride’s wheel tracks into the gravel, necessitating a second safety car appearance.

With the time certain cut-off looming, a two-lap run to the finish ensued.

On the restart, Ryan Suhle nudged the turn two barrier, while Rodney Jane and Tim Miles spun at turn three, with Miles retiring on the spot.

With the field tightly bunched all the way to the finish, Jones led home Wall, Vidau, Dylan O’Keeffe, David Russell, Simon Fallon, Dale Wood, Michael Almond, Brad Shields, with Duvashen Padayachee rounding out the top ten.

In Morris Finance Pro-Am, Shahin moved his way into the class lead early, and held the position in the run to the chequered flag.

Grove was second ahead of Liam Talbot, Emery and Dean Cook.

The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia championship is scheduled to continue at Victoria’s Winton Motor Raceway from May 21 to 22.

Max Vidau – Round Winner Pro Class 

“It’s pretty surreal looking back two years at the Melbourne Grand Prix when COVID struck, and to be honest, I really didn’t see myself back in a Cup Car,” Vidau said.

“Rob Woods came along and gave me an opportunity to not only work for the team but drive for them, and I’m absolutely stoked to be on the top step of the podium.

“It’s awesome, massive thank you to the boys and everything they do to me as well, as all my sponsors Tyrepower, Bondi Carpets and Exedy.

“I’m ecstatic, but obviously Aaron got a bit stitched up with what happened to him, but we’ve had some awesome battles over the years.

“He’s heading over to Europe, hopefully I’ll see him over there soon.

“We didn’t really do much testing either, we just stumbled across something good and stuck with it.

“Hopefully it works at Winton too.”

Geoff Emery – Round Winner, Morris Finance Pro-Am

“There was a lot going on obviously with the restarts, I had a good run and had built a lead on Sam,” Emery said.

“After the restart I saw Jackson Walls go into the fence, so I rolled out of it thinking there would be a  safety car, but there wasn’t, and that allowed Sam to get up alongside of me and Stephen Grove, and I was forced to follow them through.

“That’s racing I guess!”

Aaron Love’s Albert Park Carrera Cup sweep continues

Emery rebounds to claim Morris Finance Pro-Am honours

AARON LOVE’S domination of the opening round of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia has continued with a lights-to-flag win at Albert Park, his third straight victory for the event.

In a one-off appearance before taking off to Europe, Love claimed the TAG Heuer Pole Position award on Thursday, before being leading home yesterday’s opening two races, with today’s success seeing the West Australian have to hold off the advances of multiple challengers.

Meanwhile, in Morris Finance Pro-Am, Geoff Emery repeated his opening race class win, with his chief rival Liam Talbot retiring mid-race.

Love led the field away yet again, with Harri Jones completing an audacious move on the grass into turn one, claiming second place from fourth on the grid.

Behind the leaders, the opening corner squeeze caused chaos.

Contact between Duvashen Padayachee, Jackson Walls, and Angelo Mouzouris saw Mouzouris spin into the gravel, with Padayachee limping to a halt, while Walls parked at turn three.

Following a safety car appearance, the race restarted on lap four, although Marc Cini fell by the wayside at turn 10, and race two’s leading Morris Finance Pro-Am runner Talbot retired in the pit lane.

Max Vidau forged his way back into second, passing Jones at turn 11 on the sixth circuit, with Jones quickly falling into the clutches of David Wall and Ryan Suhle.

At the end of eight circuits, Love held on to the lead in the time certain finish, with Vidau closing to within half a second at the chequered flag.

Jones claimed third, fending off the advances of Wall, with only 0.2s separating the duo, with Suhle in fifth, then Christian Pancione, Dylan O’Keeffe, Luke Youlden, Simon Fallon and David Russell rounding out the top-ten.

It was a particularly strong drive by Youlden, who charged through from 24^th at the start.

Emery claimed his second Morris Finance Pro-Am race win for the event, with second-placed Sam Shahin less than half a second adrift at the finish.

Third in class went to Stephen Grove, ahead of Dean Cook and Tim Miles.

In the progressive points for the weekend, Love leads the way from Vidau, Wall, Jones and Suhle.

The fourth and final race for the opening round of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia season is scheduled for 11:05am tomorrow, with the coverage available live through Channel 10, Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.

Aaron Love – Winner Pro Class

“I have had a bit of practice with these restarts, but it’s all about trying to keep my head down and stay nice and calm, it’s really nice to come away with the three wins from the past races,” Love said.

“Hopefully, we can tune the car up a little bit for tomorrow, we’ve got our work cut out for us, Max is really quick we’ll have to do a bit of research overnight and get stuck into it for tomorrow’s race.

“The 992 is what I’ll be campaigning in France this year and it’s definitely helped being back with the Sonic guys, it feels like home, it’s definitely going to give me a leg up going into the French Carrera Cup Championship, ease myself into it this weekend and go full-on next weekend.”

Geoff Emery – Winner, Morris Finance Pro-Am

“It was a great race, but I got a bit baulked at the start with the Pros, but once we got through all that stuff it was a really good race,” Emery said.

“I had Liam come back from a bit, then Shahin, but it was a good battle.

“I’m loving the new car, it really suits my driving style, I’m excited for what the year has in store for us.

“It’s certainly got that GT type feel to it, which I’m really enjoying.”

Full results: https://www.carreracup.com.au/results/

Aaron Love Claims Pair of Albert Park Carrera Cup Thrillers

Emery and Talbot Split Morris Finance Pro-Am Honours

Emery and Talbot Split Morris Finance Pro-Am Honours

ALBERT PARK came alive for the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia, with Aaron Love winning the opening two races of the 2022 season, with both encounters going down to the wire.

The first race witnessed a one-lap dash to the finish following a late safety car, while the second saw Love and Max Vidau trade places multiple times on the final circuit.

The story was similar in Morris Finance Pro-Am, with Geoff Emery winning the first race after two lead changes with Liam Talbot on the last lap, while Talbot earned the top spot in race two.

At the start of race one, Love led away from the TAG Heuer Pole Position, but behind him, McElrea Racing teammates Jackson Walls and Christian Pancione made contact at the re-profiled turn 11, but both were able to race on.

Luke Youlden dropped down the order early after qualifying fourth, then Michael Almond spun at turn two, making light contact with the wall, before ultimately retiring in the pits.

Marc Cini then speared off the circuit at turn 11, also reaching the tyre barrier, but was able to resume, while at the same time, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia graduate Matthew Belford spun on track at the same corner.

On the eighth lap, Drew Hall was another driver to come unstuck at the end of the back straight, but as he was unable to extract himself from the gravel trap, the safety car entered the circuit.

With the time certain finish looming, a one-lap sprint to the chequered flag ensued, with third place Nick McBride losing control at the fast turn ten switchback, making race-ending contact with the wall.

The final results saw Love lead home Vidau, then 2017 Carrera Cup Champion David Wall, ahead of debutant Angela Mouzouris, Christian Pancione, Callum Hedge, Harri Jones, rookie Ryan Suhle, Dale Wood, with Walls rounding out the top ten.

Meanwhile, Emery claimed honours in Morris Finance Pro-Am, following a race-long battle with Talbot, which was only resolved after multiple last-lap passes for the lead.

Stephen Grove claimed third in class ahead of Tim Miles and Sam Shahin.

Love once again won the start of the second race with Wall slotting into second, although the opening lap action slowed when the safety car was called for Dale Wood’s turn one spin.

Racing had barely resumed when Belford found the turn two barrier, with the field slowing for a second time.

When racing restarted, Kiwi young gun Hedge earned himself a ten-second penalty for contact with Pancione at turn three, before running wide at turn 11, and finally parking at the same corner on the penultimate lap.

Youlden spun at the final turn, while Almond ran wide at the first corner after a spirited battle with Bailey Hall, with the action topped off by Tony Quinn touring the turn three gravel trap.

Battling throughout the field in the truncated 11 lap race came thick and fast, with the scrap for the lead seeing multiple changes on the final tour.

First, Love ran wide at turn four, with Vidau completing a daring outside move at the following bend.

Vidau subsequently ran off at turn ten, allowing Love back through for the victory.

Wall pounced on the last lap action to claim second from Vidau, Jones, Walls, Suhle, Mouzouris, David Russell, Pancione, and Duvashen Padayachee in tenth.

With the new track configuration coming to the fore, Vidau lowered his own Albert Park lap record in the twilight second race with a hot time of 1:48.6349s.

In Morris Finance Pro-Am, Talbot got the upper hand over Emery, Shahin, Grove and Miles, with little separating the combinations.

The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia championship continues tomorrow with the weekend’s third race scheduled for 12:00pm, with live coverage available through Channel 10, Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sport.

Aaron Love – Winner Pro Class Race 1 & 2

“A bit of a wild race, you can never complain about coming away with a race win, but I made a couple of mistakes that cost us a bit, and we happened to get a little bit lucky towards the end,” Love said.

“At the end of the day, we came away with a race win, but there are a couple of things we can take away from it, and learn from, get stuck into the car and see what we can put together for tomorrow.

“Coming back to do just a one-off round with Sonic at the Grand Prix, I couldn’t think of a better place to do it, I’m really happy to get some results for them so far, and hopefully, we can continue the streak onwards.”

Geoff Emery – Winner, Morris Finance Pro-Am Race 1

“(Talbot) got me on the last lap, and I got him back on the last lap!” Emery said.

“It was a good battle, I had a good race, and he kept the pace up to me throughout all of the race.

“I love the new track, I love the new car, it’s really exciting, it’s really fast out the back and I really enjoy the fast and flowing tracks, it really suits my driving style.”

Liam Talbot – Winner, Morris Finance Pro-Am Race 2

“It’s nice to redeem ourselves from race one in this one, a little bit of contact there, but we tuned the car up, tuned the driver up, and got ready to go,” Talbot said.

“I love the new car, seriously, how could you have a bad day in a Porsche?”

Full results: https://www.carreracup.com.au/results/