South Australian Porsche ace Michael Almond has quickly become a talent at both historic and modern racing – and now he adds the ultra-competitive Porsche Carrera Cup Australia championship to his 2013 racing repertoire.

Almond has this season won races in both the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia presented by Pirelli series in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car and in the Touring Car Masters category in a 1973 Porsche 911 RS – the first-ever victory in the series for the German brand.

Almond will now use the remaining three rounds of the 2013 Carrera Cup season at Winton, Bathurst and Gold Coast to gain vital experience in preparation for a full-time assault in the 2014 Carrera Cup championship.

The Adelaide-based racer has raced once before in the premier sports car category – the 2012 season finale at Sydney Olympic Park – and is looking forward to his return in the tail-end of the 2013 championship.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to step into Carrera Cup. I’ve been trying to take in all I can from the past GT3 Cup Challenge rounds to be as prepared as possible for the coming Carrera Cup events,” said Almond.

Having only raced in one Carrera Cup round in the past back in 2012, Almond suggests he is well prepared for 2013 and beyond having competed in the related GT3 Cup Challenge category.

“Racing in Carrera Cup is going to be a relatively easy transition; my GT3 Cup Challenge race car is very similar to those used in Carrera Cup, though the newer model GT3 Cup cars are just 10 per cent better in all areas.

“We also recently competed at Winton in GT3 Cup Challenge so I have a good grasp of what to expect when I head out on track in August.”

Almond will use the remaining rounds of the 2013 season to better prepare himself for a strong performance in the 2014 Carrera Cup season while continuing his current campaign in GT3 Cup Challenge.

“The plan was always to compete in Carrera Cup for the 2014 season so by doing GT3 Cup Challenge and now a few Carrera Cup rounds I’ll be able to jump in and be more competitive than I otherwise would be.”

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia will visit Winton Motor Raceway on August 23-25 for the fifth round of the 2013 season – the first time the category has raced at the rural Victorian circuit since the second round of the 2007 season.