Eight 40-foot shipping containers carrying a fleet of 911 GT3 Cup cars will set sail from Australia for Malaysia tomorrow ahead of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia’s maiden international round next month.

The Carrera Cup race cars, teams’ equipment and Porsche spare parts will depart Brisbane’s Hutchinson Port ahead of the 12-day, 6,500 km voyage north-west to Port Klang, Malaysia.

From there, all eight containers will be transported to the world-class Sepang International Circuit ahead of the joint Porsche Carrera Cup Asia & Australia round. Containers will be unloaded on July 19-20 before cars hit the track for Friday’s opening practice on July 21.

The Australian Porsche championship will have 17 cars on the grid for its maiden international appearance at the spectacular 5.54 km Sepang International Circuit.

“This is an exciting time for Porsche Carrera Cup Australia. Seeing the Porsche field being loaded and shipped to Malaysia is the result of 12 months’ planning. We’ve also had great cooperation from our teams to ensure all logistics ran smoothly – from managing a tight turn-around time post-Darwin to preparing and loading cars and equipment for Sepang,” said Paul Ellis, Porsche Cars Australia’s Director of Public Relations and Motorsport.

“Even though our last round was in Darwin, which is situated closer to Malaysia, global shipping routes dictated that it was quicker to transport the fleet of Porsches from Brisbane. Therefore, our Melbourne teams packed their race cars and equipment on Monday, which were transported 1,700 km north to Brisbane. Our Queensland and Sydney teams then packed their containers near Brisbane on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s departure by sea to Malaysia.

“We now wait to get on the ground in Malaysia and begin what will be one of the most anticipated and spectacular rounds of Carrera Cup Australia racing ever. What started off as a dream a few seasons ago has turned into reality and we’re thrilled to bring this truly unique experience to our motor racing customers.”

The series’ Malaysian round, where it will join Porsche Carrera Cup Asia on the race schedule, follows Carrera Cup Asia’s maiden visit to Australia last season when the two championships lined up at Sydney Motorsport Park on August 26-28,2016.

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia’s maiden international round in Malaysia will be held on July 21-23, 2017.