New Year’s Eve, 2000. Adelaide was hosting its inaugural – and only – Race of a Thousand Years. And sitting in the pit straight grandstand was an eight-year-old, crafting a dream.

This October, Nick Foster will take one step closer to realising this vision.

The now 23-year-old racer will represent Porsche Carrera Cup Australia in this season’s Porsche Motorsport Junior Programme Shootout in Europe.

The two-day competition, held on October 05-06 by Porsche Motorsport, evaluates the best young driver (aged 18-26) from each international Porsche Carrera Cup – Asia, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Scandinavia. Each driver is tested on their engineering and communications skills, along with their ability behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

The ultimate winner will become a Porsche Junior driver and receive the majority of funding for the 2016 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup – the pinnacle of Porsche one-make racing, which supports Formula 1 racing in Europe and the United States.

Foster now hopes to make the most of this opportunity and get one step closer to his racing dream.

“I’ve wanted to race in top level sports car racing ever since I watched the Race of a Thousand Years in Adelaide. I’d seen nothing like it. That event was the reason I became involved in motorsport,” said Foster, who hopes to emulate the path taken by 2014 Junior Programme Shootout winner and reigning Le Mans 24 Hour champion, Earl Bamber.

“The fact that Porsche is now in the World Endurance Championship in both LMP1 and GT racing, and drivers like Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy have moved up the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid to where they are now, is hugely inspirational for me, especially with what they achieved at Le Mans in 2015. Sports car racing at that level has always been my ambition ever since that New Year’s Eve in Adelaide and I’m thrilled to be climbing the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid towards this goal.”

Foster is undoubtably the in-form driver in Carrera Cup Australia. Foster has won five of the past seven races in the championship, during which time he hasn’t placed outside the top two, though he realises the enormity of the challenge ahead.

“Porsche Carrera Cup is extremely competitive both here in Australia and around the world, so I’m not underestimating the challenge that lies ahead when I go to Europe. At the end of the day, there will be another seven or eight Nick Fosters who have also won three or four rounds, all vying for one place,” added Foster.

Porsche Cars Australia Motorsport Manager, Kurt Sakzewski, is proud to have Foster represent the Australian championship in October’s Shootout.

“Nick was the obvious choice to represent Australia in the Junior Programme Shootout. He has been the absolute pace-setter all season and, over the past few rounds, been untouchable in a Porsche race car,” said Sakzewski.

“Nick has shown what he is capable of on Australian race tracks and we’d love to see him receive the scholarship and show his talents on the world stage. Our fingers are crossed.”

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia has previously sent two drivers to the Junior Programme Shootout – V8 Supercars driver, Andre Heimgartner (2012), and Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racer, Sam Power (2014).

About the Porsche Motorsport Junior Programme Scholarship
– One nominee is represented from the world’s seven international Porsche Carrera Cup championships – Carrera Cup Asia, Carrera Cup Australia, Carrera Cup France, Carrera Cup Great Britain, Carrera Cup Italy, Carrera Cup Japan and Carrera Cup Scandinavia.
– All participants must be aged between 18 and 26
– The Shootout location remains unknown for now so drivers cannot test beforehand
– The test evaluates the drivers’ skill behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car
– The winner will be determined solely by Porsche Motorsport – Porsche’s central motor racing arm, based in Weissach, Germany
– Previous winners: 2013, Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA); 2014, Earl Bamber (NZ); 2015, Matteo Cairoli (ITA)

About Nick Foster
– Born: Brisbane, Queensland
– Resides: Gold Coast, Queensland
– Raced in Karts (1999-2007), Australian Formula Ford Championship (2008-11), Toyota Racing Series (2011), Australian Formula 3 Championship (2013), Porsche Carrera Cup Australia (2012, 2014-15)
– Currently sits third in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia points standings with five race wins
– Races for Melbourne based team, Sonic Motor Racing Services, in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia