After an action-packed Round 1 of the Porsche PAYCE & Michelin Virtual Cup in Phillip Island, both past and present Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup and Michelin Sprint Challenge drivers will do battle this evening on the first of two international circuits featured on the six-round virtual championship.
Porsche factory driver, Matt Campbell makes his debut in the championship and will go head-to-head not only with best friend and Porsche Junior driver, Jaxon Evans but also the best Mobil Pro drivers from Australia’s premier one-make championships.
Campbell and Evans face strong opposition from reigning Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Champion, Harri Jones who leads the Porsche Virtual Championship after Round 1, sharing race victories with pole-sitter Cooper Murray and Callum Hedge. The Helimods driver holds a slender five-point lead ahead of fellow Michelin Junior, Murray, with Porsche Junior, Evans a further six points adrift in third.
Other Michelin Junior drivers to watch for Round 2 include Aaron Love, Christian Pancione, and Ryan Suhle who all had strong performances in the opening round. Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup star, Joey Mawson is also likely to be a contender in Barcelona due to his experience on the fast European circuits throughout his career.
The list of international drivers also includes Sam Brabham and the Porsche Asia Pacific entries of Will Bamber and Reid Harker. The Team New Zealand pair, have confirmed that along with Campbell and Evans, they too will contend all six rounds of the series.
The Virtual Cup Team entry for Round 2 – which affords nominated crew members of Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup teams to compete – will be entrusted to Timothy McReynolds of Wall Racing for Monday evening, while Tony Quinn makes his debut as a wildcard entry.
Dean Cook and Brett Boulton were the pick of Pro-Am drivers in Round 1 and regularly featured among the top five drivers overall in Phillip Island. The pair lead the Pro-Am class into Barcelona ahead of Rob Woods and Graham Williams.
Race 1 starts at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya Grand Prix Circuit at 19:50, before switching to the Daytona International Speedway road course for two 20min night races.
Post-race highlights of each event will be broadcast on Porsche Motorsport Australia social channels, with all three races broadcast on the @PorscheMotorsportAU Facebook and Youtube channels at 20:00 (Melbourne time) on Friday evening.
Follow Porsche Motorsport Australia on Facebook and Instagram @PorscheMotorsportAU to keep up-to-date with information about the Porsche PAYCE and MICHELIN Virtual Cup Australia Championship.
Quotes:
Matt Campbell, Porsche Factory driver
“Really happy to be joining the Porsche PAYCE & MICHELIN Virtual Cup grid tonight for Round 2, looked to be mega fun last week when Jaxon was taking part so just had to join in on the action! It should be great to race against some familiar names and some new ones!”
Jaxon Evans, Porsche Junior Driver
“It’s a really cool opportunity to join the Porsche PAYCE & MICHELIN Virtual Cup, for the remainder of the championship. A lot of familiar faces/voices of the guys we used to race against makes for a lot of fun and laughs, while the young guys prove to be very stiff competition. The calendar features some of the world’s most iconic tracks and a couple of night races thrown in the mix will be sure to spice things up for everyone. It’s great to see Porsche Motorsport Australia give their drivers the opportunity to get their racing fix and stay connected during the current situation.”
Entry list: Round 2 – Barcelona / Daytona
Racing # | First Name | Last Name | Class |
1 | Ghost | Driver | Mobil Pro |
2 | Thomas | Maxwell | Mobil Pro |
3 | Will | Bamber | Mobil Pro |
4 | Reid | Harker | Mobil Pro |
5 | Nathan | Murray | Pro-Am |
6 | Tim | Miles | Pro-Am |
7 | Ryan | Suhle | Mobil Pro |
9 | Marc | Cini | Pro-Am |
10 | Sam | Brabham | Mobil Pro |
11 | Kyle | Gurton | Mobil Pro |
12 | Harri | Jones | Mobil Pro |
14 | Matthew | Belford | Pro-Am |
15 | Josh | Hunt | Mobil Pro |
16 | Michael | Patrizi | Mobil Pro |
17 | Callum | Hedge | Mobil Pro |
18 | Marcel | Zalloua | Pro-Am |
22 | Jono | Webb | Mobil Pro |
23 | Dean | Cook | Pro-Am |
29 | Rob | Woods | Pro-Am |
30 | David | Ryan | Pro-Am |
34 | Duvashen | Padayachee | Mobil Pro |
36 | Cooper | Murray | Mobil Pro |
37 | Tony | Quinn | Pro-Am |
38 | David | Wall | Mobil Pro |
55 | Sergio | Pires | Pro-Am |
66 | John | Goodacre | Pro-Am |
67 | Matthew | Payne | Mobil Pro |
68 | Greg | Ward | Pro-Am |
76 | Christian | Pancione | Mobil Pro |
77 | Michael | Almond | Mobil Pro |
78 | Aaron | Love | Mobil Pro |
84 | Brett | Boulton | Pro-Am |
88 | Ollie | Shannon | Mobil Pro |
90 | Timothy | McReynolds | Pro-Am |
91 | Emanuel | Palyaris | Pro-Am |
96 | Joey | Mawson | Mobil Pro |
111 | Cameron | Hill | Mobil Pro |
131 | Graham | Williams | Pro-Am |
777 | Max | Vidau | Mobil Pro |
911 | Matt | Campbell | Mobil Pro |
912 | Jaxon | Evans | Mobil Pro |
TBC | Jackson | Walls | Mobil Pro |