TWO Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship legends will reach career milestones at The Bend this week – one of them thought to be a world first for one-make Porsche racing.

A Carrera Cup ‘OG’, Marc Cini will reach the remarkable milestone of his 400^th career championship race start in race two.

The milestone comes at Round five of the championship which will see the series return to the South Australian circuit for the first time since 2023, a 27-car grid ready to do battle on the 4.95km International circuit alongside the opening race of the Supercars Enduro Cup, the AirTouch 500.

Cini’s upcoming milestone represents more than twenty years of continuous competition in Australia’s top one-make category.

In the more than 30-year heritage of Carrera Cup racing, it is believed to be the first time any driver will have reached the four hundred race milestone globally.

The Victorian made his debut in the third round of the debut 2003 Carrera Cup Australia season and has since competed at 136 rounds, starting a minimum of two events in each of the 20 seasons prior to 2025.

His 13 full season championship campaigns is also a Carrera Cup Australia record, while he has twice tackled the Carrera Cup support race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and completed the 2019 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as part of a ‘Team Australia’ attack alongside Stephen Grove and Joey Mawson.

With those races added to his tally, plus races in Carrera Cup Asia, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia and non-championship Carrera Cup Australia races, Cini has started more than 450 one-make Porsche races in his career.

The Victorian, famous for his Hallmarc Property Group-backed Porsche, has driven in every generation of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car to have raced in Australia, starting with the 996 and progressing through two generations each of the 997 and 991, and now the 992.

Fiercely loyal, Cini spent a majority of his career with Porsche Centre Melbourne Motorsport with long links and a close friendship with Porsche Motorsport Australia hall of famer Karl Batson across his epic Porsche career.

Meanwhile, David Russell will become just the sixth member of the Carrera Cup Australia ‘200 club’, set to reach his 200^th start in The Bend’s opening race on Saturday.

Russell’s Carrera Cup career spans two stanzas, the first commencing in 2006 before a second stint from 2014 that has established him as one of the series’ elite drivers.

Twice a runner-up in the championship, Russell has won eight races, scored five pole positions and finished on the round podium 18 times in his career, winning the 2024 Taupo round. Russell currently sits fourth in the championship following a recent string of strong results, including a podium finish at Queensland Raceway last time out.

The TekworkX driver will join fellow ‘double ton’ members including Cini, David Wall, Rodney Jane, Stephen Grove and Nick McBride when he starts The Bend’s opening race this Saturday.

As well as the return of Marc Cini, the grid set for this weekend also includes the return of fellow Pro-Am runner Indiran Padayachee and three-time class champion Stephen Grove, who is set to make his first Carrera Cup race start since the conclusion of the 2024 season in Adelaide. Dean Cook also returns in the #22 Dexion / RAM Motorsport / GWR entry.

In the Equity-One Professional class ranks, Finnish teenager Marcus Amand returns for a second round following an impressive Australian debut with TekworkX at Queensland Raceway, ending the weekend second in the final race.

Meanwhile, South Aussie home-town hero Max Vidau returns at his local circuit, while Christian Pancione will make his first start in the category since the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Championship leader Harri Jones, Connected Spaces EBM ace Dale Wood and double centurion David Russell will all do double-duties this weekend balancing their Carrera Cup commitments alongside co-driving roles in the Supercars race.

Practice gets underway this Friday at Shell V-Power Motorsport park with three races set for the weekend – all to be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo in Australia, and Sky Sport NZ.

ENTRY LIST – Round 5, Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, The Bend

No.	Class	Car #	Sponsor Name	Driver
1	Pro	1	Jones Motorsport	Harri	Jones
2	Pro	3	EBM Australia	Oscar	Targett
3	Pro-Am	4	Grove Racing / Team MPC	Stephen	Grove
4	Pro	7	McElrea Racing	Caleb	Sumich
5	Pro-Am	9	Hallmarc / MPC	Marc	Cini
6	Pro-Am	13	The Bend Motorsport Park P/L	Sam	Shahin
7	Pro-Am	14	ID Land	Matthew	Belford
8	Pro	15	Power and Earth.com	Clay	Osborne
9	Pro	16	Melbourne Performance Centre	Hamish	Fitzsimmons
10	Pro-Am	22	Dexion / RAM Motorsport	Dean	Cook
11	Pro	23	McElrea Racing	Lockie	Bloxsom
12	Pro	28	EMA / HFI	Bayley	Hall
13	Pro-Am	35	Rentcorp Hyundai Forklifts	Indiran	Padayachee
14	Pro	66	Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM	Marco	Giltrap
15	Pro	72	MVA Racing	Max	Vidau
16	Pro	76	VCM Performance / Team MPC	Christian	Pancione
17	Pro-Am	77	Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts	Rodney	Jane
18	Pro	81	McLennan Motorsport / TekworkX Motorsport	Tom	McLennan
19	Pro-Am	85	ASM / Ares Group	Matt	Slavin
20	Pro	88	Dexion / Ram Motorsport	Dylan	O’Keeffe
21	Pro-Am	95	MyConstruct.com	Brett	Boulton
22	Pro	99	TekworkX Motorsport	Marcus	Amand
23	Pro	200	Hire a Hubby / Tekworkx Motorsport	David	Russell
24	Pro	777	Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts / Rosche Paper	Marcos	Flack
25	Pro	911	Embrey Attachments / EBM	Glen	Wood
26	Pro	992	Connected Spaces / EBM	Dale	Wood
27	Pro	999	Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts / Pitbox	Angelo	Mouzouris