Porsche Junior opens doors to young Australian drivers
Australia. Porsche has opened a second tier to its young driver development programme to young Australian drivers, providing the opportunity to fast track their international racing career with the German sports car brand.

For the first time Porsche is accepting applications for the Porsche Junior programme, which will award the winning applicant/s 150,000 Euros towards a drive in Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. This new opportunity compliments its existing programme, the International Cup Scholarship, which sees one driver from each international Carrera Cup compete in a two-day shootout in Europe, awarding the winner a 200,000 Euro funded drive in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup the following season.

Positioned as an entry level programme under the International Cup Scholarship, this new opportunity is accepting applicants who were born between January 1st, 1994, and February 28th, 1998. Aspirants must be able to prove their participation in a touring car and/or single-seater series and have not completed a full season of either GT3 Cup Challenge, Carrera Cup or a similar GT series.

To apply for the Porsche youth development programme, potential candidates should use the following application form: www.porsche.com/juniorprogramme. Candidates who are successful in the application procedure will participate in a two-stage selection process which includes fitness and endurance tests as well as demonstrating their driving skill at the wheel of the 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

The chosen Porsche Juniors sign a contract with Porsche AG and will receive support in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Aside from 150,000 Euros in funding, the Porsche Juniors receive assistance similar to the internationally successful Porsche factory driver. Fitness tests with constantly adapted training plans as well as media coaching and sponsor obligations are also part of the programme. The former Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen is on hand as a mentor to the juniors at every race. From the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland the juniors move up to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Should they be successful at this level a Porsche works driver position potentially beckons.

Porsche continues to pursue one goal: to train promising youngsters to become professional race drivers. Porsche’s youth development programme was launched in 1997 when the first UPS Porsche Junior team lined up on the grid. Since then, 19 of the young race drivers who have received support in the junior programme have managed to climb the ladder to become professional race drivers: Porsche factory pilots like Timo Bernhard (D), Marc Lieb (D), Patrick Long (USA), Michael Christensen (DK) and Earl Bamber (NZ). Bamber wrote history as the youngest graduate of the junior programme: The New Zealander gained his first one-make cup experience in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. He was awarded the Porsche International Cup Scholarship, won the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as a Porsche Junior, and in 2015 he clinched victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a Porsche works driver at the wheel of the 919 Hybrid LMP1 vehicle.