A LEGEND of the Porsche paddock will be the next inductee into Porsche Motorsport Australia’s hall of fame.

Championship winning engineer, team manager, mechanic and noted Porsche legend Karl Batson was recognised for his 20-year contribution to Porsche Carrera Cup Australia at the annual Gala in Adelaide earlier this month.

Batson, who battles the rare degenerative disease Friedrich’s Ataxia, will retire from full-time racing this year after 20 years in the Carrera Cup paddock and longer in Porsche Motorsport in general.

In recent years, Batson has been the driving force behind Porsche Centre Melbourne’s Motorsport program, however his time with the brand stretches nearly four decades.

In motorsport, he engineered Jim Richards to his Nations Cup titles before moving to Carrera Cup and winning there too.

Perhaps his peak of success came with Craig Baird, the pair forming a near-inseparable bond and dominating the sport to claim three titles in a row between 2011 and 2013 – each year of the Generation 2 997 GT3 Cup Car.

More recently he has worked with an array of drivers including Nick McBride and more recently, Courtney Prince and Fabian Coulthard at the Porsche Centre Melbourne Motorsport outfit.

His unparalleled record in one-make Porsche Motorsport includes attending 149 from a possible 150 Championship and non-championship Carrera Cup Australia rounds, and 442 races stretching across the 996, 997, 997.2, 991, 991.2 and 992 models of Porsche’s GT3 Cup Car.

He also has extensive experience in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge paddock with the Porsche Centre Melbourne team, where he will continue to have a presence next year.

His recent battle with Friedrich’s Ataxia has inspired the ‘Racing to beat FA’ cause which appears on many cars competing across Porsche Motorsport Australia categories, helping to raise awareness and funds in a bid to find a cure for the disease.

Batson’s induction into the Porsche Motorsport Australia hall of fame will see him join his former drivers Jim Richards, Craig Baird and the late Jaimie Blaikie, the long-time Category Manager of Carrera Cup Australia, who were inducted in 2021.

Karl Batson – Porsche Motorsport Australia Hall of Fame inductee

“I was very addicted to each driver. They were always number one. I always found it hard to find them at fault, especially in an accident. I was always very pro them – it was never my drivers fault.

“I was so fortunate to have so many good people alongside me.

“With Jim, we’d already won three championships in Nations Cup and in the last year of that I was preparing for Carrera Cup 100 percent.

“We dominated 2003 and that was a big deal, and we came second the next two years.

“With Bairdo, to have three in a row and to clean sweep that model of car was very special, but the relationships were the most important thing.

“A highlight was when we looked after Jeroen Bleekemolen at Bathurst. It was like this year where there were two cars on the main straight and everyone else coming out of the Chase.

“To look after both cars, swapping lap records both laps – and fortunately Bairdo got it – that was incredible.

“Porsche means everything to me. I’ve been at Porsche Centre Melbourne for 39 years; I was very pro Porsche and PCM my whole time. It’s been everything, it’s been my life.

“I physically can do the events but it’s the up and down, of looking after my body. I need to trim that out. I’ll do (Porsche Michelin Sprint) Challenge with Jonathan Glicksten, who is a massive supporter of my issue, and a young guy Ben Taylor. He’s a great young guy, we share a bit of a disability, and it will be great to see getting results out of him.

“A lot of people have been very kind to me over the journey.”

Craig Baird – 5x Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Champion

“He’s one of my best mates and a definite legend of our sport.

“When I joined Porsche, the person you had to knock off was Karl Batson.

“His friendship, his personality, his humor, his understanding – I would trust my children’s life with him.

“We’ve had some good times together and I’ll certainly miss seeing him in the pit lane.”

Jim Richards – Porsche Motorsport Hall of Fame member, 2003 Carrera Cup Champion

“Karl was responsible for all my racing, organizing and more of a team manager and chief mechanic rolled into one. He’s a great guy, great personality and we all got along fantastically well.

“2003 was a huge year for Carrera Cup. We didn’t really know what was involved and for my little team, with Karl, it was a matter of getting his experience and without that I’m sure we wouldn’t have won all those races.

“Karl was the main reason I won so many races and he just made it very, very easy for us.

“He worked as a mechanic and a manager but most importantly he was a great friend.”

Alex Davison – 2004 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Champion

“Karl is one of those guys who you struggle to find a bad word to say about. I’ve known him for over 20 years, and I don’t remember him saying a bad word about someone else as well.

“When I first went to Germany, Karl was going over at the same time as an exchange program PCA (Porsche Cars Australia) was doing with Porsche Motorsport.

“That was 24 years ago and we’ve been very close friends ever since.

“We got to work together once while driving for Jim Richards, which is a season we still look back on with really fond memories. We’ve always wanted to work together again and would have loved to win a championship together. No one in the paddock would have a bad thing to say about the guy.

“Seeing the enthusiasm that he presses on with and his passion for the sport even with the difficulties he has had is with the health battles, he’s still here.”

Marc Cini – Porsche Carrera Cup Australia legend, former PCM driver

“I think his most defining feature can also be his worst – which is that he’s extremely headstrong!

“When he takes something on it’s absolutely 100 percent commitment. For me it’s 23 years of fond memories and we’re extremely good friends. Over a 23 year journey you find out a lot about people and I assure you he’s one of god’s best people.

“He trained a lot of people, mentored a lot of people. I can’t tell you how important he’s been to the brand.”

Nick McBride – former PCM driver

“The opportunity to drive for King Karl for several years was an absolute privilege. We immediately bonded over coke zero and classic cars and have developed a close friendship. He is a real racer and his on-track achievements are second to none and well documented.

“Above all, he is a friend, husband and father and leading a motorsport department is an all-encompassing and time-consuming job. As a motorsport community we not only owe our thanks to Karl for his contribution to Carrera Cup but also must thank Michelle, Brodie and Cory for sharing Karl with us knowing that he currently has a debilitating illness.

“Karl will be missed in Carrera Cup but will no doubt be a strong presence in Sprint Challenge. Karl has recently welcomed a miniature dachshund called “Billie” to his family – he has no idea what he is in for. Thanks Karl.”

Matt Belford – former PCM driver.

“I turned up having never done any racing about five years ago, rocked up to a legend of Porsche Motorsport. His experience is undeniable. In terms of Porsches, he knows them inside out and for me he’s been incredible – and he’s been an incredible friend along the way and we’ve built a fantastic friendship.

“He really is Porsche Motorsport when you break It down.”