South Australian racing talent Sam Power, 25, will make the step up to the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia championship with Team BRM in 2014.

Power finished third in the 2013 Australian Formula Ford Championship and will make his ‘tin top’ debut at a National level with his home team and at his home event, the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, this March.

He joins Team BRM at an exciting time for the one-make Porsche championship with the brand-new faster and more powerful Type-991 GT3 Cup Car set to debut this year. The Beverly-based BRM outfit is coming off the back of their best ever Porsche season, with Nick Percat helping the team to second in the Championship thanks to five wins and 14 podiums from 20 starts last year.

Team BRM also won the prestigious Carrera Cup Teams Championship for the first time last year.

“It’s a huge honour and a privilege to be racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia,” Power said.

“It’s a pivotal point in my career as Carrera Cup is one of the best feeder categories on the way to my ultimate goal of V8 Supercars, and it also offers me a chance to expand on corporate opportunities outside of driving the car. For me, the Porsche program is a perfect fit.

“The pedigree in Formula Ford last year was fantastic, but if you look at the list of people that will be racing in Carrera Cup this year, it’s epic. This year represents an incredible opportunity to race against and learn from some drivers that I idolise as well as the upcoming young talent.”

Power believes the all-South Australian combination will only offer positives throughout the 2014 season.

“It’s hugely exciting to be working with Team BRM in SA. My upbringing in South Australia has given me this fantastic opportunity to compete in high level sport. Because of this I have a huge passion to support the State in any way I can. BRM also did a fantastic job last year so it was a very logical choice.”

“It’s going to be great to be on the grid at the Clipsal 500 making my Porsche debut in front of a massive South Australian audience.”

Power took the road less-travelled on his route to top-level Motorsport in Australia, honing his skills on racing simulators and electing to skip the traditional karting route all together before making his open-wheel debut in 2010.

After a season of Formula Vee and three in Formula Ford at a state and national level – including victory in the Victorian state championship in 2011 – the step to Carrera Cup sees Power continuing his rise as one of the young talents to watch for the future.

He intends to continue his methodical approach to his debut Carrera Cup campaign this year.

“It is very difficult to set goals when you are moving into such an unkown area. Naturally you want to be as competitive as you can but you have to be realistic, Power said.

“With that in mind, I have had very limited experience with the car and I have not driven ‘tin-top’ cars for three or four years so we will be taking it round-by-round. If we can evolve that over the year then who knows what we can achieve. I am excited to say the least. ”

Team BRM manager Mark Rundle said he is excited to help give Power his ‘tin top’ debut this year.

“We’ve seen a lot of Sam over the years and his approach to the sport is fantastic; He is a great competitor but isn’t afraid to spend the time needed to get up to speed and that’s a great approach for a championship as competitive as Carrera Cup.

“The team has no doubts that he will be competitive this year given the performances he posted in Formula Ford last season. It’s a big step and we’re pleased he’s making it with us.

“From a team perspective it’s great to be able to work with another home-grown South Aussie talent in such a competitive environment and fly the flag for the state at Clipsal this March.”

Team BRM will again run multi-car campaigns in both the Porsche Carrera Cup and Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship in 2014.

Team BRM will announce further components of its Carrera Cup program in coming weeks and will take delivery of their brand-new 991 Porsche GT3 Cup Cars at the official Porsche Motorsport handover day and test session at Sydney Motorsport Park this week.