Simon Ellingham has been added to McElrea Racing’s Porsche Carrera Cup Australia squad for next season.

Kiwi Ellingham takes the step up after gaining considerable experience in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and in Australian GT.

The 24-year-old is set to take charge of the car campaigned across the past three seasons by Duvashen Padayachee.

McElrea Racing is the reigning Team’s Champion outfit after fielding the young Warwick sensation Matt Campbell to the driver’s title this year.

Confirmation comes after Ellingham recently tested the 911 Cup car at Queensland Raceway.

“The Carrera Cup calendar is awesome and includes some of my favourite tracks and I can’t wait to finally race at Bathurst,” Ellingham said.

“The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is a sensational car and I’m with an outstanding team in McElrea Racing, so there’s a lot to be excited about for the coming season.

“My first test in the car was really positive; I felt comfortable returning to the Porsche, which is quite different to the Audi R8 I raced in Australian GT, and made progress throughout the day.”

“Having raced with McElrea Racing for the past few seasons, I have been able to keep a close eye on Carrera Cup and have wanted to compete in the series for some time.

“I have driven the older 911 GT3 Cup car around half the circuits on the Carrera Cup calendar so we will really target those events for strong result and aim to quickly learn the tracks that are new to me.”

Porsche Cars Australia Motorsport manager Kurt Sakzewski said the addition of Ellingham comes as the release of the 2017 calendar, which includes a visit to Malaysia, has sparked a host of inquiries from professional and semi-professional competitors.

“There has been tremendous interest for the coming Carrera Cup season, continuing the momentum from what was a fantastic end to 2016,” Sakzewski said.

The opening round of the 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup is set for the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide from March 2-5.