Jordan Love says being confirmed as the Australian nomination for the Porsche Junior Shootout this year has lifted a weight from his shoulders.
Love’s position was confirmed courtesy of a dominant Porsche Carrera Cup Australia performance at The Bend, winning all three races over the course of the weekend to get the gong over his Michelin Junior rival Cameron Hill.
It will see the Western Australian follow in the footsteps of Matt Campbell and Jaxon Evans in heading to Europe to take part in the shootout, and could see the 20-year-old join the German marque as a junior driver.
For Love, it’s the realisation of a long held ambition, and one that comes as a relief after suffering a broken hand in a crash at Hidden Valley in June.
“It was probably more relief than excitement, to be honest, and almost like a big weight had been lifted off our shoulders,” Love told Speedcafe.com.
“To finish off Tailem Bend, to be the person selected for the Porsche Junior Shootout, was pretty exciting.
“It’s obviously something that we’ve been aiming for since we started Cup Challenge (Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge, Carrera Cup feeder series).
“It’s something that could make a career or something to that not much will come out of it,” he added.
“Just the opportunity to go over and see how they operate over there and put myself up against those type of guys, and in that environment, I think no matter what comes out of it, I’ll learn a lot from it, which is very valuable.”
The shootout pits drivers from the various Carrera Cup competitions around the world against one another, with the winning driver afforded an opportunity to become an official Porsche Junior driver.
Last year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion Jaxon Evans won out in 2018, while Matt Campbell emerged victorious in 2016.
While excited at the opportunity to progress his career internationally later in the year, Loves says he’s focused on completing the job on home soil first.
The Sonic Motorsport driver sits 90 points in arrears of title leader Dale Wood as the series moves to its next round at Bathurst.
“Now that we’re over our injury and whatnot, obviously we’ve got a bit of confidence now coming out of Tailem Bend, which helps, but Bathurst is one of those rounds that you sort of look forward to all year,” he explained.
“We went quite well there last year with, with our first round win, so it’s going to be pretty cool to go back there. I really enjoy that place.
“Then obviously Gold Coast is an awesome event as well.
“I have never really got a great result at Gold Coast, so obviously looking forward to try and to top that.”
The Carrera Cup Australia series continues as part of the Supercheap Bathurst 1000 next month, the penultimate event of its 2019 campaign.
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