Porsche Cars Australia is set to hold a Porsche-only race meeting next year, featuring a stand-alone two-driver Carrera Cup race.
Based on the popular Rennsport-style events held for Porsche enthusiasts across the world, Australia’s Porsche arm is creating an event that will feature its main racing categories Carrera Cup and GT3 Cup Challenge, plus races for state and club level competitors, as well as historic and vintage Porsche machinery, regularity trials and more.
The proposed two-day event would be highlighted by two one-hour long Carrera Cup races. While final regulations are still to be drawn up, the ‘Pro-Am’ two driver races will see regular ‘Professional’ Carrera Cup drivers team up with amateurs, while ‘Elite’ class drivers are free to find a co-driver of any calibre.
The Carrera Cup race will be held for championship points, making it the only Carrera Cup race not held as a V8 Supercars or Formula 1 support race.
A final date and location for the all-Porsche event are yet to be finalised, with Sandown, Sydney Motorsport Park and Phillip Island being considered as potential venues.
Porsche Car Australia’s motorsport manager Jamey Blaikie says that the planning for the event is ramping up.
“We are investigating our options to run a ‘Rennsport’ style event here in Australia,” Blaikie told Speedcafe.com.
“It would have Carrera Cup, GT3 Cup Challenge, Porsche clubs, historic cars, museum cars – basically just an all-Porsche race weekend.
“The thing that we’re finding trouble with at the moment is getting a circuit locked in, but I think we’ll get there.
“It’s something that we want to do. It would be great for the brand and will truly demonstrate the Porsche pyramid to everyone who is there – right from club level to the guys who compete in Carrera Cup.”
The Pro-Am Carrera Cup races would be run for just under a hour, ensuring that each car can make the race’s distance on one tank of fuel. The races would include driver changes.
“We haven’t finalised the details of the races yet, but they would certainly be for championship points,” Blaikie said.
“Our thoughts at this stage is that our Professional drivers would need to take a non-professional race driver currently not in Porsche and over 30 years old. The amature (or Elite) drivers can do whatever they like – either do the whole race themselves or hire a driver like Craig Lowndes or Mark Skaife.
“We need to establish some regulations and parameters as to who qualifies, but the interest we’ve had in the idea so far has been very positive.
“Given that we’ll have the whole weekend available to us, we’ll be able to allocate the program as how we see fit and make the most of it.”
