Bayley Hall has sealed a move to EMA Motorsport as he targets a maiden title in the one-make Porsche series.
The 21-year-old ran a split program last season that included a partial local Carrera Cup campaign with McElrea Racing and appearances in the Italian version of the one-make Porsche series.
The season ended in a flurry with Hall scoring four wins from the last six races which also yielded a second-career round win on the Gold Coast.
This year he will run the full Aussie season, shifting to EMA Motorsport as he targets title contention.
“I’m beyond thrilled to find myself on the Porsche Carrera Cup grid in 2025. And to race for EMA motorsport, a globally recognized team, is an exciting new chapter in my racing career,” Hall said.
“[EMA owner] Alex [Fraines] and [team manager] Marcus [Cole] have really welcomed me into the EMA family and this will most definitely open up doors of opportunity across this season and beyond as they are working to pave the way for me to get into the Porsche GT3 world – stay tuned.
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“The support over the years from my family, friends, fans and supporters has been unbelievable and it helps me make the grid each year so I’d like to thank each and every one of you for that.
“There is also a lot of people in the Carrera Cup paddock that has guided and believed in me over the years and for that, I thank you.
“Now it’s time to work harder than ever before with the EMA team in best preparing for the season ahead and fighting for the top step week in, week out.”
Dylan O’Keeffe, meanwhile, has locked in his Carrera Cup return with RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia, a union that is heading into its fourth year.
“Mike Sheargold from RAM Motorsport is one of the genuinely nice guys in motorsport, and I’m so thankful to have had his support,” O’Keeffe said.
“Garth Walden is super-passionate about his GWR race team, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. They’ve achieved amazing results across numerous motorsport categories, and I’m proud to have achieved their first Carrera Cup pole position, race win and round win… but now I want to win their first championship!
“Rob Palermo is engineering me again, which is very positive – we’ve built a strong relationship over the last two seasons, and work well together to extract optimum performance from the Porsche.”
Another contender is David Russell who is set to line up with TechworkX Motorsport for a second consecutive season.
The PremiAir Racing co-driver enjoyed a solid run in Carrera Cup last year, finishing second in the points.
“To be able to have that continuity with the team is something I’ve not had for quite some time in Carrera Cup,” said Russell.
“I really want to thank [team owners] Rob and Astrid [Woods], Hire A Hubby and all of my group of sponsors. It’s a bit of unfinished business for us, there are some things we didn’t get right that we want to hone in on so we can be as competitive as possible.
“We finished the year really strong, but we were a little bit inconsistent early on which put us on the back foot, so really focusing on coming out strong in Sydney.
“The competition is so tough, a bad day in Carrera Cup can put you 15th and only a couple of tenths off. The team preparation and engineering play an important role, and there’s a lot of very talented young guys that keep me on my toes.”
Max Vidau’s return to Carrera Cup from Super2 was confirmed yesterday, while reigning champion Harri Jones will run his own team thanks to Porsche Centre Melbourne shutting down its racing operation.
That has also left question marks over Fabian Coulthard’s Carrera Cup future.
The Carrera Cup season kicks off at Sydney Motorsport Park as part of the Supercars opener next weekend.
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