Hay instantly, and somewhat mysteriously, departed the role back in June after a two year-stint overseeing both Carrera Cup and Michelin Sprint Challenge.
Since then Porsche Cars Australia head of marketing John Murray has effectively added the role to his responsibilities, attending each round for both categories.
At the recent Sprint Challenge round in Tasmania there was additional support from Germany with Porsche one-make kingpin Oliver Koeppin making his annual trip down under to support the local team.
Speaking to Speedcafe, Koeppin admitted the trip was somewhat of a health check for the local team given Hay is yet to be replaced.
“We have a bit of a gap right now because we’ve lost our manager for the Sprint Challenge and Cup a couple of months back, so if I feel the need to go somewhere, I prioritise it,” he said. “To show our colours, if there is a situation like that.
“I tried to come here as early as possible to see how things are. A guy from my team that is in charge of the market will be here in October for Bathurst and Michael Dreiser, the head of [motorsport] sales, will be in Adelaide for the finale. Just to make sure we have a good presence in a time like this.
“But honestly, I’m very happy. The Australian [management] team, it’s such a well-run championship. Everything is still running very smoothly, even though the manager is missing at this point.
“It’s a fantastic team and honestly I’m very relieved to see things running as smoothly as they are.”
Having both championship continuing to run smoothly without a dedicated motorsport manager has afforded Porsche the freedom to be patient in its search for a new boss, with the recruitment process now in its final stages, but not yet complete.
“We are looking, John is looking very actively but it’s a role that comes with a lot of responsibility,” he added.
“So we want to make sure we find the right person for it, and that’s why John is being so thorough about it.
“We are at the point in the season where the championship is up and running, and running fine. I’d rather wait and find the right person than rush things.
“We’re very lucky in the sense that John jumped right into it, he’s at every race meeting with the team to ensure everything runs perfectly.”
The Carrera Cup season continues at Bathurst next month and Sprint Challenge at Sydney Motorsport Park the following week.
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