Category | One-make racing by Porsche |
---|---|
Country | Australia |
Inaugural season | 2003 |
Drivers | 32 |
Teams | 14 |
Constructors | Porsche |
Tyre suppliers | Michelin |
Drivers' champion | Callum Hedge |
Teams' champion | Earl Bamber Motorsport |
Official website | Carrera Cup Australia |
Current season |
Porsche Carrera Cup Australia (known commercially as the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia) is an Australian motor racing series open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it is administered by Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd and is sanctioned by Motorsport Australia (Formerly Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS)) as a national championship through to 2015 [1] and as a National Series from 2016-2021. [2] Starting in 2022 the category returned back as a national championship. [3] During its history, Carrera Cup has been a leading support category for the Supercars Championship. New Zealand driver Craig Baird has been the most successful driver, winning the series five times.
The regulations for the series are based on those used for Porsche Carrera Cup racing series in Europe and the rest of the world, with modifications to the cars strictly controlled to ensure parity between competing vehicles. From 2003 to 2005 the specified model was the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 996) with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 997) used from 2006 and various iterations of the car beyond that, usually in a three-year cycle until the end of 2013. Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991) was first introduced and used in 2014 until the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 991.II iteration arrived in 2018. Starting in the 2022 season the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992 is set to be introduced.
Jim Richards was the inaugural champion, fresh from having taken Porsche 996s to three consecutive Australian Nations Cup Championships. The series quickly proved its worth as a ladder category for emerging young drivers with Alex Davison and Fabian Coulthard winning championships while Marcus Marshall, Jonathon Webb and David Reynolds were also early graduates. The series was also responsible for the creation of a number of professional motor racing teams, including Paul Cruikshank Racing and VIP Petfoods Racing while also giving teams like Sonic Motor Racing Services, Tekno Autosports and International Motorsport opportunities to expand.
In the lead up to the 2009 season the series organisers were forced to cancel the series, citing a lack of competitors. [4] Those competitors left with 997 GT3 Cup Cars found themselves without a series to race in as the cars were neither able to compete in the Australian GT Championship, to which they were eligible but were prevented by CAMS with the intention of preventing the collapse that ultimately occurred or the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia as models newer than 996s were not eligible for points. As the situation evolved permission was gained for the Porsches to enter the GT series in strictly limited numbers and likewise 997s were allowed to compete in the GT3 Challenge but to compete to their own pointscore rather than take points away from the 996 and 993s that made up the bulk of the series competitors.
Porsche Cars Australia announced the series would return for the 2011 season featuring the 2011 specification version of the Type 997 GT3 Cup. [5] Since the series revival Craig Baird, already a two-time champion, dominated again, winning a further three championships. The following seven seasons saw seven new champions, with Baird remaining the only multiple champion as of 2021. Since 2013, an annual two-driver pro-am event has been included in the series, with several guest appearances from Supercars drivers.
In 2015 the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport announced that Carrera Cup would be downgraded from national championship to national series status from 2016. [6]
In 2016 and 2018, a joint round between the series and Porsche Carrera Cup Asia was held at Sydney Motorsport Park. The event featured individual races for each series before two combined races, one for both the Pro and Challenge classes. [7] Both combined races were won by Australian entrants. In 2017, the Australian series travelled to Asia to contest a similar joint round at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. [8] [9] The series also introduced an Endurance Cup in 2017, with the first round alongside the Supercars Sandown 500.
In the 2020 season of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia. It would be cancelled after Race 1 of Round 2 during the 2020 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend in Albert Park Melbourne due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There here by no champion would be crowned for the season.
In the 2022 season. Motorsport Australia (Formerly Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS)) has announced that Porsche Carrera Cup Australia would regain its status as a national championship.
Wins | Driver | Years |
---|---|---|
5 | Craig Baird | 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
Jonathan Ross Reid, more commonly known as Jonny Reid, is a New Zealand racing driver.
The 2008 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Cars. The championship, which was contested over nine rounds across five different states, began on 21 February 2008 at the Clipsal 500 and finished on 26 October at the Gold Coast Indy 300. It was the sixth and last Australian Carrera Cup Championship until the 2011 season.
The 2009 Australian GT Championship was an Australian national motor racing title sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport for drivers of closed production based sports cars which were either approved by the FIA for GT3 competition or approved by CAMS as Australian GTs. It was the thirteenth Australian GT Championship.
Jonathon Webb is an Australian former professional racing driver and team owner of Team Sydney, who once co-drove alongside Fabian Coulthard in the No. 19 Holden ZB Commodore for the Pirtek Enduro Cup.
The 2011 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The championship, which was contested over seven rounds across four states, began on 24 March 2011 at the Australian Grand Prix and ended on 4 December at the Sydney 500. It was the seventh Australian Carrera Cup Championship.
The 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The championship, which was the second Australian Carrera Cup Championship, was contested over a nine round series and was administered by CupCar Australia Pty Ltd. Alex Davison won the title from Jim Richards and Fabian Coulthard.
David Wall is an Australian racing driver competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. He currently drives the No. 38 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Wall Racing.
The 2012 Porsche City Index Australian Carrera Cup Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as a National Championship, and was recognised by them as the eighth Australian Carrera Cup Championship. Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd was appointed as the Category Manager by CAMS for the Championship.
The 2005 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing championship open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The championship, which was the third Australian Carrera Cup Championship, was administered by CupCar Australia Pty Ltd. and was promoted as the “Wright Patton Shakespeare Carrera Cup Australia”. The title was won by Fabian Coulthard.
The 2013 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The title, which was the ninth Australian Carrera Cup Championship, was won by Craig Baird.
Jonathan Robert Lester is a racing driver from New Zealand, competing in various GT3 and touring car championships throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
The 2014 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd was appointed as the Category Manager for the championship, which was the tenth Australian Carrera Cup Championship.
The 2015 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as a national championship with Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd appointed as the Category Manager by CAMS. The title, which was the eleventh Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship, was won by Nick Foster.
The 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia was an Australian motor racing series open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as a National Series with Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd appointed as the Category Manager. It was the 12th Carrera Cup to be contested in Australia and the first to be sanctioned as a national series rather than a national championship.
Matt Campbell is an Australian racing car driver, specialising in sports car racing. He is a Porsche factory driver, having formerly been a junior then young professional. He is one of three factory drivers whose driver categorisation is gold alongside Sven Müller and Mathieu Jaminet. Campbell is the reigning champion of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD Pro class and is now a full-time driver of the #7 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Campbell won the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia driving for McElrea Racing. Campbell moved to Germany in 2017 and was third in the 2017 Porsche Supercup. Campbell is currently driving for Dempsey-Proton Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMGTE Am class driving a Porsche 911 RSR. He has taken three victories including at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. Campbell also won the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Earl Bamber Motorsport.
The 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia was an Australian motor racing series for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as a National Series with Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd appointed as the Category Manager. It was the 13th Carrera Cup to be contested in Australia in which the series was won by David Wall.
The 2018 CAMS Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia Series was an Australian motor racing competition for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The series, which was the 14th Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, commenced on 1 March at the Adelaide Street Circuit and finish on 21 October at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit after eight rounds. 2018 saw the introduction of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup type 991.II model to the series.
The 2018 Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia Series was an Australian motor racing competition for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. It was the eleventh running of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia. The series commenced at The Bend Motorsport Park on 13 April and concluded at Sydney Motorsport Park on 22 September. 2017 series winner Jordan Love opted not to defend his title, instead concentrating his efforts on the 2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.
The 2019 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia was the fifteenth running of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia motor racing series. It began on 28 February at Adelaide Street Circuit and concluded on 25 October at Surfers Paradise Street Circuit.
Dylan O'Keeffe is an Australian racing driver currently competing in the TCR Australia Touring Car Series with Garry Rogers Motorsport, driving the No. 8 Peugeot 308.