PORSCHE Carrera Cup Australia will review how soon it will return to racing in New Zealand after completing its maiden round across the ditch.
Porsche Cars Australia motorsport manager Barry Hay hailed plenty of upside from the trip to be a leading support category at Supercars’ Taupō Super400 last weekend.
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It was only the second time Carrera Cup Australia has competed abroad, the other occasion being Sepang in 2017.
“Once we were there, everyone approached it in the right way and had a fantastic weekend,” said Hay.
“The racing was high quality and we put on a great show for the New Zealand fans which was a key objective.
“We will complete a full review of the event and see what the future entails.
“I think it is something we can do again, whether it’s next year or after a year or two is a question for later once the reviews are complete and we have all the feedback from our stakeholders.
“But there’s no doubting it was very a worthwhile exercise.”
Hay declared it important to grow the relationship with Porsche Motorsport New Zealand, and noted that Sam Fillmore and Rick Armstrong – the Kiwi duo who joined the field at Taupō – are set to now race in some Australian rounds.
“The fact that the two Kiwi boys are keen to come and play in Australia later this year is testament to how well the weekend worked,” he said.
“They had a fantastic time, really raised their own personal level and competed wheel to wheel with the best Pro-Am operators we have.
“The beauty of Porsche Motorsport is they can come and do that on our side of the ditch driving the same cars the same way. It’s been a great outcome, and we can’t wait to see them in Australia later this year.”
Porsche Motorsport New Zealand coordinator Nathan Pilcher said the plans of Fillmore and Armstrong are “well advanced” and echoed Hay’s sentiments about the trans-Tasman alliance.
“Porsche Motorsport has a huge and important history in New Zealand and having Carrera Cup on our shores was a key element in our plans to build it to a level where we know it can be,” said Pilcher.
“There’s already huge involvement by Kiwis in Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge and we want to build that, while having a really strong base at home for them to use as a launching pad to Australia and beyond, or just as a great place to race a Cup Car or GT3 car.
“We’ve all got some great ideas about how we can grow the brand here in collaboration with what our Aussie cousins are doing, and this weekend was a huge and vital part of that.”
