Kiwi motorsport fans now have a new highly-anticipated race series to look forward to, with the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship taking to New Zealand soil for the first time next year.
The series will join the Repco Supercars Championship at the ITM Taupo Super400 as a support category from April 19 to 21, 2024.
Taupo International Motorsport Park will be the 18th location to host a championship round and the second outside of Australia.
New Zealand will be the second location on the 2024 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship calendar.
“Returning to an overseas venue has been on the agenda for the championship for some time, but it needed to be the right venue, the right time, and the right place. This ticks all of those boxes and so much more and we’re proud to be taking one-make Porsche racing back to New Zealand in 2024,” says Barry Hay, Motorsport Manager for Porsche Cars Australia.
Kiwis have long been involved in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, with eight titles having been won by New Zealand drivers like Jim Richards in 2003, Fabian Coulthard in 2005, and five-time champion Craig Baird in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Jaxon Evans won in 2018, while Callum Hedge is in contention to add to the tally come the 2024 season finale at the VALO Adelaide 500 later this month.
Two teams are owned by Kiwis as well, including McElrea Racing which is headed by Andy McElrea, and Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) which competes under the Team Porsche New Zealand nameplate.
EBM just scored the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge championship across the ditch courtesy of Marco Giltrap and Zac Stichbury’s talents behind the wheel, two drivers who are tipped to step into the Carrera Cup next year.