Australian Grand Prix Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Round 1

Published on the 5th of April 2023 by McElrea Racing

After a solid pre-season test program for our 2023 Carrera Cup Australia pilots and launching our successful new Carrera Cup team in the US, we were very keen to see how the 2023 championship – and our defence of our 2022 title with Harri Jones was going to shape up.

We had signed exciting young peddler Ryder Quinn only a month prior to the AGP weekend so he didn't get as many testing miles as his team-mates, but he was excited and ready to prove himself on the Porsche world stage.

Tim Miles was highly motivated to have a great Pro-Am season and Jackson Walls, Christian Pancione and Bayley Hall were all as prepared as they could possibly be to get the new championship underway.

Jackson walls

1st, 2nd, 1st - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Bayley Hall

8th, 8th, 8th - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Christian Pancione

10th, 10th, 16th - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Ryder Quinn

18th, 17th, 12th - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Tim Miles

3rd, 8th, DNF - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro-Am Class'

Summary

Well what a start to the championship! Despite the first race of the weekend being wiped due to a heavy shunt causing a red flag before half distance, Jackson was leading Pro class and Tim was running strongly in the Pro-Am top 3, so we were confident our speed would continue throughout the weekend.

Bayley had a great weekend running solidly in the top 10 in all three races and learned plenty running in the front ‘pack’. He had a particularly strong run in the rain – the great equaliser - and is certainly on target to win races this year.

Poor ole Christian is due for a change in his luck after stalling in race 2, dropping to the back and charging up to 10th, then a spin in the last race. He is due (and very ready) to go to our next round in Darwin and start winning races.

Young Ryder was a sensation on debut in Carrera Cup and out-qualified some renowned race and championship winners. This kid is going to turn a lot of heads by the middle of the 2023 championship with his speed and race-craft.

Tim’s weekend started as planned qualifying 3rd and finishing 3rd in the shortened race 1. In race 2 he came off second best after some close racing with a fellow Pro-Am driver, then in race 3 he broke a driveshaft during his energetic tyre warming procedure.

It's fair to say Jackson dominated the weekend with his assertive driving style, great starts and more on-track passes than any other driver running in the top 5. We are really proud to start the new championship at the front and will work hard to maintain it until the Adelaide 500 in November.

Many thanks to the awesome MR crew, Luffy the Supercoach, Lethal Leigh, our drivers, families, sponsors and supporters.

Our next race is on the streets of Long Beach, California on 15-16 April with Porsche Carrera Cup North America.