Cameron Hill has described the venue for this weekend’s Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season finale, the Gold Coast 600 Street Circuit, as brutally punishing on drivers and race cars.
The concrete-lined circuit is notoriously unforgiving for those who make even the tiniest mistake, but despite falling victim to the track’s barriers in his first appearance there last year, the 22-year-old Canberra racer said he’s not fazed by the fine line between glory and danger.
“Last year was the first time I had raced at the Gold Coast, and I was still fairly new to the Porsche as well,” he said.
“I quickly worked out that it’s the sort of track where you have to be aggressive to maximise the car’s performance, especially through the double chicane on the back straight, where you have to fire hard across the kerbs.
“The current-spec Porsches stand up pretty well to abuse, but if you hit a kerb too aggressively, or at the wrong angle, it’s likely to unsettle the car and send you into the fence.
“In one of last year’s races, I went for an overtaking move but I wasn’t quite able to pull the car up, and I hit the wall.
“After another 12 months, I’m more familiar with the car’s limits and I’m also qualifying better. The Gold Coast track is one where qualifying and track position will be extremely important, due to the limited overtaking opportunities.”
The Gold Coast 600 race meeting is well-known for its festival atmosphere, and Hill said he’s highly motivated to give his crew a reason to celebrate once the racing has finished.
“If I can finish off the season with another visit to the podium, I’ll thoroughly enjoy some Sunday evening celebrations with my family and team members who have worked so tirelessly all year,” he said.
Carrera Cup Round 8 Schedule
*Queensland time – add one hour for NSW/ACT
Friday, 25 October
9:35 – Practice 1 (25 min)
13:00 – Practice 2 (25 min)
16:10 – Qualifying (20 min)
Saturday, 26 October
13:25 – Race 1 (28 laps)
Sunday, 27 October
8:45 – Race 2 (17 laps)
13:40 – Race 3 (17 laps)
