Cameron Hill says tyres will be the talk of town when the Porsche Carrera Cup stages its first endurance race of the season as part of Round 3 of the series at Phillip Island this weekend.

The Endurance Cup series-within-a-series will consist of a long-distance race, held alongside two shorter sprints, at each of the six remaining Carrera Cup rounds. Hill is a fan of the format, which adds an extra element to the competition.

“I like the longer-distance races, they really make the drivers and teams think about their approach to the weekend,” Hill said.

“Driver fatigue will be a factor, but the big talking point this weekend will be tyre degradation.

“Because of its high-speed corners, Phillip Island is a circuit that punishes the tyres, and over the longer race it will create some mixed results because some cars will be quick at the start, and others will be quicker at the end.

“We’ll be working to balance car speed with tyre preservation – that will be the key to success.”

The start of the 2019 season has been strong for Hill, who is sixth in the series standings after a string of consistent results in the first two rounds at Adelaide and the Grand Prix.

In the lead-up to Phillip Island, Hill and his CHE Racing Team completed a valuable test day at the venue.

“A few teams are based in Victoria, and have a wealth of knowledge at Phillip Island,” Hill said.

“It was important for us to gain as much information as we could, and it was a productive day.

“Because Phillip Island is so fast, it’s the kind of track where it does take a bit of time to build confidence, and it’s very sensitive to car setup as well.

“In the last round at the Grand Prix, I felt our pace was the best it had ever been, so there’s no reason we can’t continue that form and be challenging for the podium this weekend,” Hill concluded.