Cameron Hill would love nothing more than to unlock the race-winning potential in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car on the world stage, at this this weekend’s second round of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup at the Australian Grand Prix.
The event, which is headlined by the opening round of the Formula 1 World Championship, attracts a widespread international audience and Hill feels the ingredients are in place to achieve a breakthrough result.
“I’m really excited about competing at the Grand Prix this weekend – it’s one of the biggest race meetings on our calendar, and the scale of the event truly sinks in when you drive past the Formula 1 pits,” Hill said.
“We had really good speed in the first round at Adelaide, and we would have had a podium result if some of the circumstances had been slightly different.
“We were fast at the Grand Prix last year as well, and we’ve learned a lot more about the car since then. Adelaide showed how close the competition is, but it gave us the confidence to know we can be racing up the front.”
Hill said one of the challenges of the weekend will be the limited track time before racing commences.
“There’s only a single 20-minute practice session, then we’re straight into qualifying,” Hill said.
“Unlike most other rounds where we have two practice sessions, this weekend’s schedule doesn’t leave a lot of scope for tuning the car, which makes it all the more important to have a package that’s fast as soon as we hit the track.
“Fortunately, our base setup at Adelaide was very strong, which stands us in good stead for the Grand Prix.”
This weekend’s format also includes an extra race for a total of four races. Hill said this will place a premium on tyre management.
“We have three new sets of tyres for the weekend, so managing these across practice, qualifying and four races will be critical. I’m tipping we might see some mixed results, with different drivers using their best tyres at various stages of the weekend,” he said.
The Carrera Cup action commences on Thursday, and includes Practice, Qualifying and Race 1.
Carrera Cup Round 2 Schedule
Thursday, 12 March
12:35pm – Practice (20 min)
3:40pm – Qualifying (20 min)
5:20pm – Race 1 (15 laps)
Friday, 13 March
2:55pm – Race 2 (10 laps)
Saturday, 14 March
1:00pm – Race 3 (10 laps)
Sunday, 15 March
12:15pm – Race 4 (10 laps)
TV Coverage
All sessions will be shown on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.
Additionally, Race 2 will be shown on Channel 10 Bold, and Races 3 and 4 will be shown on Channel 10.
