Canberra racing driver Cameron Hill has driven his Porsche race car for the first time since March, turning laps at Winton Raceway this week in preparation for next month’s resumption of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia, which has been confirmed by series organisers today.
Hill holds the distinction of being the last driver to win a Carrera Cup race; he was victorious in the first heat of the Australian Grand Prix round, coming out on top in a Thursday afternoon thriller before the remainder of the weekend’s proceedings were cancelled.
That ill-fated event would signal the suspension of any type of motorsport activities across Australia for three months due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and Hill was thrilled to finally return to the driver’s seat.
“The Grand Prix was a weekend of mixed emotions,” Hill said.
“On the one hand, I was stoked to score the race win but it soon became clear we wouldn’t be racing again any time soon, which left me feeling quite empty.
“During the break, we’ve seen the success of online racing series like the Supercars eSeries and Porsche organised their own virtual series, which I’ve been competing in.
“I don’t have a lot of sim racing experience and while it’s been a bit of fun, I was excited and relieved to get back into my real race car this week.”
The revised calendar will see the series heading to Winton for the first time since 2013. While Hill hasn’t raced at the technical Victorian circuit for almost four years, it’s a track where he has an enviable record across multiple categories.
He won all three Formula Ford races at the venue in 2015 and continued his winning form with a clean sweep of the Toyota 86 Series round in 2016. Later that year, he returned to the venue in the Legend Cars Australia Series, winning two of the four races on his way to the overall round victory.
“I’ve always liked the Winton circuit; it has quite a low average speed, but it’s the sort of track that rewards precision and smoothness, which suits my driving style,” Hill said.
The series will also venture to Sydney Motorsport Park and Townsville, but will appear at Sandown instead of The Bend Motorsport Park due to Supercars Championship calendar changes. The final round will be held at Bathurst.
“It’s going to be a busy few months to finish off the season, but after being parked on the sidelines for too long, I’m certainly not complaining!” Hill concluded.
2020 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia Updated Calendar
Round 1 – Adelaide 500, 20-23 February
Round 2 – Australian Grand Prix, 12-15 March
Round 3 – Winton Raceway, 18-19 July
Round 4 – Sydney Motorsport Park, 15-16 August
Round 5 – Townsville, 29-30 August
Round 6 – Sandown, 19-20 September
Round 7 – Bathurst, 8-11 October
