Aaron Love to make Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup debut at Gold Coast
Aaron Love will make his Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia debut at the Gold Coast street circuit next weekend.
16-year-old Aaron Love will join his brother Jordan in the Sonic Motor Racing Services team, making him the youngest driver to make a start in the competitive and prestigious Porsche championship this year.
Love’s news comes on the back of the recent announcement on social media that fellow Michelin Junior Harri Jones will also make his first step up the Porsche Motorsport pyramid in Gold Coast in the Helimods McElrea Racing prepared entry.
Love’s entry also means that Sonic will have five cars on the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup grid at the championship’s final round – the most amount of cars entered by a single team.
While this will mark Aaron’s Carrera Cup debut, he needs no introduction to Porsche racing.
The West Australian has been racing in the Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge class this year (for the previous generation Porsche 911 Carrera Cup cars). He currently sits second in that title race with one round remaining.
Despite his youth, Love is no stranger to the Surfers Paradise circuit either. He competed in the now-defunct Australia Formula 4 Championship in 2017, finishing with a best result of fourth.
An excited Love said, “It’s a really good opportunity to experience this higher level of competition,”
“Carrera Cup is a very high level of competition. There are guys in there who have raced overseas and in Supercars. In the past, most of my racing has been against rookies and people my own age, so it is going to be a whole new challenge.
“It will be a massive learning curve, so I have an open mind. Of course, you always want to get up the front, but because I’m experiencing something new, I just want to take as much as I can out of it and move forward from there.
“I love the circuit too. It is one of the most unique street tracks around the world, so I can’t wait for it.”
Michael Ritter, Team Owner, Sonic Motor Racing said, “GT3 Cup Challenge does such a good job of preparing drivers for Carrera Cup and we are pleased to be able to give Aaron this opportunity.
“The GT3 Cup Challenge Porsche 911 Cup cars are quite a bit different to the Carrera Cup cars. There’s a bit of less aero and engine power, so it will take a new approach for him.
“It will be a good chance to see how he goes as we start to prepare for 2020.”
Love’s car debut will carry the support of SRG Global for the event.
The final round of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Championship will see Sonic drivers Jordan Love and Dale Wood go head-to-head for the title. The pair are separated by just two points.
Two practice sessions and qualifying will be held on Friday, followed by Race 1 on Saturday and the final two races of the season on Sunday.
Sources: Angus Thompson/Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia