Le Mans winner returns for Round 5 of Porsche PAYCE & Michelin Virtual Cup
Circuit de la Sarthe to host battle royale between Campbell and Murray
The spiritual home of global endurance racing, the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, will host the penultimate round of the Porsche PAYCE & Michelin Virtual Cup.
Porsche holds many enviable records on the French circuit including the most recent GTE-class win at the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the record for the most Le Mans victories by a constructor at 19.
2016 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Champion, Matt Campbell, also has a strong affiliation with the famous classic after the Queenslander took the victory (together with teammates Christian Ried and Julien Andlauer) in the GTE-Am class aboard the #77 Porsche 911 RSR of Dempsey-Proton Racing in 2018 – notching up the German manufacturer’s 107th class win in the process.
On Monday evening, the country’s top Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car drivers will get the opportunity to race the Porsche factory driver on the Le Mans circuit in Round 5 of Virtual championship – hosted on the iRacing platform.
Heading the challenge to Campbell will be Michelin Junior driver, Cooper Murray, who thanks to a string of early-season victories, currently holds a massive 166-point advantage over McElrea Racing teammate, Harri Jones, in second, with just six races remaining.
Round 4 saw Murray challenged to the line in all three Bathurst races by New Zealand Karting ace, Matthew Payne, and young Formula Ford star, Cody Burcher.
Others to watch in the Mobil Pro class include Josh Hunt, Garth Walden Racing’s Ollie Shannon and Thomas Maxwell, with Jaxon Evans missing the final two rounds of the virtual season due to his ‘real-world’ Porsche Mobil1 Supercup commitments.
The Porsche Asia Pacific Championship will again be well represented by both Reid Harker and Will Bamber, younger brother of Le Mans winner, Earl. While Sam Brabham, son of 2009 Le Mans 24 Hour winner, David Brabham, completes the international line-up.
The Pro-Am battle has been a balance of consistency and attrition this season and the class championship is still wide open, with new leader Matthew Belford only 14-points ahead of Dean Cook and 40-points ahead of John Goodacre.
The Porsche Team entries for Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup crew members have so far produced some of the strongest competitors in the Virtual Cup and this race will see the turn of Sonic Motor Racing Services’ Race Engineer, Jaidyn Job, take the reins.
Post-race highlights of each event will be broadcast on Porsche Motorsport Australia social channels, with all three races broadcast on the @PorscheMotorsportAU Facebook and Youtube channels at 20:00 (Melbourne time) on Friday 03 July.
Follow Porsche Motorsport Australia on Facebook and Instagram @PorscheMotorsportAU to keep up-to-date with information about the Porsche PAYCE and MICHELIN Virtual Cup Australia Championship.
Entry list: Round 5 – Le Mans
# Name Surname Class
1 Ghost Driver Mobil Pro
2 Thomas Maxwell Mobil Pro
3 Will Bamber Mobil Pro
4 Reid Harker Mobil Pro
5 Nathan Murray Pro-Am
7 Ryan Suhle Mobil Pro
9 Marc Cini Pro-Am
10 Sam Brabham Mobil Pro
11 Kyle Gurton Mobil Pro
12 Harri Jones Mobil Pro
14 Matthew Belford Pro-Am
15 Josh Hunt Mobil Pro
16 Michael Patrizi Mobil Pro
18 Marcel Zalloua Pro-Am
21 Cody Burcher Mobil Pro
22 Jono Webb Mobil Pro
23 Dean Cook Pro-Am
24 Adrian Flack Pro-Am
25 Hugh Barter Pro-Am
27 Liam Talbot Pro-Am
28 Aaron Zerefos Pro-Am
30 David Ryan Pro-Am
34 Duvashen Padayachee Pro-Am
36 Cooper Murray Mobil Pro
55 Sergio Pires Pro-Am
66 John Goodacre Pro-Am
67 Matthew Payne Mobil Pro
74 Jackson Walls Mobil Pro
76 Christian Pancione Mobil Pro
78 Aaron Love Mobil Pro
88 Ollie Shannon Mobil Pro
91 Emanuel Palyaris Pro-Am
94 Jaidyn Job Pro-Am
131 Graham Williams Pro-Am
777 Max Vidau Mobil Pro
911 Matt Campbell Mobil Pro
Sources: Angus Thompson/Porsche Cars Australia PR