DARWIN TO RESTART PORSCHE EQUITY-ONE CARRERA CUP SEASON

MEDIA RELEASE/Porsche Motorsport Australia – Photo:

– Capacity grid returns to Darwin for second stop on 2026 Equity-One Carrera Cup tour
– Milestone moments for two long-term Porsche drivers reached this weekend
– New race format to debut with live coverage on Fox Sports, Kayo, Sky NZ

THE PORSCHE Equity-One Carrera Cup Australia Championship bursts back into life this weekend in Australia’s Top End.

Australia’s top one-make category makes its 13th visit to Hidden Valley Raceway as part of this weekend’s Betr Darwin Triple Crown, in something of a re-start for the championship. A capacity grid of 28 cars will tackle Round 2 of the championship, more than 100 days following the season opener at Albert Park in Melbourne.

Back in Melbourne, two-time champion Harri Jones commenced his quest for a third Carrera Cup crown in style, claiming the round victory and an early – if narrow – championship lead.

Defending champion Dylan O’Keeffe was second in Melbourne in a strong start to his title defence and will head to the Northern Territory confident; he won there last year.

International ace Marcus Amand was third in Melbourne but won’t race in Darwin – putting top Michelin Junior Clay Osborne, who scored his first race win at Albert Park, in a strong position.

A clean sweep in Melbourne has Matt Belford atop the TechSpecialist Pro-Am standings following round one, Dean Cook and Matt Slavin in close company.

RETURNEES AND ROOKIES

Returning to the grid will be New Zealander Marco Giltrap, who makes his first start of the season – though the Kiwi returns battle hardened having already tackled several rounds of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia to date.

Meanwhile, 2019 Pro-Am class champion Liam Talbot will make his first Carrera Cup start since 2022 as he returns to Wall Racing this weekend – the same team with whom he claimed his title and the 2022 Pro-Am Enduro Cup crown.

Making his Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia championship debut this weekend will be another graduate of Australia’s Porsche Pyramid – Daniel Quimby. The 17-year-old from Sydney will join McElrea Racing for his debut in the ‘main game’ following a starting season in Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge last year, where he dominated Class B.

It will be the first of three planned Carrera Cup starts for the teenager, a Porsche Michelin Junior, alongside his outright title quest in Sprint Challenge this year.

NEW FORMAT DEBUTS

DARWIN will see the debut of Carrera Cup’s new alternative race format for the first time.

Mirroring the format seen in key European, Asian and US-based Carrera Cup championships, the weekend will see a pair of 45-minute races this weekend in place of the regular three sprint race format.

The grids will be drawn from the fastest and second fastest laps from qualifying, respectively, with race one on Saturday this weekend and race two on Sunday.

LONG TIME BETWEEN DRINKS

Due to the compressed nature of the second half of the season, the 104 days between driving off track at Albert Park and returning at Hidden Valley is longer than the 95 days between the final race of the 2025 season at the BP Adelaide Grand Final and the opening session of the 2026 season at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Six rounds remain this year with subsequent stops at Queensland Raceway, The Bend, Mount Panorama, Surfers Paradise and Adelaide still to come.

MAJOR MILESTONES

TWO Porsche Carrera Cup Australia regulars will reach significant milestones this weekend at Hidden Valley.

Sonic Motor Racing / Bob Jane T-Marts driver Rodney Jane, the reigning TechSpecialist Pro-Am champion, will start his 250th Carrera Cup Australia race in the first race in Darwin – becoming just the third driver in series history, after Marc Cini and David Wall, to do so.

Meanwhile, his teammate Angelo Mouzouris will become the 31st driver to reach the century of race starts when he takes the grid for Race two on Sunday.

LAST TIME IN THE TOP END

Dylan O’Keeffe and Matt Belford delivered Garth Walden Racing a Darwin double in 2025, claiming the Pro and Pro-Am classes.

O’Keeffe claimed pole by a tiny 0.03 seconds before going on to sweep all three races, while Belford claimed two of the three in a dominant performance from the Sydney-based team. Harri Jones (Pro) and Rodney Jane (Pro-Am) finished runner-up last year in the Territory.

CATCH THE ACTION

Action commences on Friday with official practice, followed by qualifying and race one on Saturday and the second race on Sunday afternoon.

Coverage in Australia will be on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports, while Sky Sport New Zealand will have coverage for Kiwi fans.

ENTRY LIST
Round 2, Porsche Equity-One Carrera Cup Australia Championship

No.	Class	Car #	Sponsor Name	Driver		State
1	Pro	1	Dexion / RAM Motorsport	Dylan	O’Keeffe	VIC
2	Pro	2	Hire a Hubby / EMA Motorsport	David	Russell	NSW
3	Pro	3	TFH Racing / TekworkX Motorsport	Josh	Thomas	QLD
4	Pro-Am	4	Grove Hire / Groblox	Stephen	Grove	VIC
5	Pro-Am	5	Jacque Fine Jewellery	Jacque	Jarjo	NSW
6	Pro-Am	9	Hallmarc	Marc	Cini	VIC
7	Pro	12	Hastings Deering / McElrea Racing	Harri	Jones	QLD
8	Pro-Am	14	ID Land	Matthew	Belford	VIC
9	Pro	15	TekworkX Motorsport	Clay	Osborne	NZ
10	Pro-Am	16	MAC & CO Racing	Richard	MacDonald	VIC
11	Pro	18	TFH Racing / TekworkX Motorsport	Diesel	Thomas	QLD
12	Pro-Am	22	Dexion / RAM Motorsport	Dean	Cook	VIC
13	Pro	23	McElrea Racing / Club LBR	Lachlan	Bloxsom	QLD
14	Pro	24	FCL Transport / McElrea Racing	Daniel	Quimby	NSW
15	Pro	29	Flipside Energy / Ask Mandy	Amar	Sharma	QLD
16	Pro	53	AIX Investment Group / EMA Motorsport	Max	Geoghegan	NSW
17	Pro	66	Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM	Marco	Giltrap	NZ
18	Pro-Am	77	Sonic Motor Racing / Bob Jane T Marts	Rodney	Jane	VIC
19	Pro	78	TekworkX Motorsport	Aaron	Love	WA
20	Pro	79	Local Hire Racing / DNA Autosport	Ryan	Casha	QLD
21	Pro-Am	85	Ares Group	Matt	Slavin	VIC
22	Pro	89	Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM	Tom	Bewley	NZ
23	Pro	91	Furniture Outlet / Natinoal Make Good Solutions (NMGS)	Jake	Santalucia	VIC
24	Pro-Am	111	Shannons Insurance / Wall Racing	Liam	Talbot	QLD
25	Pro-Am	222	Scott Taylor Motorsport	Scott	Taylor	QLD
26	Pro	777	Sonic Motor Racing / Bob Jane T Marts / Orsche	Marcos	Flack	QLD
27	Pro	911	Famous Insurance / EBM	Glen	Wood	VIC
28	Pro	999	Sonic Motor Racing / Bob Jane T Marts	Angelo	Mouzouris	VIC

---

SUBSCRIBE TO VELOCITY MAGAZINE 

For all our news keep your eyes peeled on the Velocity Magazine website and social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for our daily updates and to get the latest edition of our glossy magazine subscribe here from just $55 for 12 months subscription.

GET OUR LATEST ISSUE NUMBER 55 HERE