The German one-make cup has successfully worked together with the ADAC since 2018, with most of its races are contested as part of the ADAC GT Masters support programme. The event platform offers young drivers many valuable career opportunities.
“Since its 1990 debut season, a large number of racing drivers have progressed up the career ladder from the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland into professional motor racing,” explains Hurui Issak, Project Manager of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. “Thanks to our comprehensive youth support programme, the series has turned into a successful career springboard for young drivers. With the ADAC, we’ve acquired a partner that, thanks to its extensive motorsport programme, adds a wealth of experience and offers career options for drivers with the ADAC GT Masters.”
With the introduction of the Talent Pool programme in 2018, the Carrera Cup positioned itself more effectively as a training ground for GT racing. This year, eight youngsters have benefited from fitness tests as well as media and mental training. Furthermore, the young drivers are closely supervised each weekend by the former Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler. Last year, Laurin Heinrich was promoted to a Porsche Junior from the Talent Pool. Porsche’s youth development programme has given 27 racing drivers a decisive boost in their careers. The 20-year-old German is also a member of the Motorsport Team Germany squad of the ADAC Stiftung Sport as well as Germany’s motor racing governing body, the DMSB. Driving for the team SSR Huber Racing, he currently leads the overall standings of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
“The targeted promotion of talented youngsters lies at the heart of the ADAC motorsport activities. In the past, the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland has proven to be an ideal stepping stone into the ADAC GT Masters. We’d like to strengthen this connection and that makes us excited about this partnership,” says ADAC Motorsport Director Thomas Voss. The youth development initiative of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland represents the perfect career step for ambitious drivers in the ADAC Formula 4 and the ADAC GT4 Germany, among others, to gain the skill set needed for professional racing.
A glance at this year’s grid line-up in the ADAC GT Masters underlines why the German Carrera Cup continues to be a success story. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey) clinched the vice-championship title in the Porsche one-make cup last year as a Porsche Junior and now contests the ADAC GT Masters. Another former Porsche Junior, Sven Müller, took home the Porsche Carrera Cup crown in 2016. This year marks his fourth season in the German GT Championship. Like Güven, the 30-year-old contests the ADAC GT Masters at the wheel of a over 500 PS Porsche 911 GT3 R.
There are four events remaining on the Carrera Cup calendar: The second half of the season kicks off at the Nürburgring (5-11 August) followed by races at the Lausitzring (19-21 August), the Sachsenring (23-25 September) and the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg (21-23 October). All races are held as support to the ADAC GT Masters.
