A revision to the 2021 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia championship has seen its maiden New Zealand round cancelled.
The calendar alteration confirmed today follows this month’s announcement that the Australian Grand Prix had been postponed until November.
The series was set to be a part of the support bill for the ITM Auckland SuperSprint over November 6-7.
Several Kiwis have forged their careers in touring cars through the one-make championship. Fabian Coulthard, Jaxon Evans, Craig Baird and Jim Richards have all gone on to win respective titles in the series.
Multiple karting champion and current Toyota Racing Series driver Matthew Payne will race the full 2021 series with backing from Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport.
A new event in Melbourne in November will replaced the previously scheduled New Zealand event.
“We are really pleased with the revised calendar for the 2021 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup season,” said Porsche Cars Australia head of motorsport Troy Bundy.
“While it’s unfortunate that we will no longer race in New Zealand as originally planned, the revised calendar provides race-starved Melbourne fans an additional event in what is shaping up to be one of the best seasons for our category.”
The championship will join the Supercars support card at Sandown Raceway for its opening round on March 20-21.
Rounds at Townsville, Sydney Motorsport Park and Wanneroo Raceway follow before the Bathurst 1000 in October.
The new Melbourne round acts as the penultimate event before the series wraps up on the streets of Gold Coast on December 3-5.
Revised calendar dates:
| Rnd | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandown | March 20-21 |
| 2 | The Bend Motorsport Park | May 8-9 |
| 3 | Townsville | July 9-11 |
| 4 | Sydney (SuperNight) | August 20-22 |
| 5 | Perth (SuperNight) | September 11-12 |
| 6 | Bathurst | October 7-10 |
| 7 | Melbourne | Nov TBC |
| 8 | Gold Coast | December 3-5 |