Representing the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, 23-year-old Dino Zamparelli took on eight talented young race drivers from Porsche’s worldwide one-make race series for a coveted place on the Porsche Motorsport Junior programme.
The Porsche young driver concept, which began in 1997, is a successful model with five of the current Porsche works drivers having progressed through the programme. In addition to receiving 200,000 Euros from Porsche towards a Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup campaign in 2017, the successful candidate will also receive support in the fields of fitness, psychological training, media relations and driver coaching.
The two days at the end of September could prove to be the most important yet in Zamparelli’s career, as he took to the Lausitzring in Germany for a series of evaluations in the 911 GT3 Cup. Factors include setting the fastest possible lap time as well as demonstrating technical understanding and analytical skills when setting up the car.
All nine talented racers, who must be 24 years of age or under, already have a great deal of experience, making the competition even tougher. This year Zamparelli completed his second season in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB as vice-champion, and can claim 13 podiums, seven fastest laps, five wins and two pole positions over his Porsche career to date.
Speaking on the day, Zamparelli said: “I’ve got a good two years under my belt in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB and I feel like the development side of my experience is strong. We can all drive a car fast, but hopefully I’ve shown I can develop the car in the way I want and make some good, positive changes. For me that’s my strongest area.
“It’s a big prize to get funding towards the Supercup, which is where you want to be as a driver. The Supercup is the pinnacle of Carrera Cup and where you want to perform most; it’s one of the most highly-regarded series in the world. We’ve seen some awesome drivers go up through this route.”
Entry into the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup represents a significant step for the drivers, as the next level of the Porsche Motorsport pyramid has consistently proved a successful platform for Carrera Cup graduates. Zamparelli will be looking to emulate the success of fellow Briton Nick Tandy, the factory Porsche race driver who helped the Stuttgart marque to a seventeenth outright victory at Le Mans in 2015. Tandy began his Carrera Cup career in 2008 before moving to Supercup in 2010 and earning a position as a Porsche factory driver in 2014.
Frenchman Joffrey De Narda (21) from Plappeville was nominated by Porsche Carrera Cup France, where he currently ranks fourth. Mattia Drudi (18) from Italy contests the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia and follows in the footsteps of his father, who back in 2002 clinched class victory at Le Mans with Porsche. Drudi currently sits third in the Italian championship.
The Canadian Scott Hargrove (21) lives close to Vancouver and finished the 2016 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada as vice-champion. Porsche Carrera Cup Japan put forward Yuichi Mikasa (23) from Utsunomiya, who currently ranks second. Sweden’s Philip Morin (20) was nominated by Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia and also took home runner-up honours this season.
Andrew Tang (21) from Singapore and Zhang Da Sheng (24) from China took part as representatives of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. In the Asian series, they still have three races to contest, with Tang currently in fourth place and Da Sheng in fifth.
“We have strong driver line-up from the international Porsche one-make race series this year. The ultimate decision on who we choose will not be an easy one for us. We look at the driving performance as well as the development potential of each individual pilot. And we also take into account their abilities away from the racetrack. No matter who wins in the end, everyone who has made it this far deserves it thanks to their tremendous efforts and an outstanding season,” said Andrea Hagenbach, the Head of the Porsche Motorsport Junior Programme.
The new Porsche Junior will be announced in a few weeks after extensive evaluation of all data and factors.
