Record Adelaide grid set for Carrera Cup decider

THE 2024 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship will finish on a high at the VAILO Adelaide 500 this week, a season-best 29-car grid locked in to tackle the world-famous Adelaide Parklands circuit.

Despite the Equity One Pro and SP Tools Pro-Am class champions having been decided on the Gold Coast last month, there’s plenty to play for at the Adelaide finale’ that will see intense battles for second in each class come to a head, as well as the prestigious Enduro Cup titles be decided.

While Harri Jones sealed the Pro class title on the streets of Surfers Paradise last time out, the fight for second is particularly intense with four drivers very much in contention for the runner-up spot, and five fighting for a place on the season podium.

TekworkX star David Russell holds a solid lead over GWR / RAM driver Dylan O’Keeffe in the fight for third, with Jackson Walls and the fast-finishing Bayley Hall, both from McElrea Racing, also in contention.

And while he can’t finish second in the championship, sixth-placed Dale Wood remains a contender for a place on the season’s podium aboard his Connected Spaces EBM machine.

In Pro-Am, Adrian Flack is unbeatable for the series’ title however the fight is well and truly on between Matt Slavin (second) and Rodney Jane (third) heading to Adelaide. Just seven points split the first-year Carrera Cup rookie and the former Pro-Am class champion on corrected scores ahead of the final round.

Harri Jones leads Jackson Walls by just 10 points in the Equity One Pro Endurance Cup standings, with that title likely to be decided by whomever finishes in front in the longer of the three races scheduled for this weekend. In SP Tools Pro-Am, Adrian Flack holds a marginally more comfortable 13-point enduro cup lead over Matt Slavin heading into that showdown.

Adelaide’s 29-strong entry list is the largest of the season, eclipsing the 27-cars that contested the opening round of the championship at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in March.

It’s the largest Porsche grid for an Adelaide 500 event in the prior 16 visits to the Adelaide Parklands circuit, with the field including 10 cars in SP Tools Pro-Am, 19 in Equity One Pro and 11 Michelin Junior drivers.

Returning to the streets of Adelaide will be David Wall, who will reach another milestone in his remarkable Carrera Cup career this weekend.

The Sydneysider, the 2017 series champion, is set to start his 250th career race in the second of three races this weekend.

Wall will become just the second driver in series’ history to reach the milestone, Marc Cini the only other.

The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia field will hit the track on Thursday for a pair of practice sessions ahead of qualifying on Friday morning.

The Enduro Cup title will be decided on Friday afternoon in race one, while further sprint races on Saturday and Sunday will complete the round.

ENTRY LIST – Round 8, Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia – VAILO Adelaide 500

No.	Class	Car #	Sponsor Name	Driver First Name	Driver Second Name	State
1	Pro	2	TekworkX Motorsport / HAH	David	Russell	QLD
2	Pro	3	Porsche Centre Melbourne Motorsport / BWT	Fabian	Coulthard	VIC
3	Pro-Am	4	Grove Racing	Stephen	Grove	VIC
4	Pro	7	McElrea Racing	Caleb	Sumich	WA
5	Pro-Am	9	Hallmarc / Team MPC	Marc	Cini	VIC
6	Pro	11	Objective Racing	Jackson	Walls	NSW
7	Pro	12	Porsche Centre Melbourne Motorsport / Hasting Deering	Harri	Jones	VIC
8	Pro-Am	13	The Bend Motorsport Park	Sam	Shahin	SA
9	Pro-Am	14	I.D Land / Team MPC	Matt	Belford	VIC
10	Pro	15	Power and Earth. Com	Clay	Osborne	QLD
11	Pro-Am	20	Agas National / EBM	Adrian	Flack	QLD
12	Pro-Am	22	Dexion / RAM Motorsport	Dean	Cook	NSW
13	Pro	23	Bloxsom Team Navy	Lockie	Bloxsom	QLD
14	Pro	28	Hall Finance & Insurance Solutions	Bayley	Hall	QLD
15	Pro-AM	35	Rentcorp Hyundai Forklifts	Indiran	Padayachee	NSW
16	Pro	38	Wall Racing	David	Wall	NSW
17	Pro-Am	77	Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts	Rodney	Jane	VIC
18	Pro	81	McLennan Motorsport / EBM	Tom	McLennan	QLD
19	Pro	84	Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM	Marco	Giltrap	QLD
20	Pro-Am	85	Ares Group	Matt	Slavin	VIC
21	Pro	88	Dexion / RAM Motorsport	Dylan	O’Keeffe	VIC
22	Pro-Am	91	MVA Racing / Koan Solutions	Anthony	DiMauro	SA
23	Pro	101	Game Over	Ryder	Quinn	QLD
24	Pro	222	Scott Taylor Motorsport	Nash	Morris	QLD
25	Pro	777	Sonic / Bod Jane T Marts / Versalux Lighting Systems	Marcos	Flack	QLD
26	Pro	880	Sonic / TRUEGRID Parking Surface	Harrison	Goodman	VIC
27	Pro	911	Ranbuild / EBM	Glen	Wood	VIC
28	Pro	992	Connected Spaces / EBM	Dale	Wood	VIC
29	Pro	999	Sonic / Bob Jane T Marts / Pit Box io	Angelo	Mouzouris	VIC