Van der Drift to sub for America bound Hedge

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 27 September 2023

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia championship leader Callum Hedge will not be in action at Bathurst and will be racing in America instead with experienced racer Chris van der Drift his sub next weekend.

Van der Drift will be behind the wheel of the pace-setting #17 Earl Bamber Motorsport Team Porsche New Zealand machine at Mount Panorama.

Hedge will miss the sixth round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season due to a clash with the Formula Regional Americas open-wheel championship round at Virginia International Raceway.

Callum Hedge leading a train of cars through Dandenong Road at Sandown.

Having opened a 116-point advantage over Jackson Walls in recent rounds, his absence will open an opportunity for his rivals to regain ground ahead of Gold Coast and Adelaide.

Hedge, who also claimed the Michelin Junior award at Sandown is also enjoying a successful time in America and leads the series.

Combining the young gun’s success in the 992 GT3 Cup Car and the Ligier JS F3 car, the 19-year-old has claimed an impressive 16 wins and 31 poles from his 41 race starts in 2023.

Hedge admitted it has been a tough juggling act deciding which championship to prioritise, but with a Super Formula drive in Japan on offer to the Formula Regional Americas champion, the trip to Virginia was too good to resist.

“It is a huge shame to have to miss a round in Australia. Especially when it’s such a competitive championship,” said Hedge.

“It was an incredibly tough decision to decide whether to miss a round in Australia or the USA.

Callum Hedge racing in the Formula Regional Americas season in his Tony Quinn backed machine.

“Once I got the Porsche Shootout ticket, we decided that the Formula Regional Americas prize, a $600,000 Honda Super Formula scholarship, was what we wanted to secure next.

“If all went to plan, we could still get the Carrera Cup Australia championship as well.

“Over the last two rounds, I’ve had some good consistency and have built a reasonable margin where I could still be in with a chance despite missing Bathurst.

“The aim is to wrap up the championship in America over the Bathurst weekend, then come back, shift my focus for Gold Coast and Adelaide and try to get the job done here.”

Chris van der Drift is a prolific winner in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.

Van der Drift has no shortage of racing experience both in Australia and overseas.

He also has a massive amount of Porsche pedigree, being the most successful driver in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia history as a three-time champion.

Van der Drift has also raced a Porsche at Bathurst four times in the 12 Hour with a best Class B result of second in 2019.

Not only that he also has one Great Race start in 2016 when he partnered Shae Davies in the #4 Erebus Motorsport VF Commodore across the entire Enduro Cup where they scored a best finish of 17th at the Mountain.

But the trip to Bathurst next weekend will be his Porsche Carrera Cup Australia debut and he is excited for the opportunity.

“When I heard of this opportunity, I jumped at it straight away,” van der Drift said.

Chris van der Drift shared the #4 Erebus VF Commodore with Shae Davies at the 2016 Bathurst 1000. Image: Peter Norton

“I’ve known Earl for many years, so it’s awesome to be finally driving for his team.

“I have been driving the same 992 Cup Car in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia this season, so I know the car well.

“To Callum, I promise to look after Larry.

“I’m very excited to be able to drive one at one of my favourite tracks in the world.”

The Porsche Carrera Cup Australia field will compete in three races across the Bathurst 1000 weekend on October 5-8.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE

Latest podcast: It’s post Sandown and have we got a stack to talk about!

The action off the track at Sandown was just as exciting as the action on it, and we cover it all in our latest podcast! Triple 8 boss Jamie Whincup show everyone he is THE BOSS… Is Tickford set for a leadership shake up, and a new Formula 1 winner, there is plenty to talk about this week.

Listen to our latest podcast episode here or on your podcast app of choice.

Recent Stories

array ( 0 => WP_Term::__set_state(array( 'term_id' => 11, 'name' => 'Latest News', 'slug' => 'latest-news', 'term_group' => 0, 'term_taxonomy_id' => 11, 'taxonomy' => 'category', 'description' => '', 'parent' => 0, 'count' => 15512, 'filter' => 'raw', 'cat_ID' => 11, 'category_count' => 15512, 'category_description' => '', 'cat_name' => 'Latest News', 'category_nicename' => 'latest-news', 'category_parent' => 0, )), 1 => WP_Term::__set_state(array( 'term_id' => 2481, 'name' => 'Porsche Carrera Cup', 'slug' => 'porsche-carrera-cup', 'term_group' => 0, 'term_taxonomy_id' => 2481, 'taxonomy' => 'category', 'description' => '', 'parent' => 659, 'count' => 134, 'filter' => 'raw', 'cat_ID' => 2481, 'category_count' => 134, 'category_description' => '', 'cat_name' => 'Porsche Carrera Cup', 'category_nicename' => 'porsche-carrera-cup', 'category_parent' => 659, )), 2 => WP_Term::__set_state(array( 'term_id' => 2029, 'name' => 'ZZZ-Email', 'slug' => 'email', 'term_group' => 0, 'term_taxonomy_id' => 2029, 'taxonomy' => 'category', 'description' => '', 'parent' => 2031, 'count' => 6101, 'filter' => 'raw', 'cat_ID' => 2029, 'category_count' => 6101, 'category_description' => '', 'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-Email', 'category_nicename' => 'email', 'category_parent' => 2031, )), 3 => WP_Term::__set_state(array( 'term_id' => 1683, 'name' => 'ZZZ-My105', 'slug' => 'my105', 'term_group' => 0, 'term_taxonomy_id' => 1683, 'taxonomy' => 'category', 'description' => '', 'parent' => 2031, 'count' => 2156, 'filter' => 'raw', 'cat_ID' => 1683, 'category_count' => 2156, 'category_description' => '', 'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-My105', 'category_nicename' => 'my105', 'category_parent' => 2031, )), 4 => WP_Term::__set_state(array( 'term_id' => 2031, 'name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds', 'slug' => 'zzz-rssfeeds', 'term_group' => 0, 'term_taxonomy_id' => 2031, 'taxonomy' => 'category', 'description' => '', 'parent' => 0, 'count' => 5470, 'filter' => 'raw', 'cat_ID' => 2031, 'category_count' => 5470, 'category_description' => '', 'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds', 'category_nicename' => 'zzz-rssfeeds', 'category_parent' => 0, )), )