Porsche takes drivers to school
Recruitment system finds talented race rs and cultivates skills both on and off the track
KLETTWITZ, Germany — Porsche builds successful GT race cars, but the cars mean nothing if the German company doesn’t have talented drivers to win races. Driving a rear-engine, rear-drive race car takes a particular skill set, so Porsche has in place a very thorough three-step recruiting programme that assures potential factory drivers have what it takes to drive a 911 to the finish line first.
But winning races alone isn’t enough to become a full factorybacked Porsche driver. Potential future pros must also have the right attitude to represent the brand positively. We had a chance to chat recently with Porsche’s GT Motorsport communications spokesperson, Oliver Hilger, and met a couple of the company’s upand-coming young drivers, for a closer look at Porsche’s recruiting program.
The Porsche Junior program is open to drivers under 24 and is the first step toward a career as a Porsche factory driver. Potential drivers are recruited into the program by first proving their on-track competence. If they come up from open-wheel racing, they then must compete successfully in Porsche’s one-make racing series, such as the GT3 Cup Challenge or Carrera Cup, and then go onto compete in a special three-day shootout held by Porsche at Eurospeedway Lausitz, near Dresden, Germany.
The winner of the shootout gets nearly US$300,000 toward their Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup effort, as well as coaching from current factory drivers and training in media relations among other aspects of being a professional driver. According to Hilger, 70 per cent of all factory Porsche drivers have come up through the Porsche Junior program.
British Columbia’s Scott Hargrove earned a chance to be one of four drivers to compete in last year’s Junior shootout by finishing second in the 2016 GT 3 Cup Challenge Canada championship (he currently leads the series), but it was 22- year-old Australian, Matt Campbell, who won the shootout and became a Porsche Junior driver this year.
Campbell had won the Australian Carrera Cup championship last year, and before that had honed his skills in the GT3 Cup Challenge, Queensland Super Sprint series and Formula Ford Championship, winning titles in all of those series from 2011 to 2014. To further develop his skills as a future factory driver, Campbell has moved to Germany, where he now lives with Porsche works driver Wolf Henzl er, who serves as his mentor. He drives a GT 3 Cup car this year, competing in the Porsche Supercup and the Carrera Cup Germany.
It can take up to three years as a Porsche Junior driver before taking the next step, which is the Young Professional program. But it didn’t take that long for former Junior driver, Mathieu J ami net, to make the move. The 23-year-old Frenchman took the fast track to become a Young Professional after just one year by winning every pole position and winning every race in the Carrera Cup France championship in 2016. It’s the first time that anyone has set every pole and won every race in any Porsche spec series, a feat that impressed Hilger.
“When someone dominates a series like Mathieu,” says Hilger, “it is not fair to keep them in that series. We like to give other drivers a chance, and we want our drivers to move to the next step quickly.”
Jaminet currently drives a 911 GT3 R in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and ADAC GT Masters.
Although not full works drivers yet, Young Professional drivers nonetheless get a contract, about the same amount of money as a Junior driver, and a company car (hint: it’s not a Corolla). But they must handle all travel logistics and display professionalism while travelling( though they are still accompanied by a coach ). There ins are essentially loosened and they must demonstrate independence on the road, while also testing race cars and working with engineers. They are also expected to help at special events, such as the Porsche customer race car test, where I got a chance to drive the race cars in which these young drivers are building their careers.
The final step after having successfully completed the Young Professional program is to become a Porsche Works driver. As a full professional you can be sent to drive for a team anywhere in the world, and according to Hilger, “must be able to work with team engineers, guide the team, and know everything about all the cars.”
French man and former M cL ar en factory driver, Kevin Estre, 28, became a Porsche Works driver this year. He won his first Carrera Cup race in 2008 and followed that up with a championship in 2011. He went onto win the German Carr era Cup championship in 2013, and now specialises in endurance racing, driving the new 911 RSR.
All three drivers were present at the customer race car test, each one assigned to give instructions to journalists at each of their respective race cars.
Although Porsche announced earlier this year that it will withdraw from WEC LMP1 racing, according to Hilger the company is committed to expanding its WEC GT racing programmes, and is backing that statement by promoting a handful of new drivers through its driver training programmes. These programs assure that potential factory drivers are not only qualified behind the wheel, but are also savvy with public, and know how to follow and give instruction.
“Over this time we learn about the driver’s character, and learn something about their driving abilities,” says Hilger, “the rest, what is missing, they get from us.”