Summary
Round 2, saw a Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup, field of 28, including an international star in the making Alessandro Ghiretti, compete during the weekend of the Melbourne Grand Prix around the Albert Park layout.
With just 175 minutes of seat time in a 992 Porsche under his belt from Round 1, Hamish could wait to test his skills on the fast-flowing Albert Park Street circuit. The round coincided with the kick off to the 2025 F1 championship, with many new driver and team combinations and a build-up drama that had all the makings akin to the Netflix series. No pressure…
Melbourne Grand Prix track is a flowing street circuit around Melbourne’s iconic Albert Park. Being a street circuit, means the track is likely to be dirty at the start of the weekend, rubbering up over the course of the weekend, as many of the Formula 1 categories and Supercars hit the track for their respective practice and qualifying. The track is known for it’s high drama at the turn 1 a sharp right hander. Other notable areas are turn 9 and 10 at the end of a fast-flowing part of the circuit can be tricky to get the car balanced for maximum corner speed. Turn 11 a squared off right hander presents a risk reward scenario and there’s always plenty of drama in the last two corners of the track. There's a high chance of a safety car and red flags, which can often play a part in results as fields compress and the length of the race can change on a dime.
Being street circuit means that there are many drivers like Hamish are driving the track for the first time. Looking at past results, there’s a mixture of experience and new talent that have taken to the podium, which set the scene for an enthralling battle for Round 2. Hamish sits in P14 after the first round.
The weather was fine with a gusty breeze for Day 1, as the single make Porsche’s hit the track first thing in the morning for practice 1 that would be the only practice session for the round, scheduled for 30 minutes. The slippery track proved to be costly for some competitors, with the session shortened due to red flags. Hamish managed to cautious navigate practice one finishing in P18 for the session. It was a bit of baptism of fire for Hamish as he soaked up the pressure from his fellow competitors.
Next up on day 1 at midday was qualifying, scheduled for 30 minutes. The session was green for the first half, however just as Hamish was on a flying lap, an incident on the track midway through the session caused a red flag, everybody made their way to the pits. On release, Hamish picked up the pace knowing there would only be a few laps to get a decent time posted in qualifying, again disaster struck with a red flag flown during Hamish’s fastest lap of the session. Hamish qualified in P18 with his fastest time for Race 1 and P19 his second fastest time in Race 2.
Race 1, was held as the sun was setting across Albert Park on a still Melbourne evening. In the shadow of the city, the Porsche's made their way out to line up in their first 30 minute timed race of the weekend. Hamish got off to a great start from P18 cautiously making his way into turn 1 as many competitors jostled for early track position, with some even exiting the circuit, then Hamish hit by another competitor on his right rear mid corner, he managed to correct the car and keep it on track, losing some early momentum, but took it in his stride and got his head down into the race. After steadily making his way up to P14 early in the race a fellow competitor made significant contact with the concrete barrier at turn 3 which caused the field to compress under a safety car. After the restart with good race pace, Hamish moved through to 12th place only to be interrupted with another safety car. The race was restarted with a one lap dash, where Hamish moved up to finish the race in 11th overall.
The Porche competitors had to wait until the end of Day 2 for Race 2 a 30-minute timed race. With the sun setting over Melbourne city on a cooler but calm Melbourne evening, the scene was set for an enthralling race to finish day 2. Hamish lined up on the grid in P19, which was his second fastest qualifying time. This was a tricky position to start from with a mixture of Pro and Am drivers around him. Lights out and Hamish got a good start just behind the action that was unfolding in front of him as the competitors tried to squeeze 4 cars into the turn 1, it was a matter of watching and working his way through the pack. He managed to pass a few cars on the first lap and settled in well. After making a few more passes and looking pacey, a safety car was called and that was the finish to race 2.. Hamish finishing in P10, with three Pro competitors failing to finish the race.
Day 3, on a very hot late afternoon (34+ degrees, with no breeze) with the sun setting across Albert Park, the Porsche's rolled out for their final race of Round 2 at Melbourne Grand Prix. Hamish's race results for race 1 and 2, determined his starting position for race 3, starting him in P10. Starting from the inside of the track provides a slightly easier passage to turn 1, compared with the even grid starting positions. After a good prior race that saw Hamish move up 9 positions, meant that he carried some momentum into race 3. When the lights went out Hamish held the inside at turn 1, placing him on the outside of turn 2, but he was able to improve his position by one sport by the end of lap 1. No safety car on this occasion for the entire race, saw a terrific battle nearer the front of the pack towards the end of the race. Hamish had a good time in the race with his head down trying to move forward and also having to defend from some other Pros who were out of position behind him. Overall, a great opportunity for Hamish to experience a full 30 minutes behind his 992 around the iconic Melbourne Grand Prix circuit. Finishing the race in P10 on the track, that was later upgraded to P9 in the results.
"Was an exciting event to be on the same track as the Formula 1 drivers as they kicked off their first round of their 2025 season. Really enjoyed the flowing track, that had some interesting sections. We were able to capitalise on the momentum we took from round 1.. The car rolled out feeling pretty good, it was unfortunate in qualifying that there were two red flags at the worst time for me, but my racing lessened the impact. Race 1, I made up 7 spots, then 9 spots in race 2, finishing the last race in 9th. Big thanks to Troy and the team at Melbourne Performance Centre and my engineer Cepi (Paul Ceprnich), as well as my partners for all their support!", says Hamish
"Looking forward to continuing my progression for Round 3 at Darwin, 20 – 22 June.", says Hamish
Summary of results:Qualifying P18/P19
Race 1, stared P18 finished 11th
Race 2, started P19 finished 10th
Race 3, started P10 finished 9th
Round 2 overall, Pro 9th and Pro Junior 4th
