Porsche factory driver Kevin Estre and newly announced Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans will join David Calvert-Jones in Competition Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 R in February’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, the team has announced.
The American squad, which claimed GT3 Pro-Am class honors in the event in 2017, has opted for a three-driver lineup for the Intercontinental GT Challenge season-opener due to driver grouping changes for next year’s event.
Calvert-Jones was joined by Patrick Long, Alex Davison and Matt Campbell in this year’s race, finishing fourth overall and runner-up in class.
The U.S.-based Australian admitted it’s hard not to get excited about the lineup, with the addition of reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro class winner Estre and rising Porsche star Evans to its roster.
“We have a great experienced lead driver with Kevin Estre and then there’s newly minted Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans,” Calvert-Jones said.
“Having Jaxon joining us is somewhat reminiscent of having Matt Campbell in the team when we won the pro-am category in his first race as a Porsche junior.
“After a couple of years of going tantalizingly close, I really want to give this a good crack and I think the Ice Break Extra Shot flown by Virgin Australia team can deliver.”
Estre was part of the factory-run Manthey Racing effort at the Mountain this year, which ended in retirement due to an accident
“I really love the Bathurst track, it’s one of the last circuits in the world which gives such an adrenaline rush every lap you drive. The disparity of cars and drivers, plus the fact that there are no run-off areas on the Mountain, makes it a huge challenge in the traffic.”
Evans, who is coming off a standout year in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, was named one of two Porsche Juniors for 2019 and will compete in Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup next year.
The 22-year-old will be making his Porsche GT3 debut although has prior Bathurst 12 Hour experience with Objective Racing.
“This will will be my first official race as a ‘Porsche Junior’,” he said.
“The team has produced some amazing results in previous years and the Porsche GT3R seems to suit the layout. This will be something we will look to replicate. A massive thank you to Both CJ and Porsche Motorsport for the opportunity.”
For the third consecutive year, the team will carry support from Ice Break Coffee and Virgin Australia.
