Jaxon Evans has been announces as the latest member of the Porsche Junior programme after impressing judges at the 2018 Porsche Motorsport Junior Programme Shootout earlier this month.
Eleven drivers took part in the test at the Paul Ricard circuit near Le Castellet in France, evaluating their potential abilities across a number of areas.
22-year-old Jaxon secured the 2018 Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia last month at the Gold Coast finale along with securing the Michelin Junior champion.
The New Zealander follows in the footsteps of Matt Campbell who became a Porsche Junior in 2017 and has since been promoted to a Porsche Young Professional, racing in the the 2018/2019 World Endurance Championship Super Season in the GTE-Am class with Dempsey Proton Racing.
Evans receives a €225,000 prize towards next season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup along with additional training from Porsche Motorsport including n-track coaching, psychological and media relations training and an extensive fitness regime.
“When I received the phone call and they told me that I was their selection from the Shootout it was really special and I didn’t know what to say.
“It’s exciting and a privilege that they picked me and they put their faith in me after the Shootout. Honestly, it hasn’t sunk in yet, which is the hardest bit,” said Evans.
Evans has worked his way up through the Porsche Pyramid in Australia, starting out in the GT3 Cup Challenge before moving in to the main Carrera Cup series.
“To go from GT3 Cup Challenge, Carrera Cup and win the Shootout has always been my main goal in terms of building a career in motorsport and a future with Porsche. I’ve always closely followed the likes of Earl Bamber and, more recently, Matt Campbell.
“I’m close mates with Matt and seeing how successful he’s been in terms of racing but also being able to move to Germany and build a racing career with Porsche has been so cool to see. So to be rewarded with the first step towards replicating this – becoming a Porsche Junior – is really special and really is a dream come true for me.
“Matt was one of the first people that I told. It’s pretty exciting and we joked about that, from where we were four years ago, we wouldn’t have expected to both be living in Germany in 2019 and racing for Porsche. To see him do it was special, but to follow in his footsteps and make the move Germany and race in Supercup is incredible.”
Porsche Cars Australia Motorsport Manager, Troy Bundy was delighted to have another young driver of their own being picked for the Junior Programme.
“From the start of the season you could tell that Jaxon was on a mission and that, should he be selected to participate in the Shootout, he would be an unstoppable force.
“We had one of our most competitive Carrera Cup seasons to date in 2018 and for Jaxon to secure the title with such an impressive performance shows his immense talent behind the wheel of a Porsche race car. Porsche Motorsport obviously noticed this at the Shootout and therefore selected him as their Porsche Junior for next season,” said Bundy.
“This really reaffirms the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid in Australia. We initially had Matt Campbell move from GT3 Cup Challenge through to Carrera Cup and eventually win the Junior Programme Shootout. From there, he has had remarkable success racing for Porsche internationally.
“Jaxon followed the very same pathway and has been our second driver to be selected as a Porsche Junior in just three seasons. A benefit of this has been the tremendous swell of interest in both GT3 Cup Challenge and Carrera Cup locally by young drivers who want to be the next Matt Campbell and, now, the next Jaxon Evans.”
Evans is expected to relocate to Europe early next year ahead of his 2019 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup campaign.
Along with Jaxon, 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup France champion and Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race winner Julian Andlauer will return as a Porsche Junior for 2019.
