West Australian Jordan Love has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Jamey Blaikie Scholarship as he prepares to contest the coming season of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia presented by Pirelli.

 

The 17-year-old progressed from karting into a successful open wheel racing career, in which he was crowned the 2015 Asia Cup Series champion before placing third in this year’s Australian Formula 4 Championship.

 

Love will now transition into sports car racing with the hope of following in the footsteps of Matt Campbell, who used GT3 Cup Challenge as a launch pad towards Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and, ultimately, a Porsche supported drive in the 2017 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

 

“I’m thrilled to be selected as Australia’s 2017 Porsche Junior and to race in next season’s GT3 Cup Challenge series,” said Love.

 

“GT3 Cup Challenge is the perfect next step from open wheelers to sports car racing, where I will be able to develop the skills needed to move to Carrera Cup in 2018.

 

“Like many young drivers in Australia, I plan to use the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid as a pathway to forge a career as a professional race driver. Obviously Matt Campbell is the best example of this and it’s my ambition to follow in his footsteps – from GT3 Cup Challenge into Carrera Cup. From there, Matt has shown that if you have the talent, you can progress to the international motorsport stage with the support of Porsche.

 

“I have to thank both Porsche and Pirelli for this fantastic opportunity. I look forward to representing both brands in 2017 as the Australian Porsche Junior.”

 

Porsche Cars Australia Motorsport Manager, Kurt Sakzewski, believes that Love will benefit greatly from the programme as he begins his ascent of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid.

 

“It’s great to welcome Jordan as our Porsche Junior in 2017. While we had many great applications for the scholarship, Jordan best displayed the qualities that we were looking for – namely driving talent, communication skills and future potential from such a programme. We were very impressed with the way Jordan presented himself and we feel that he will be a great ambassador for Porsche in 2017,” said Sakzewski.

 

“As Jordan begins his climb of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid, it’s great for us to be able to present Matt Campbell as the yardstick for these drivers. Matt is the first driver to successfully graduate from both our Australian one-make series through to Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Europe. Almost all of our applicants named Matt’s career path as one they wish to emulate, which reinforces the success and career potential the Porsche pathway presents.

 

“The Jamey Blaikie Scholarship has been a tremendous addition to Porsche Cars Australia’s motorsport programme. Not only can we support young drivers, the programme is continued recognition of the late Jamey Blaikie and his contribution to Porsche one-make racing in Australia.”

 

Love is the second ever recipient of the Jamey Blaikie Scholarship, following the inaugural recipient Jake Klarich, who placed third in his debut GT3 Cup Challenge season in 2016.