The world’s best sports car drivers are set to do battle this weekend in the 24 Hours of Daytona, but many of them have one thing in common – kickstarting their racing careers in Porsche Carrera Cup competition around the world.

Fifteen of the 29 drivers racing Porsche machinery at Daytona came through Porsche one-make championships – collecting a total of 10 championships along the way.

In the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport squad, four of the six drivers came through the Porsche development pyramid of which Carrera Cup is a key component.

The championship pedigree includes Matt Campbell winning Porsche Carrera Cup Australia in 2016; Mathieu Jaminet was the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup France champion; Nick Tandy won the German championship in 2011 and Kevin Estre won the French and German titles in 2011 and 2013, respectively.

Estre is the Carrera Cup “poster child” of the pack. The Frenchman spent a total of six seasons in various Carrera Cup championships, as well as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup before beginning his international factory driver career.

Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland 2013

“Carrera Cup was a very important part of my career. I was able to show what I could do as a race driver and present myself in front of a manufacturer like Porsche, which was my dream,” Estre said.

“The series is such a tough championship because everyone has the same car and you can change only four or five set-up items. So to really make a difference, it is up to the driver.

“You need to be very fast in qualifying to make sure you are starting up front and make sure you make a good start. You have to adapt yourself to the car and the conditions because there aren’t as many changes you can make compared to a GT3 car.”

Beginning in his native France, Estre finished fifth (2008), fourth (2009), and second in 2010 before finally winning the championship in 2011 – the same year that he made his Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup debut.

He went on to finish second in Supercup in 2012 and fourth in Germany the same year, followed by a fourth-place Supercup finish and a championship win in Germany in 2013.

“The first year was tough. I was quite quick, but made a lot of mistakes,” Estre said.

“My second year was a lot better. In my third year, I was fighting for the championship against Fred Makowiecki, but I lost by one point at the end of the season.

“You need to take your time to learn. The following year, I finally won the championship and did my first races in Supercup.”

Daytona, Roar Before The 24

Estre firmly believes that Carrera Cup competition around the world is the perfect stepping stone to follow in his footsteps and chase a career as an international sports car driver.

“Every young driver has dreams of being in Formula One, and if you have access to a huge budget – then go for it,” he said.

“But for many of us, it’s better to change earlier rather than spend millions on single-seaters to eventually end up nowhere.

“Taking the path through Carrera Cup is a great way to learn how to become a professional racing driver where you actually do this for a living.

“You have a lot more chances to do that in sports car and endurance racing. The WEC, IMSA, Japan – there are lots of continents where you can earn money, be a professional and live your dreams.

“In Formula One, IndyCar or even Super Formula in Japan – there aren’t many drivers who are making a living from that.”

Other Porsche aces with a Carrera Cup pedigree include factory driver Julien Andlauer (racing the Proton Competition 963 entry at Daytona) who won the French championship in 2017. His Proton teammates entered in the No. 20 GTD Pro Porsche include Thomas Preining (2018 Carrera Cup Germany Champion) and Richard Lietz (2006 Supercup runner-up). Iron Dames racer Michelle Gatting contested the 2014 Carrera Cup Germany championship.

Both AO Racing (GTD Pro) and Wright Motorsports (GTD) line-ups are full of ex-Carrera Cup aces as well.

Laurin Heinrich won the German championship in 2022 and finished third in Supercup the same year. He also took a Porsche Carrera Cup North America race win in an end-of-season guest drive.

Klaus Bachler debuted in Supercup in 2012, won his first race in 2013 and finished fifth in the 2014 championship, while Alessico Picariello has three race starts to his name in the 2020 French championship.

Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland 2012

At Wright Motorsports Elliiot Skeer was the 2015 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge champion (the predecessor to Carrera Cup North America); Tom Sargent ran in the North American championship in 2023; Adam Adelson scored three top tens in his 2022 Cup season, while Daytona rookie Ayhancan Guven won the French championship in 2018 and 2019.

“I started racing in karting in Turkey and then went on to race in Italy, where I finished third in the championship. But due to budget, I couldn’t continue,” Guven said.

“I stopped racing and started sim racing, but I was also following a lot of racing – watching DTM, Super Cup, Carrera Cup, Formula One, WRC, WTCC, any kind of racing – I was following everything.

“I knew Porsche had the junior programs with Carrera Cup and thought that might be my chance. I got back into racing and won the Turkish championship, and that helped me find a sponsor.

“Together with help from the Turkish Federation, I started racing in Porsche Sports Cup – the lowest level Porsche competition in Germany in 2015. After a good year there, I jumped to Carrera Cup in France and Benelux (Belgium-Netherlands-Luxemberg) where I won both championships.

“That led me to Carrera Cup Germany and Supercup and by 2019, I was chosen as Porsche Junior and I’ve been supported by Porsche in GT racing from 2020 onwards driving for GT3 customer programs around the world.”

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Guven won the GT Masters championship in Europe in 2022 and last year won both the Bathurst 12 Hour and the Gold Medal for GT at the FIA Motorsport Games in Valencia in October.

“Carrera Cup cars are proper race cars with a lot of horsepower. When you start driving these cars as a young racer, it’s quite a big step but it really teaches you the basics of GT racing,” he said.

“Qualifying in Carrera Cup is really important. You learn a lot about car set-up and how to get the most of the car.

“It’s not so complex, but you learn the philosophy of the GT car. A GT3 car is far more complicated, but there is always great young talent In Cup – all of whom want to become factory drivers.”

“Because the cars are technically so close, the driver can really make a difference. It’s more related to the driver and you have to push your limits to become successful there. So if you are slow, you cannot blame the car or the team.”

With Carrera Cup competitions taking place around the globe, drivers have the opportunity to race exactly the same car in different championships around the world.

“I remember when I was doing the Benelux championship, I was looking at guys from Supercup and there are sometimes some races where I have a chance to drive against them,” Guven said.

“It gives you a chance to show yourself to big teams and show that you are fast.”

Daytona, Roar Before The 24

But while Porsche would love to keep every single Carrera Cup ace as part of the “family” – other brands recognize that Carrera Cup is a brilliant breeding ground for top international sportscar drivers.

The line-up for the 24 Hours of Daytona also includes three drivers with both Supercup and German Carrera Cup championships to their credit – Philip Eng and Rene Rast (BMW), plus Earl Bamber (Cadillac).

Other champions include Mike Rockenfeller (2004 German champion, now racing with Ford) and Nicki Thiim (2013 Supercup champion, now racing with Aston Martin).

Two former Porsche Carrera Cup North America champions are also part of the field for the 24 Hours of Daytona – inaugural champion Seb Priaulx races with Ford, while 2022 champion Parker Thompson lines up for Lexus.

The roll call of former Porsche one-make series drivers also features an amazing all-star line-up including Tom Blomqvist, Felix Rosenqvist, Nick Yelloly, Nick Boule, Oliver Jarvis, Paul-Loup Chatin, Rasmus Lindh, Tom Dillman, PJ Hyett, Madison Snow, Lars Kern, Orey Fidani, Daniel Morad, Dennis Olsen, Connor De Phillippi, Zacharie Robichon, Alec Udel, Roman De Angelis, Dan Harper, Jules Gounon and Charlie Eastwood.