Craig Baird – the man with 109 Porsche victories takes on the worldThe world’s most successful Porsche Cup driver gets ‘works’ drive at the Porsche Carrera World Cup

Australia. A great honour for Craig Baird: Porsche AG has invited the world’s most successful Porsche Cup racer to contest the Porsche Carrera World Cup on June 25 on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife at the wheel of the sole ‘works’ car in the unique event.

Baird, the Australian-based New Zealander, has already notched up 109 victories in Porsche one-make race series. With the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, built and run by Porsche Motorsport in Weissach, Baird takes up the greatest Porsche race in history against more than 100 competitors from 25 nations.

“With his skill and experience, he is the ideal person to drive our ‘works’ car,” says Uwe Brettel, Head of Motorsport Sales at Porsche AG. “More than any other driver, Craig embodies the customer sports philosophy of Porsche.”

In the course of Baird’s long standing association racing Porsches, he has clinched the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title twice and the GT3 Cup Challenge New Zealand six times since 2004.

At the Dubai 24 Hours of 2008 he won with a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Baird knows the Nürburgring-Nordschleife from contesting the 24 hour race there in 2006 and 2007. On his list of successes are 23 national championship titles. For his services to motorsport, he was awarded the “New Zealand Order of Merit” in 2010.

“It’s a huge honour for me to be given the chance to contest this race against the world’s best Porsche Cup racers at the wheel of a factory-backed 911 GT3 Cup car,” says Baird. “To bring the Porsche Carrera World Cup to the Nurburgring-Nordschleife is a fantastic idea and will most certainly be an unforgettable experience for drivers and fans.”

Baird’s #200 ‘works’ car will also leave a lasting impression on the expected 200,000 spectators at the ‘Ring. Its design is an artistic interpretation of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife as the ‘green hell’ with licking flames as well as a stylised world map signalising the 25 nations from which the international grid comes to contest the greatest Porsche race on earth.

For Further Information Paul Ellis: Public Relations Manager Ph: 03 9473 0926 or 04 88 66 70 87 paul.ellis@porsche.com.au or visit: http://presse.porsche.de (for accredited journalists only).

About Porsche Carrera World Cup
On June 25 an incredible race is taking place on the famous Nordschleife circuit at the Nurburgring. With a crowd of 200,000 fans expected, the race will make history as the biggest single-make race ever held. It provides the season highlight of 18 Porsche makes Cups worldwide. Several championships, including the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, Scandinavia, Great Britain, France and Italy, as well as the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup have included the race as a regular championship round. The biggest Porsche race of the world will run over six laps of the 25 km circuit during the build up to the 39th ADAC 24 hour race.

Craig Baird’s ‘works‘ car will feature special livery commemorating the 25 nations participating at the ‘green hell‘.

About Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
Porsche Carrera Cup Australia (PCCA) is a one-make Porsche series using the 331 kW (450 hp) Porsche 911 GT3 (Type 997) Cup car. PCCA is the primary support category to the V8 Supercars Championship with a seven-round series including rounds at the Formula 1™ Qantas Australian Grand Prix, Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Armor All Gold Coast 600 and Sydney Telstra 500. PCCA is one of eight international Porsche Carrera Cups, with Carrera Cup regarded as the most successful one-make sports car championship in the world.

16/6/2011