9 March 2015: PAYCE will support one of motorsport’s fast-rising stars, 22-year-old driver, Richard Muscat with his full-time participation in this year’s highly competitive Porsche Carrera Cup Championship.
He will drive a new Porsche 911 GT3 as a full-time member of Team BRM, best known as the top open-wheel racing team in Australia.
Richard will join BRM driver Duvashen Padayachee and Simon Hodge in the three-car BRM Porsche Carrera Cup team.
This year’s Porsche Carrera Cup Championship will be held over eight meetings, which kicked off last week with the Clipsal 500 meeting in Adelaide.
PAYCE Managing Director, Brian Boyd said he was thrilled to have the opportunity to support Richard and Team BRM in their endeavours as they tackle one of the most challenging categories in Australian motorsport.
“Richard has already shown he has heaps of talent by his results over his short number of seasons he has competed in circuit racing and it is a pleasure to provide support in this prestige Porsche category,”said Brian Boyd.
“With a grid full of identical cars, it really comes down to the skill of each driver and team and I am confident Richard will acquit himself well,” Mr Boyd said.
“The category will certainly test Richard’s capabilities, as he will be up against some very experienced teams and drivers who have been competing in this category for several years,” he continues.
“Following a very successful record in go karts from the age of nine, Richard has made a remarkable transition to cars over the past three seasons,” Brian Boyd said.
Richard quickly established himself as a competent and level-headed circuit driver in demand by a number of teams within Australia and overseas.
Richard won the 2012 Porsche 944 Challenge as a rookie and then went on to win the 2013 Porsche GT3 Challenge before tackling and winning the 2014 Australian GT Championship.
He is no stranger to the Carrera Cup category, having competed in a limited number of rounds in the category, two in Australia and one in the United Kingdom.
Earlier this year he raced a Mercedes SLS at the Spa 24 Hours and Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi and at Bathurst where his team finished fifth in the Bathurst 12 Hours after leading the race at the half-way point.
At this year’s Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Awards held in Sydney, Richard received the 2014 Australian Tourist Trophy, joining Sir Stirling Moss, Ian Geoghegan, David McKay and Frank Matich as winners of the national sports car title.
At the opening meeting in Adelaide which attracted a field of 22 cars, Richard made an impressive season debut, particularly as it was his first time on the circuit.
He used the practice sessions wisely to learn the quirks of the track and keep off the walls. He then qualified confidently in 6th position, despite being blocked by slower cars and a crash that brought the qualifying session to an early close.
Richard maintained his consistency through each of the three races, finishing 5th, 5th and 6th respectively and 5th overall for the meeting.
“I was learning every lap and will continue to learn and go faster every time I get in the car,” Richard Muscat said.
