Twelve young drivers vie for Porsche Junior title

Sim-racers join Porsche talent search for first time

Twelve top young drivers from around the world will assemble in Germany to compete for Porsche’s prestigious 2027 Junior driver title and a place in the brand’s international racing series, with the competition car being the Porsche 911 Cup racing car that develops 382kW. Picture: Porsche

Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion Tyler Maxson will represent North America in the selection process for the 2027 Porsche Junior driver title.

The 22-year-old Georgia-born racer who was voted Rookie of the Year in 2025 and won the overall title this season with the Type 992.2 Porsche 911 Cup is one of 12 young racing drivers from 10 countries taking part, including 20-year-old female racing driver Antonella Bassani from Brazil — the 2023 champion in her home country’s Porsche Sprint Challenge.

The winner will receive financial support for the upcoming season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, as well as comprehensive support from Porsche Motorsport.

For the first time, Porsche is including sim-racing talents in the selection process. Five candidates from the Porsche Esports Supercup will compete in a separate talent shoot-out for an entry in the Porsche one-make series.

For interviews, tests, simulator sessions and various assessments, candidates will visit the Porsche Esports Performance Center (PEPC) in Cologne, Germany, where they will demonstrate their driving skills on the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão, Portugal. The competition car will be the Type 992.2-generation Porsche 911 Cup racing car that develops 382kW.

Five of the 32 finalists in the global sim-racing one-make cup qualified through a multi-stage selection process. This separate talent scouting programme utilises the infrastructure of the Porsche Junior shoot-out system and gets underway in Cologne.

The best candidates will travel alongside the junior candidates to the 2.891-mile Algarve International Circuit. There, they must prove themselves at the wheel of a Porsche 911 Challenge. The winner can look forward to support for a real-life racing season: they will compete in one of the national Porsche one-make series.

Five candidates from the Porsche Esports Supercup will compete in a separate talent shoot-out for entry in the Porsche one-make series. Picture: Porsche

The youngest contender is Milan Marczak from Poland. The 18-year-old won the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. while the oldest in the group is 23-year-old Pietro Delli Guanti from the Carrera Cup Italia.

French Macéo Capietto, who finished third overall in Carrera Cup France, is one to watch. The 20-year-old already has two LMP2 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to his name. Callum Voisin, who is the same age, is the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain winner, and so is William Siverholm, champion of Carrera Cup Scandinavia.

An overview of the Porsche Junior candidates:

Tyler Maxson (USA, 22) — Porsche Carrera Cup North America
Antonella Bassani (Brazil, 20) — Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil
Macéo Capietto (France, 20) — Porsche Carrera Cup France
Pietro Delli Guanti (Italy, 22) — Porsche Carrera Cup Italia
Matheus Ferreira (Brazil, 19) — Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
Marco Giltrap (New Zealand, 22) — Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Milan Marczak (Poland, 18) — Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux
Clay Osborne (New Zealand, 21) — Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
William Siverholm (Sweden, 21) — Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia
Caleb Sumich (Australia, 20) — Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East
Callum Voisin (Great Britain, 20) —Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
Taichi Watarai (Japan, 22) — Porsche Carrera Cup Japan