As part of the driving prizes awarded in the 2018 CAMS PAYCE Australian Formula 4 Championship, Aaron Love has enjoyed a test day with Porsche Carrera Cup squad Volante Rosso.
Love sampled a current specification 991 Series Cup Car at Sydney Motorsport Park, as he looks to mirror his brother Jordan’s move up the Porsche motor sport pathway.
“Today was a really good day out. I learnt a lot about the car and how to maximise the car’s capabilities with my driving style,” Love said.
“Obviously it was really useful to have driven the Formula 4 car around Sydney Motorsport Park as it helped me to adapt to the new car efficiently. Overall it was a really fun day and I just want to just keep on doing it over and over again.”
Chris Papadopoulos, Volante Rosso Team Principal, was on hand at the test day and was impressed with the West Australian’s performance.
“Aaron was very impressive today, both pace and attitude. He did everything we asked for in terms of procedure and his feedback was spot on,” Papadopoulos said.
“We cycled through various adjustments to give him a feel for the Porsche Carrera Cup Car, how it felt, how it reacts and what it’s capable of. His perception for those adjustments was great, which something you look out for. It’s pretty impressive.”
Though it wasn’t the first time the West Australian has driven a Porsche, after sharing a 991 specification Carrera Cup car late last year with his brother Jordan to claim a pole position and race win in the process.
Volante Rosso’s Carrera Cup driver Josh Hunt was impressed with Love’s ability to transition into a Porsche mindset, with Love’s career dominated by open-wheel experience.
“I was really impressed with Aaron’s approach to the day,” Hunt said.
“He adapted to the car really quickly and worked well with the team. He had great consistency and overall lap time. I can’t wait to see his year unfold.”
With past Formula 1 engineering experience at the Renault Formula 1 team, Papadopoulos’ praise of Love was a strong endorsement of his potential.
“It’s a real testament to the experience these guys are getting in Formula 4 as well. They already know how to exploit slick tyres, moderate aero grip, strong braking, even just using the paddle shift, it’s all familiar to them,” Papadopoulos said.
“It’s not the 1980s anymore, there’s hardly a car you can race these days that don’t need those skills, so that foundation knowledge is important as they progress through other categories, whether they’re aiming for Supercars, sports cars or Formula 1.”
Jordan Love, who also finished third in the 2016 Australian Formula 4 Championship, has since climbed up the Porsche ladder to become a Porsche Junior, the 2017 GT3 Cup Challenge series winner, and a race winner in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.
Ryan Suhle, who also was the joint-winner of the prize, will also test with Volante Rosso in the coming weeks.
