“To evolve as a racing driver, nothing is as valuable as time behind the wheel,” says Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti, as he heads into a packed 2024 season. Between mid-April and end-October, the 22-year-old Frenchman will get plenty of ‘seat time’. He will contest eight rounds of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and a total of twelve doubleheader weekends in the Porsche Carrera Cup France and Porsche Carrera Cup Asia – making it a total of 32 races. He will also go testing in all three one-make cups. “That’s pretty stressful but I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the chance of a lifetime,” says Ghiretti.
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup runs as part of the support programme at eight European Formula 1 races. The Porsche Carrera Cup France races are also contested in Spain, Italy and Portugal, with the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia held as support to the Chinese and Singapore Grands Prix as well as on circuits in Thailand, Malaysia and Japan. In total, Ghiretti will compete in 16 countries during the 2024 season – with only two events in his home country of France.
Last season driving for French team Martinet by Alméras, Ghiretti won the Rookie title of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and finished second in the Carrera Cup in his home country – thus, both series and venues are familiar turf for him. “I also know some of the tracks in Asia from earlier in my career,” says Ghiretti, who contested two Asian single-seater series back in 2018 and 2019. “I will definitely need to find a good way of dealing with jet lag,” he smiles. From one weekend to the next, he will have to don his helmet in time zones seven hours apart – often leaving his apartment in Marseille in the south of France empty over the next eight months. “Fortunately, I have no problems getting a good night’s sleep in hotels,” admits Ghiretti.
In the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and the Porsche Carrera Cup France, Ghiretti will drive a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by the fledgling French team SCHUMACHER CLRT. Under the leadership of racing pro Côme Ledogar, the squad took home the 2023 championship crown in the Carrera Cup France with Dorian Boccolacci. The outfit also wrapped up the 2023 Supercup season fourth in the team standings. In Asia, Ghiretti will take the wheel of the Cup 911 for Team Jebsen. One of Porsche’s largest trading partners in Hong Kong and China supports the team, which has been successful in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia for years and has three titles to its name.
To make the transitions from each one-make cup to another as smooth as possible, Ghiretti relies on the same race engineer in all three series. “My engineer Benjamin Floch is one of the most experienced specialists for the 911 GT3 Cup,” states the Porsche Junior, who inherited his passion for racing from his father Alain. “For me, Benjamin is one of the most important pillars on the way to my goal for the season: I want to win races in all three series and secure a top position in the overall standings.”
The successful Porsche Junior model
At the shootout to select the 2024 Porsche Junior, Alessandro Ghiretti beat eleven competitors from all over the world. The Frenchman will receive funding from Porsche of up to 225,000 euros for the season. At the same time, he receives extensive training, on and off the racetrack, for example at training camps and media seminars. Sascha Maassen, two-time Le Mans class winner with Porsche and winner of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 1994, will support the youngster as coach throughout the season.
Ghiretti is the 31st young driver to receive support from Porsche since the Junior programme began back in 1997. For almost all of his predecessors, the targeted sponsorship has served as a springboard into a successful motor racing career. The previous Porsche Juniors have notched up ten overall victories and over 50 class wins at the major 24-hour classics at Le Mans and Daytona as well as the 12-hour race at Sebring, among other accolades. Moreover, the list includes 17 victories in the overall classification of the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and 20 titles in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Last year’s Porsche Junior, Bastian Buus from Denmark, won the 2023 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Many former juniors are still closely linked to Porsche, as works drivers, brand ambassadors or in the motorsport department.
2024 schedule for Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti
| 12 – 14 April | Barcelona, Spain | Porsche Carrera Cup France |
| 9 – 21 April | China GP, Shanghai | Porsche Carrera Cup Asia |
| 3 – 5 May | Le Castellet, France | Porsche Carrera Cup France |
| 12 – 14 May | Suzuka, Japan | Porsche Carrera Cup Asia |
| 17 – 19 May | Emilia-Romagna GP, Imola | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 23 – 26 May | Monaco GP, Monte-Carlo | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 14 – 15 June | Buri Ram, Thailand | Porsche Carrera Cup Asia |
| 21 – 23 June | Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium | Porsche Carrera Cup France |
| 28 – 30 June | Austrian GP, Spielberg | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 5 – 7 July | Great Britain GP, Silverstone | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 19 – 21 July | Hungary GP, Budapest | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 26 – 28 July | Belgian GP, Spa-Francorchamps | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 9 – 11 August | Sepang, Malaysia | Porsche Carrera Cup Asia |
| 23 – 25 August | Dutch GP, Zandvoort | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 30 August – 1 September | Italian GP, Monza | Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup |
| 13 – 15 September | Dijon, France | Porsche Carrera Cup France |
| 20 – 22 September | Singapore GP, Singapore | Porsche Carrera Cup Asia |
| 27 – 29 September | Mugello, Italy | Porsche Carrera Cup France |
| 17 – 19 October | Portimão, Portugal | Porsche Carrera Cup France |
| 25 – 27 October | Shanghai, China | Porsche Carrera Cup Asia |