Richie Stanaway in a surprise switch to Porsche Supercup

After enduring a horrendous period on the sidelines following his nasty shunt at Spa, Richie Stanaway is about to confirm his comeback – in the Porsche Mobil Supercup.

Stanaway’s career was dealt a bitter blow last June in his debut Formula Renault 3.5 season when the Lotus junior driver suffered displacement to his T5 vertebra and was lucky not to have suffered spinal cord damage.

His management were looking at several options for his return to racing this year with the Porsche Supercup, arguably the most unlikely.

While not yet made official, it is expected that Stanaway will be part of the Supercup which runs as a support category to F1 in Europe.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Stanaway’s management team Gravity Sport that is directed by Eric Boullier, the Lotus F1 team boss, have chosen a different tact for the promising open-wheel driver from Tauranga.

“My management still believe in my ability as a driver and rather than re-invest in me racing World Series by Renault or GP2 – the level I was before my injury – it looks like I’ll be doing Porsche Supercup,” he was quoted in the Herald.

Some close to Stanaway were surprised that he did not elect to do Toyota Racing Series races after attending the TRS pre-season test at Hampton Downs last December. The TRS finished 10 days ago with Kiwi compatriot Nick Cassidy winning consecutive titles.

The 21-year-old insists that the change from single-seaters to cars does not spell the end to his F1 aspirations.