Barely 12 months after making his professional debut, rising racecar driver Rauri Avern has become the only West Australian in one of Australia's biggest talent-finding categories, and the young gun says it's just the platform he needs to launch his big European dreams.
The 20-year-old was the highest scoring rookie in the Radical Cup last season, racing out of Perth for Arise Racing, who swept all six titles in 2025. That success, alongside Avern's growing reputation for overtakes, prompted reigning Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge champions, Sonic Motor Racing, to snap up the rising talent.
Avern, who is also a Zero2Hero ambassador, had never raced in a closed-top racecar before but didn't hesitate in making the move to Sydney to take up the opportunity, saying he needed the added challenge of the step up after the success of his maiden campaign in motorsport.
"We really knew I needed to be in a series with more competition and be in the right environment to excel in the future," he told The West Australian. "And the Porsches seemed to be the best place for rising young talent, as it's a one-make series, so everyone is in the same car. It's where a lot of young guns come through the ranks."
"(Porsche) is insanely more competitive. The gaps between the drivers in qualifying are so much tighter. Everyone is so much closer to the limit of performance. Taking nothing away from Radicals, but the Porsches are just on a whole new level. The pace, aggression and the whole competition are a step up from the Radicals."
Porsche Pathway to Europe
The Sprint Challenge features six rounds across the year, with two of those events featuring on the V8 Supercars calendar at Townsville and Sandown. But most importantly, jumping into a Porsche opens the door to the wider motorsport world with the global Carrera Cup series available as well as the European Porsche Super Cup that follows the adrenaline and drama of Formula One.
"Porsches are a really highly regarded series worldwide, and if you can drive a Porsche, you can pretty much drive anything," Avern said. "I think that's how a lot of people see it. And if you do well in a Porsche, you can do well in any other category. So, it keeps a lot of doors open for future pathways."
"But the internal Porsche pathway is Sprint Challenge, as I'm doing this year, then the next step up is Carrera Cup, and then there's Porsche Super Cup, which follows Formula One around Europe. Ideally, I guess, the pathway is Sprint Challenge this year, Carrera Cup next year, and then end up in Europe the year after. Not entirely sure how that looks, but definitely some endurance racing over there."
"Obviously, it's a childhood dream to race in Europe, so it's pretty amazing to take it all in. But we take it one step at a time and nothing's promised."
Strong Debut at Phillip Island
Avern's dreams are no mere fancy either after a positive debut in the opening round at Phillip Island earlier this year. In his first-ever qualifying session, the youngster overcame his butterflies to produce the sixth-fastest time in a wet session.
"You're always going into the first round completely blind. You don't know anything in terms of other drivers, how fast you're going to be, all that sort of stuff," Avern said. "So, qualifying sixth, super happy with that performance in the wet."
"Race one, I got a bad start, it was my first standing start, and then I came through a couple of people, but at the safety car restart, I made a mistake and ended up off, but finished the race."
Mistakes also cost Avern in the second 25-minute race of the weekend, and he found himself starting the 45-minute endurance race in 22nd. "I was really banking it all on the last endurance race because of the errors in races one and two," he said. "But got a ripper start and a whole heap of positions at the start and throughout the race. I ended up in fifth. We were quick all weekend, and just because of the rookie mistakes in race one and two, it was kind of heartbreaking, but glad we could put (the learnings) to use in race three."
Avern is back in action at The Bend in South Australia from May 8 to 10.
