Sargent: Porsche Selected Driver Status a “Big Tick” for Career

Photo: Tom Sargent Instagram

Tom Sargent believes his newly appointed status as a Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver is a “big tick” in his career trajectory as the U.S.-based Australian continues to climb the ladder in the sports car racing world.

The 22-year-old, along with Dutchman Loek Hartog and American Riley Dickinson, were confirmed this week as PMNA Selected Drivers, which will provide support in and out of the cockpit to advance their careers in North America.

Sargent’s primary program is GT World Challenge America powered by AWS with GMG Racing, having already been a race winner in the Pro-Am ranks last year alongside Bronze-rated driver Kyle Washington.

“It’s a big achievement for me for sure,” Sargent told Sportscar365. ‘To be officially part of the Porsche family like that is super cool. I’ve driven Porsche cars for a long time now.

“But to actually be a bit more involved and part of that — it’s not a factory drive — but it’s a step in the right direction, which is the way I’m looking at it.

“Porsche is going to offer me a little bit of help along the way to help me try and secure drives, which is a big thing, because they’re obviously a huge brand.

“To be able to have help from that is really cool.

“It’s a big ticket. It’s niche for North America, so it’s something I really didn’t have my eyes on but it’s the right direction. It’s where I want to be and hopefully in a few years it leads to something a bit more.”

Sargent, who moved to Mooresville, N.C. in 2023 to take part in Porsche Carrera Cup North America, revealed that his IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup drive with Wright Motorsports was secured prior to him becoming a Selected Driver.

While both programs remain his focus this year, he expressed his desire to broaden his horizons, in a similar fashion to fellow Selected Driver Hartog, who is undertaking additional programs in Europe.

“I’m looking at all Porsche options,” he said. “I’d love to do some stuff back home in Australia, obviously my home country.

“I’m constantly looking at options for GT4, GT3, back there, just as a one-off sort of thing because I haven’t raced in my country for a long time now. 2022 has been a while.

“I’m super happy with North America and where I am. My ultimate goal is WeatherTech for sure. I’d love to do Hypercars one day but ultimately GTD is where I’d like to see my future for a long time still.

“What I have this year with the balance with Kyle in SRO GT World Challenge… I do coaching with him in Sprint Challenge and Carrera Cup.

“On the other side with Wright Motorsports in the WeatherTech endurance races is a really good year for me.

“Hopefully in the near future I can become full-time in WeatherTech. That would be the goal. Then I’d love to do one-offs in Europe as well for sure. I’d love to be able to do Spa 24 Hours and stuff like that. They’re big ticks for me.”

Sargent said he’s proud to represent Australia in what’s PMNA’s most diverse talent pool yet.

“I notice a difference back home in Australia to here is that we don’t have as much international [drivers] as America,” he said.

“There’s a lot of American drivers, obviously, but there’s a lot of international people like myself and Loek that come in.

“It’s really cool for Porsche to pick a non-American to be part of their [North America] program.

“It’s great that they picked Riley because he deserved it for sure.

“It’s a great program to have because it’s trying to help bridge that gap between the Carrera Cup and GT3 side. Money-wise, that step is so massive to try to get to that and it’s so hard to do that.

“I struggled to do that. The GT3 teams, they know that you’re fast, but you’re not proven in a GT3 car or not proven over 24 hours. So it’s a big call for them to put someone in.

“That’s why I got extremely lucky with having Kyle. He took a chance with me, gave me a year in World Challenge and we obviously did well.

“That was the big key opening for the WeatherTech stuff.

“And it’s great that I can still do [World Challenge] with him this year and hopefully for the foreseeable future as well.”