PORSCHE Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia contender Bayley Hall will go green in 2024 – and not just in the new livery of his McElrea Racing Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Car. 

The Queenslander has become the first Australian driver to be verified 100% Carbon Neutral in 2024.

It means he, under the ‘CleanSpeed Racing’ banner, will compete completely carbon neutral this year as he tackles his third full season in Australia’s top one-make championship with McElrea Racing.

Hall, 20, has partnered with Brisbane-based Environmental business, CarbonHalo, to assess his racing careers’ carbon footprint, both on and off track.

He has subsequently invested in local Queensland and broader Australian-wide Carbon Offset credits as a way to offset the carbon produced by his racing and the elements surrounding it.

Offsets include vegetation regeneration projects in Queensland and investment into Solar and Wind farms.

The results have seen Hall verified as being Carbon Neutral and is believed to be the first in Australian Motorsport to do so.

“I have always raced a green racing car, so why not be a ‘green’ driver as well,” Hall explained.

“The new generation are always looking for new and exciting ways to be different and to innovate, and I feel like I have taken a step towards making a change.

“Across all my studies as a student, I took a massive interest into the world and how we interact with it and it’s obvious there are many things we could be doing better – and it can only ever starts from one voice speaking up.

“I’m not here to reinvent the wheel but I want to use my careers platform to speak up and show that change isn’t that hard to start.

“I wanted to start up CleanSpeed Racing to show my initiative and take one small step towards a sustainable future.

“I won’t lie, there is nothing that compares to the sound of a flat-six revving at eight-and-a-half grand, but if I begin encouraging my competitors, teams and overall categories to continue this movement we might find we are certainly making a difference.”

Hall began the process last year by reaching out to Brisbane-based CarbonHalo and through a learning process about their efforts to reduce the impact of carbon on the world.

“I wanted to understand the process and identify my carbon footprint from racing,” he said.

“I took an interest into how a carbon footprint is calculated and how the Carbon Offset Credits Programs work. It is cool to know that I am helping out sustainable energy programs such as solar and wind farms within Australia, as well as even more local programs like the Queensland Vegetation Regeneration project.

“The way it works is that I invest in these projects that subsequently absorb an equivalent amount of carbon as to what I emit into the atmosphere. It’s quite genius.

“I hope that by starting this program I can invite followers, fans, fellow competitors and the corporate world to join in.

“Corporate businesses have a major focus on ESG commitments, and by meeting them in the middle it will be an exciting new era to potentially gain more investment into the sport.”

To learn more about CarbonHalo go to the website here: https://www.carbonhalo.com/

If you want to read more about what Bayley is doing see his Impact page on the website here: https://www.carbonhalo.com/impact/bhr/

The opening round of Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia commences this weekend at Albert Park alongside the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.