Race 8
“I got goose bumps when I stood the podium and heard the Dutch national anthem playing. My start was good but I also benefited slightly from the collision in the first corner,” said ten Voorde. The youngster is the fifth driver to win a round so far this season. Joining him on the podium at Monza after round eight on Sunday was Michael Ammermüller and Joey Mawson. The championship title will now be decided at the finale in Mexico City. Forty points are still up for grabs at the doubleheader event, where Ammermüller (110 points), ten Voorde (96 points) as well as Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (92 points) and Ayhancan Güven (88 Punkte) still hold chances to claim the crown.
The race on the tradition-steeped 5.793 kilometre circuit turned turbulent right from the outset. Pole-sitter and Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans led the 32-strong field of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers through the first chicane, where Evans and Güven swapped paint. Evans lost several positions, while Güven took the lead. Although the young Turkish driver defended his front spot until the end of the 15-lap race, he was subsequently handed a five-second penalty for the collision with Evans. Thus, Güven’s closest rival ten Voorde inherited the top position in the 911 and celebrated his maiden victory in the international one-make cup. Ammermüller followed 0.893 seconds behind the MRS driver and now sits at the top of the points table as the new championship leader. “The key factor was that I got through the first corner unscathed. Afterward I waited for Joey Mawson to make a mistake. My patience paid off,” said Ammermüller.
The rookie Mawson celebrated his premiere on the Supercup podium. The Australian fended Ammermüller off for ten of the 15 laps in the Royal Park, before the seasoned Supercup specialist overtook him. “That was a fantastic race with a super result for me. Unfortunately, a minor error cost me second place. Still, I’m delighted to make it to the podium,” said Mawson. Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing, and Michael Dreiser, Director Motorsport Sales, presented the trophies at the award ceremony.
Fourth place went to Mikkel Pedersen. Due to the penalty, Güven was relegated to fifth place, with Porsche Junior Evans on sixth. “My start wasn’t ideal, but I was in the lead until Ayhancan Güven’s car and mine touched. That was of course the key moment. Ultimately, I still managed to finish on sixth,” stated the New Zealander. Following Evans over the line were Dylan Pereira and Al Faisal Al Zubair. Porsche Junior Andlauer retired before the end of the race. The 20-year-old slid off the track in lap three and badly damaged his vehicle. “I was going really well and managed to progress from 13th up to fifth place, which makes my retirement even more upsetting,” said Andlauer.
Roar Lindland achieved his eighth ProAm class win of the season, with Philipp Sager and Clement Mateu occupying the other podium spots. Competing for the Dinamic Motorsport squad with its headquarters in Reggio Emilia, Gianmarco Quaresmini and Alberto Cerqui raced in front of home crowds this weekend. Drivers from 21 countries contested round eight of the season – making it the most diverse line-up in the history racing series. For the season finale, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup travels to Mexico City from 25 to 27 October. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez hosts the last two rounds of the international one-make cup for third time. In the past two years, Ammermüller was crowned the Supercup champion there.
Qualifying
Big excitement for Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans: In qualifying for the eighth round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on Saturday, the New Zealander posted the fastest time. “I can’t really find the words to describe how I’m feeling. The result simply makes me happy. The first chicane here is really tight, so the pole is pretty important to reduce the risk of colliding with another vehicle after the start,” said Evans (Fach Auto Tech). Ayhancan Güven (TR/martinet by ALMÉRAS) takes up the race alongside Evans on the first grid row in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The third grid spot went to Larry ten Voorde (NL/MRS GT-Racing).
A total of 32 drivers fought for the best starting positions in qualifying. The session on the racetrack north of Milan was packed with suspense from the first moment, with several different names appearing on the top of the time sheets. Mikkel Pedersen (DK/Dinamic Motorsport) was the first to set the fastest time, followed by Evans and then Güven. Switching to a fresh set of tyres, a turbulent closing phase followed: with five minutes left to the session, Pedersen’s name again appeared at the top of the monitor, with Ammermüller replacing him shortly afterwards. Rookie Güven undercut the time of his rivals and turned his fastest lap in 1:49.295 minutes. Only Porsche Junior Evans managed a quicker time – beating him by 0.043 seconds. Güven explained: “I managed two super laps. I would have preferred pole position, of course, but I’m still really excited about racing here in front of so many fans. The stretch to the first corner in relatively long, hence it’s decisive to get away well at the start.”
Ten Voorde takes up Sunday’s race from the second grid row. His time of 1:49,347 minutes represented the 22-year-old’s personal best time. Ammermüller and Dylan Pereira (L/Momo Megatron Lechner Racing) rounded off the top five on the 5.793 kilometre high-speed circuit. Lining up behind them are Pedersen, Joey Mawson (AUS/Team Australia) and Al Faisal Al Zubair (OM/Lechner Racing Middle East). Porsche Junior and series leader Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing) claimed the 13th grid spot. “To be honest, I’m pretty disappointed. The track actually offers good chances to overtake with its long straight. But as a team, we now have to take a good look at what we can optimise,” said the Frenchman.
Gianmarco Quaresmini concluded the session on 14th as the fastest Italian. The 23-year-old comes from Brescia and drives for Dinamic Motorsport. Alberto Cerqui (Preseglie) also competes in front of home crowds for the squad based in Reggio Emilia. The fastest time in the ProAm category again went to Roar Lindland (N/pierre martinet by ALMÉRAS) ahead of Philipp Sager (A/Dinamic Motorsport) and Clement Mateu (F/pierre martinet by ALMÉRAS). Round eight of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup gets underway on Sunday at 12.05pm local time. Eurosport televises the race live in over 60 countries. Sky covers the international one-make cup in Great Britain and Italy, with Sport 1 broadcasting in Germany. Fans can also watch the race live via the official Formula 1 streaming service (F1 TV).
Qualifying Monza
1. Jaxon Evans (NZ/Fach Auto Tech), 1:49.252 minutes
2. Ayhancan Güven (TR/martinet by ALMÉRAS), 1:49.295 minutes
3. Larry ten Voorde (NL/MRS GT-Racing), 1:49.347 minutes
4. Michael Ammermüller (D/BWT Lechner Racing), 1:49.427 minutes
5. Dylan Pereira (L/Momo Megatron Lechner Racing), 1:49.450 minutes
6. Mikkel Pedersen (DK/Dinamic Motorsport), 1:49.580 minutes
7. Joey Mawson (AUS/Team Australia), 1:49.586 minutes
8. Al Faisal Al Zubair (OM/Lechner Racing Middle East), 1:49.593 minutes
9. Florian Latorre (F/Fach Auto Tech), 1:49.625 minutes
10. Jaap van Lagen (NL/martinet by ALMÉRAS), 1:49.761 minutes