The Porsche Supercup celebrated its 300th race since the championship began in 1993. The anniversary race of the international one-make cup turned out of be one of the most eventful: On the drenched Formula 1 circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, Dylan Pereira survived multiple spins and slides of his colleagues as well as three safety car phases. Moreover, the Luxembourger vehemently fended off repeated attacks from his Turkish BWT Lechner Racing teammate Ayhancan Güven. Germany’s Laurin Heinrich (Nebulus Racing by Huber) rounded out the podium as the fastest rookie of the 32-strong field of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Just metres after the start, a decisive situation unfolded in the infamous Eau Rouge passage. “I got away well at the start and was able to immediately go for Larry,” reported Pereira. On the approach to Eau Rouge he pulled alongside polesetter Larry Ten Voorde from the GP Elite team. The two cars touched slightly – sending the Dutchman into a spin. “I was on a line offering less grip and that made me slide,” Ten Voorde later admitted. While the reigning champion rejoined the race action in 13th place, Pereira took the lead.
After another vehicle spun, the race director sent a safety car out onto the track as a precautionary measure. At the restart, Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven grabbed his chance to attack the leading Pereira. He, however, defended his positions at the front. While the two 911s proceeded to pull clear from the rest of the field, Güven was unable to make another serious attempt to overtake his teammate.
Behind them, the battle for positions continued at full force – not always without contact. One of the victims was Jaxon Evans (Martinet by Alméras). After taking up the race from the third grid spot, the New Zealander, who currently ranks second in the series, was nudged into a spin by a rival – thus foiling his chances to earn points and close the gap to the overall leader Larry ten Voorde.
Meanwhile, the main protagonists in the fight for third place were Austria‘s Christopher Zöchling (FACH AUTO TECH), the two Germans Laurin Heinrich and Leon Köhler (both Nebulus Racing by Huber) as well as Max van Splunteren (Team GP Elite) from the Netherlands. The battle among this quartet was briefly interrupted by a second safety car phase caused by more spins. When the race director deployed a safety car for the third time due to a vehicle stranded in a gravel trap, Heinrich was running in third behind Pereira and Güven. Because the race ended behind the safety car, this order stayed the same. “I started from tenth place and finished on third – something like this can only happen in a wet race,” said a delighted Heinrich.
Thanks to his first victory of this season, Dylan Pereira has moved up the points standings to third place behind Larry ten Voorde and Jaxon Evans. For this, the Luxembourger also received a laurel wreath in addition to the usual trophy, as did the rookie winner Laurin Heinrich and the Monegasque Nicolas Misslin (Lechner Racing Middle East) as the best-placed ProAm driver – a fitting homage to the long and successful history of the Porsche Supercup.
“The 300th race of the Porsche Supercup was certainly one of the most exciting, a worthy anniversary. Despite the cold weather, we witnessed spirited fights for positions. My congratulations particularly to the frontrunners who treated us to some gripping racing under extremely difficult conditions,” commented Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
Next weekend, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will be held as part of the Dutch Grand Prix support programme from 3 to 5 September 2021. This event marks a premiere in the 28-year history of the Supercup, with the one-make cup racing for the first time in Zandvoort.
Race 5 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, 11 laps, Spa-Francorchamps (B)
1. Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing), 32:30.673 minutes
2. Ayhancan Güven (TR/BWT Lechner Racing); + 1.138 seconds
3. Laurin Heinrich (D/Nebulus Racing by Huber), + 2.145 seconds
4. Christopher Zöchling (A/FACH AUTO TECH), + 3.475 seconds
5. Max van Splunteren (NL/Team GP Elite), +3.814 seconds
6. Marvin Klein (F/CLRT), + 5.139 seconds
Overall classification Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup after 5 of 8 races*
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 100 points
2. Jaxon Evans (NZ/Martinet by Alméras), 81 points
3. Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing), 57 points
4. Ayhancan Güven (TR/BWT Lechner Racing), 54 points
5. Laurin Heinrich (D/Nebulus Racing by Huber), 53 points
6. Leon Köhler (D/Nebulus Racing by Huber), 49 points
