Commanding victory and points lead for Dylan Pereira

The race

The Luxembourger took the flag at the Grand Prix circuit in Styria almost four seconds ahead of a trio consisting of Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (TR/Martinet by Alméras), Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite) and Leon Köhler (D/Lechner Racing Middle). “No one can plan that, everything simply ran perfectly,” said an elated Pereira. With his win, Pereira moves to the top of the points table in the international Supercup, which has represented the pinnacle of Porsche’s one-make cup series since 1993 and is currently contested with Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers. 

Pereira took up the race from the third grid spot. He went past Leon Köhler already during the sprint to the first corner, and seconds later, the Luxembourger went head to head with polesitter Güven in the decisive duel of the race. Wheel to wheel, the pair sprinted to the next braking point, with two wheels of Pereira’s car briefly on the grass. Still, he kept his cool and edged ahead of Güven at the next corner. “I thought: it’s now or never. I really wanted to take the lead as soon as possible so that I could control the race from the front.”

While Pereira proceeded to pull clear of the field by 0.2-seconds per lap, Güven, Ten Voorde and Köhler spent the rest of the race trying to chase him down. “Everyone waited for the other person to make a mistake, but it just didn’t happen,” explained Ten Voorde, who found no way past Ayhancan Güven. “I couldn’t do any better today, Dylan was unstoppable,” admitted the Porsche Junior. “In any case, I’m happy with the points for second place.”

Leon Köhler, who had surprised in qualifying by posting the second-fastest time, was not entirely content. “I didn’t expect the lights to go out so quickly at the start. My reaction wasn’t good,” said the 20-year-old German. “That’s why the first two corners didn’t go quite as well as they should have, and of course, Dylan Pereira, Larry ten Voorde and Marvin Klein took advantage of that and overtook me.” 

Nevertheless, Köhler managed to manoeuvre his way past Marvin Klein (Martinet by Alméras) again and win the rookie classification for the second time ahead of the Frenchman. Porsche Junior Jaxon Evan (BWT Lechner Racing) swept over the finish line between the two. “My goal was to finish in the top five, so at least that worked,” said the New Zealander who started into the race from P8. Florian Latorre (F/CLRT), Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (F/Lechner Racing Middle East), Max van Splunteren (NL/Team GP Elite) and Laurin Heinrich (D/MRS GT-Racing) rounded off the top ten. Roar Lindland (N/Pierre Martinet by Alméras) won the ProAm class ahead of local hero Philipp Sager (A/Dinamic Motorsport), whose son Moritz (A/Dinamic Motorsport) finished in 19th. 

After two back-to-back races at Spielberg, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup now travels to Hungary, where the third round of the season will be held at the Hungaroring near Budapest next weekend. 

Results

Result round 2 Lauf Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Spielberg (A), 17 laps
1. Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing), 26:08.539 minutes
2. Ayhancan Güven (TR/Martinet by Alméras), + 3.750 seconds
3. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), + 4.342 seconds
4. Leon Köhler (D/Lechner Racing Middle East), + 4.856 seconds
5. Jaxon Evans (NZ/BWT Lechner Racing), + 7.120 seconds
6. Marvin Klein (F/Martinet by Alméras), + 8.860 seconds

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2020, Standings after 2 of 8 races
1. Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing), 45 points
2. Jaxon Evans (NZ/BWT Lechner Racing), 37 points
3. Leon Köhler (D/Lechner Racing Middle East), 31 points
4. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 31 points
5. Ayhancan Güven (TR/Martinet by Alméras), 28 points
6. Florian Latorre (F/CLRT), 21 points

The qualifying

A hectic Sunday for the teams contesting the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the Red Bull Ring. Torrential rain at the Austrian Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday resulted in the postponement of the qualifying until this morning – allowing just four hours between the qualifying session and the start of round two of the season. All races of the international one-make cup are contested with identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racing cars as support to the European Formula 1 events. 

“My team would not have been thrilled if I’d damaged my car, but it’s best not to think about that because it would slow you down,” joked Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Martinet by Alméras), who claimed pole position. The Turk shares the front grid row with Leon Köhler (Lechner Racing Middle East), who was again the fastest of the eight rookies. “My best lap wasn’t totally perfect,” admitted the 20-year-old German, “but I’m more than happy with P2.” Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing) on third and Max van Splunteren (NL/Team GP Elite) on fourth were also less than half a second shy of polesitter Ayhancan Güven.

However, Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans (BWT Lechner Racing), the winner of the season-opening round at the same venue and leader of the series, was more contemplative. “I lacked confidence in my car,” admitted the New Zealander, who planted his Porsche on position eight. The fastest of the Pro-Am drivers was the Norwegian Roar Lindland (Pierre Martinet by Alméras) on P20. 

Father and son duo, Philipp and Moritz Sager, had a much shorter distance to travel than Evans and Lindland. For the two Austrians from the town of Peggau just 60 kilometres from the circuit, races at the Red Bull Ring are virtually a home game. Philipp Sager, the winner of the ProAm classification at round one of the series at the same venue last weekend, contested various single-seater series in the nineties. “I then took a 20-year break to look after my company,” says the owner of a large company involved in construction, real estate and logistics. He returned to racing in 2016 and concluded the 2019 season of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup second overall in the ProAm classification. 

Moritz Sager is one of the youngest competitors in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup

At 18 years of age, Moritz Sager is one of the youngest competitors in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. After starting in karts, the rookie tackled the Italian Porsche Carrera Cup last year. “I’ve just completed my university entrance exams, and next up is the compulsory six-month military service in Austria,” says Sager junior. “The main objective for my first season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is to learn as much as possible.”

The family hierarchy is clear: “Moritz is faster than me, no doubt about that,” says Sager senior approvingly. “But I’ll be hot on his heels.” Moritz takes up the race from 19th on the grid, with Philipp starting from position 21. Aside from the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, the Sagers have a big goal: to one day contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans together. 

Like their rivals, the father and son now have just three hours to prepare for the race. 

Info

Round two of the 2020 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup takes off at 12.30pm local time. Fans can enjoy the race via a live stream on F1.com.