Round 12
“The wet track surface dried up lap after lap, so the conditions were special. Ayhancan Güven and I had an intense duel, which was great fun. Ultimately, I pipped him at the post,” said ten Voorde. Thanks to his victory as part of the International GT Open support programme, the defending champion managed to extend his lead in Carrera Cup standings and now lies 28 points ahead of Saturday’s winner Güven in the overall rankings.
While several drivers mounted slicks on their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup vehicles, most of the drivers opted for wet tyres after showers in the morning, including Güven, who got the jump at the start from second place and promptly overtook polesitter ten Voorde. Over the following laps, a gripping duel for the top spot unfolded between the pair. Ten Voorde kept a close watch for a gap, with the two cars swapping paint several times. Ten Voorde made the decisive move in lap ten. Snatching the lead, the newly crowned champion of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup eked out an advantage and crossed the finish line 3.6 seconds ahead of Güven. “My start was really good, but Larry ten Voorde’s pace improved as the race progressed. I tried everything to fend him off. It was a gripping and very fair race,” stated Güven.
Bastian Buus had good reason to celebrate: taking up the race from the fifth grid spot, the 18-year-old rookie made a cracking start and was rewarded with his first podium in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. “What a wonderful feeling! During this season I narrowed missed out on a top-three finish several times, but now it’s finally worked out. The wet track was challenging, but I’d watched videos of rainy races at Monza,” said the youngster from the one-make cup’s Talent Pool programme.
Fourth place went to Leon Köhler (Nebulus Racing by Huber) from Germany followed by rookie Morris Schuring (Netherlands/Team GP Elite) and Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing). Fabio Citignola (Germany/HRT Performance) made it into the top seven as the third newcomer to the series. Lucas Groeneveld (Netherlands/GP Elite) achieved eighth place. In the ProAm class, Carlos Rivas (Black Falcon Team Textar) notched up yet another victory. On the high-speed Monza circuit, the Luxembourger beat Germany’s Kim Hauschild (HRT Motorsport) and Georgi Donchev (Nebulus Racing by Huber) from Bulgaria.
Güven and Loek Hartog (Netherlands/Black Falcon Team Textar) did a double shift this weekend: The two Carrera Cup drivers also tackled the season-opening round of the Le Mans Virtual Series and contested the esports event in simulators inside the Hospitality of the one-make cup. Hartog achieved sixth in his class at the four-hour race on the digital version of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza driving for the Proton Competition team, with Güven finishing two positions behind for the Porsche Esports Team.
“We enjoyed a fantastic debut at the International GT Open with two action-packed races. Both events went down to the wire until the last laps. We still have race two weekends remaining at the Sachsenring and Hockenheim. I’m looking forward to an exciting final phase,” said Hurui Issak, Project Manager of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
The Carrera Cup drivers return to the racetrack next weekend: From 1 to 3 October, the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland contests races 13 and 14 as support to the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring. The season finale will be held at Hockenheim from 22 to 24 October.
Result race 12, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
2. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
3. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing)
4. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber)
5. Morris Schuring (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
6. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
7. Fabio Citignola (Germany/HRT Performance)
8. Lucas Groeneveld (Netherlands/GP Elite)
9. Jesse van Kuijk (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
10. Carlos Rivas (Luxembourg/Black Falcon Team Textar)
Points standings after 12 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 240 points
2. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), 212 points
3. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), 194 points
Round 11
Victory number three and still a hot contender in the fight for the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland title: Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing) won round eleven of the one-make cup on Saturday in Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale Monza. “What a terrific race! My start wasn’t great, unfortunately, but things got better after that. Laurin Heinrich held the lead for a long time, but I put him under pressure in the last lap and I knew I just had to wait patiently for him to make a mistake. That paid off,” said the Porsche Junior. The two Germans Laurin Heinrich (Van Berghe Huber Racing) and Leon Köhler (Nebulus Racing by Huber) claimed the other podium steps at the race run as part of the International GT Open support programme.
Under an overcast sky and in temperatures of 23 degrees Celsius, Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite) took up the race from pole position in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Heinrich, however, got the better start: In the sprint to the first corner, the youngster from the one-make cup’s Talent Pool programme squeezed past the Dutchman in his 510 PS cup car and snatched the lead. Heinrich controlled the race at the head of the field until just before the finish. When the Huber driver made a braking error, Güven grabbed his chance to take the lead and cross the finish line as the winner a lap later. “Initially I was really fast and I managed to eke out a decent advantage. But then Ayhancan Güven gradually caught up and in the decisive phase I drove over rubber debris on the track at the entrance to a corner and that caused me to make a braking error,” explained Heinrich.
Spectators were treated to a gripping duel for third place. Over much of the race, ten Voorde valiantly fended off Köhler. In the penultimate lap, Köhler found the crucial gap and swept past the current championship leader. “That was a really exciting fight. I managed to catch Larry ten Voorde in his slipstream on the long straights, but it was tough overtaking in the tight chicanes. For this reason, I’m thrilled that it worked out shortly before the flag,” said Köhler. Following fourth-placed ten Voorde over the line were Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech) as well as the two rookies Loek Hartog (Netherlands/Black Falcon Team Textar) and Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing). Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin) rounded off the top eight.
In the ProAm class, Carlos Rivas (Black Falcon Team Textar) maintains a steady course for the title: On the tradition-steeped 5.793-kilometre circuit, the Luxembourger notched up his eighth class win. Rivas shared the ProAm podium with Kim Hauschild (Germany/HRT Motorsport) and Philipp Sager (Austria/Nebulus Racing by Huber).
After eleven of 16 championship races, Larry ten Voorde still holds the overall lead. The GP Elite driver tops the rankings with 215 points followed by Güven (192 points). Heinrich follows in third place with 184 points. Race twelve of the season takes off on Sunday at 12:30 pm local time and is broadcast live on Sport1+ as well as in the live stream on the YouTube and Facebook channels of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Ten Voorde again tackles the race from pole position.
Result race 11, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
3. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber)
4. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
5. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech)
6. Loek Hartog (Netherlands/Black Falcon Team Textar)
7. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing)
8. Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin)
9. Julian Hanses (Germany/HRT Performance)
10. Lucas Groeneveld (Netherlands/GP Elite)
Points standings after 11 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 215 points
2. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), 192 points
3. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), 184 points
The qualifying
“I’m thrilled with this great result. In the free practice beforehand, things didn’t go so smoothly because I made a few mistakes. I was totally focussed during the qualifying and got the most out of it,” said ten Voorde, who was crowned champion of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Monza recently. The Carrera Cup is contested for the first time in its 30-year history on the high-speed circuit near Milan, as support to the International GT Open. Twenty-six drivers contest the two races in their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Right from the outset, the drivers delivered a gripping battle for top times. In the first minutes, Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing) topped the timesheets and held that spot until halftime. With fresh tyres, the drivers tackled the second half of the qualifying session – and a turbulent final phase unfolded. One after the other, the qualifying times tumbled. The main players were ten Voorde, Güven and Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), who undercut each other’s lap times multiple times. Ultimately, ten Voorde came out on top after the 35-minute session with a gap of 0.166 seconds over Talent Pool driver Heinrich. Less than a second separated the top times of the fastest 13. “Unfortunately, pole position didn’t quite work out, but I’m still happy with this result. My goal for Saturday’s race is to get a good start and try and snatch the lead before the tight chicane,” said Heinrich.
Güven, Jesse van Kuijk (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber) and Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech) rounded off the fastest six and make up the first three grid rows for Saturday’s race. “The first half of the session went really well for me but, in the end, it wasn’t quite enough for pole position. Still, I’m looking forward to the races. The sprint to the first corner is relatively long, so it’s important to get a good start,” explained Güven. As the best-placed rookie, Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing) planted his Cup car on P8. Qualifying 17th overall, Carlos Rivas (Luxembourg/Black Falcon Team Textar) was the fastest ProAm driver.
The grid line-up for Sunday’s race was determined by the drivers’ second-fastest qualifying time. In this case, ten Voorde again achieved the fastest lap on the 5.793-kilometre Formula 1 racetrack. The second grid spot is occupied by Güven ahead of Heinrich. Lining up behind the 19-year-old youngster is Köhler, Buus and Jukka Honkavuori (MRS GT-Racing) from Finland.
Round eleven of the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes off on Saturday at 2:05pm local time and will be broadcast live on the German free TV Sport1. Sunday’s race starts at 12:30pm. Fans can watch both races via live stream on the Porsche Carrera Cup’s Facebook and YouTube channels as well as in the Porsche Motorsport Hub.
Qualifying result for race 11, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 1:49.283 minutes
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), +0.166 seconds
3. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), +0.179 seconds
4. Jesse van Kuijk (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), +0.329 seconds
5. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber), +0.426 seconds
6. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech), +0.449 seconds
7. Jukka Honkavuori (Finland/MRS GT-Racing), +0.463 seconds
8. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing), +0.602 seconds
9. Loek Hartog (Netherlands/Black Falcon Team Textar), +0.739 seconds
10. Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin), +0.764 seconds
Qualifying result for race 12, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 1:49.360 minutes
2. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), +0.194 seconds
3. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), +0.459 seconds
4. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber), +0.564 seconds
5. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing), +0.570 seconds
6. Jukka Honkavuori (Finland/MRS GT-Racing), +0.599 seconds
7. Jesse van Kuijk (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), +0.660 seconds
8. Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin), +0.693 seconds
9. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech), +0.768 seconds
10. Loek Hartog (Netherlands/Black Falcon Team Textar), +0.825 seconds
