Race
Larry ten Voorde (Schumacher CLRT) set another record with an outstanding lights-to-flag victory in Monaco: The 27-year-old Dutchman is the first driver in 32 years of Porsche Supercup racing to win three times in the Principality. Unlike last year, Ten Voorde did not let Harry King (BWT Lechner Racing), who started alongside him, outpace him at the race start. He reached the first corner at the spearhead of the 24-strong field of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars and crossed the finish line after 17 laps with a lead of more than a second over King. Keagan Masters (Ombra) crossed the finish line in third place, becoming the first South African to step onto the Supercup podium.
“Unreal, my third Monaco win! It may have looked easy, but it most certainly wasn’t. I had to work really hard for that one,” explained Larry ten Voorde. The two-time Supercup champion had also won the season opener in Imola. At the top of the Drivers’ standings, he now holds a ten-point lead over rival Harry King.
The Brit was not entirely happy with second place. “My start was perfect, but Larry also got off the line without any problems this time. Overtaking is very difficult in Monaco. That’s why I concentrated on not making any mistakes for the rest of the race and at least staying within striking distance of Larry,” reported last year’s winner. “But on this unique race track, every podium result is a huge success.”
For Keagan Masters, the step onto Supercup winner’s podium was a new experience. The 24-year-old South African had secured the third position on the grid with a strong performance in qualifying. “After managing to maintain my position at the start, my race actually went very smoothly. I tried to set the fastest lap. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite do that and Larry managed to snatch it. Congratulations to him, he was simply unbeatable today.”
Kas Haverkort (Uniserver by Team GP Elite) crossed the finish line in fourth place. With that, the 20-year-old Dutchman secured victory in the Rookie classification of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup for the first time. “This is a great result for my first race in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in Monaco. I think I could’ve finished up front,” analysed the former single-seater driver. “But I got caught up in a duel with Marvin Klein for 17 laps, which demanded my undivided attention.”
At the flag, Haverkort’s lead over Marvin Klein (Schumacher CLRT) was less than a second. With this result, the Frenchman defended third place in the overall standings. Sixth place went to Jaap van Lagen (Dinamic Motorsport), another seasoned specialist behind the wheel of the 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
While the positions at the front were decided early on, two young drivers in the midfield fought a thrilling duel over the entire race distance. Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (Schumacher CLRT) gave Robert de Haan (BWT Lechner Racing) no chance at the start. From then on, de Haan attempted to overtake in almost every corner. Once, the 17-year-old and youngest driver in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup actually got past the 22-year-old Porsche Junior. However, the race director perceived these manoeuvres to be somewhat too aggressive and he was required to concede the position to Ghiretti. “I just had to give it a go, I was faster than Alessandro. But the race director’s decision is absolutely understandable,” said de Haan. In the end, Ghiretti finished eighth and de Haan had to settle for ninth place.
“The fact that Larry ten Voorde once again showed such an unwavering hunger for victory in his 201st Supercup race commands my utmost respect. Congratulations to him on his record-breaking victory in Monaco. I’m also impressed by Kas Haverkort’s fourth-place finish, proving just how strong this year’s rookies are. I have to compliment the entire field: Our race ran from start to finish without even one safety car phase – not everyone shows that much discipline in Monaco,” praised Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
The next stop for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup teams is Spielberg in Styria. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars will line up for the third race of the season at the Red Bull Ring on 30 June 2024, directly before the Austrian Grand Prix.
Results
Results Round 2 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Monte Carlo (MC)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), 17 laps
2. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), +1.246 seconds
3. Keagan Masters (ZA/Ombra), +7.043 seconds
4. Kas Haverkort (NL/Uniserver by Team GP Elite), +9.365 seconds
5. Marvin Klein (F/Schumacher CLRT), +10.232 seconds
6. Jaap van Lagen (NL/Dinamic Motorsport), +15.709 seconds
Overall standings Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (after 2 of 8 races)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), 50 points
2. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), 40 points
3. Marvin Klein (F/Schumacher CLRT), 29 points
4. Keagan Masters (ZA/Ombra), 25 points
5. Kas Haverkort (NL/Uniserver by Team GP Elite), 24 points
6. Robert de Haan (NL/BWT Lechner Racing), 21 points
Full results and championship standings on the Porsche Motorsport Hub:
https://motorsports.porsche.com/international/en/category/mobil1supercup/
Qualifying
Larry ten Voorde has pocketed yet another record: He is the first Supercup driver to post four pole positions in Monaco. Repeating last year’s qualifying performance, the Dutchman relegated Britain’s Harry King to second place. South African Keagan Masters set the third fastest lap around the 3.337-kilometre Formula 1 circuit in the streets of the Principality. Dutchman Kas Haverkort will tackle the second Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race of the season from fourth place on Sunday (26 May, 12:00 CEST).
Larry ten Voorde dominated the 30-minute qualifying session. The two-time Supercup champion, who joined the French team Schumacher CLRT last winter, was significantly faster than his 23 rivals on the first set of tyres. With fresh tyres, the 27-year-old increased the gap by more than half a second. By the end of the session, he had set a new qualifying record for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with a time of 1:32.846 minutes, more than two tenth of a second faster than his own existing record. “In Monaco, it’s very easy to go from hero to zero. Everything went perfectly today. I’m thrilled to hand my Team Schumacher CLRT this pole position,” he grinned.
Just like a year ago, Larry ten Voorde shares the front grid row with Harry King. The BWT Lechner Racing driver from the UK was just 0.191 seconds shy of the fastest time. “I had to abandon my last attempt at pole position due to a red flag,” said King, referring to the premature end to the qualifying following an accident. “But the main thing is that I start from the front row. The past has proven what’s possible from the second spot on the grid.” He was recalling last year’s race in Monaco when he overtook Larry ten Voorde in the sprint to the first corner and celebrated his first Supercup victory 17 laps later.
Keagan Masters achieved his best qualifying result to date in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. The South African, who competes in the 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for the second time in Monaco, was third-fastest. The 24-year-old also competes for the Italian team Ombra in the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, where he has already clinched victories. “Of course, I want more than third place,” he said, looking ahead to Sunday’s race. “But I also realise that it will be very, very difficult to put some pressure on the two guys in front of me.”
Kas Haverkort (Uniserver by Team GP Elite), the fastest of the Supercup rookies, secured his place on the grid alongside Keagan Masters. “Best rookie is obviously a great result,” beamed the 24-year-old Dutchman. “But I could’ve done even better. I played it safe on the first set of tyres and was faster on the second set. But I probably pushed the tyres too hard, causing the air pressure to rise a bit too much.”
Simulators and videos – preparing for an unfamiliar racetrack
The Circuit de Monaco is the only circuit on the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup calendar where testing is impossible. As a result, around half of the starting field lapped the 3.337-kilometre street circuit in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for the first time during the at times drizzly practice session. The Supercup newcomers tackled this challenge with different approaches.
“I prepared relentlessly in the simulator. But training on a wet track was nerve-wracking nevertheless. The computer can’t simulate driving over the curbs and handling the bumps,” said the German Monaco newcomer Alexander Tauscher (Proton Huber Competition). For this reason, Robert de Haan (BWT Lechner Racing) opted against using the simulator from the outset. “I concentrated on onboard videos from previous years to learn the track layout. Then, I did the rest in practice,” said the Dutchman, who at 17 is the youngest in the field. “It wasn’t such a bad thing that the track was still wet at the start. After all, it might rain during the race.” Robert de Haan finished ninth in qualifying, while Alexander Tauscher crossed the line in 14th.
In contrast to de Haan and Tauscher, rookie colleague Kas Haverkort is already familiar with the Circuit de Monaco – albeit from experience in the cockpit of a single-seater racing car. The 20-year-old Dutchman even finished on the podium in 2022. “It’s obviously an advantage that I’m very familiar with the bumps. I also know which lane markings and zebra crossings are particularly slippery in the wet,” revealed Haverkort. “But you attack the curbs much more aggressively in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. And the braking distances are much longer than with the comparatively lighter single-seater.” Haverkort’s previous experience proved invaluable: as fourth fastest, he clearly outpaced the other rookies.
Complete qualifying results on the Porsche Motorsport Hub:
https://motorsports.porsche.com/international/en/category/mobil1supercup/
