The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps remained true to its reputation: The 31st race in Supercup history on the longest racetrack on the one-make cup’s calendar (7.004 kilometres) treated the fans to gripping action. Multiple duels and spectacular overtaking moves dominated the very first lap. Even polesitter Marvin Klein had anything but a free run to the top of the podium. The Frenchman also had to defend his lead on two restarts after safety car periods.
“Twice I eked out a small lead, twice the safety car negated it again,” reported the driver from team Schumacher CLRT. “Thankfully, the car was so good today that I managed to pull clear of the field again on the third restart without any issues.” After twelve laps, Klein crossed the finish line just under three seconds ahead of Huub van Eijndhoven.
On the Supercup overall podium for the first time
The Dutchman had started from the third grid position behind Larry ten Voorde, but swept past his Dutch compatriot with a spectacular manoeuvre on the first pass through the famous ‘Eau Rouge - Raidillon’ part of the track. “That was nerve-wracking. Larry and I drove door-to-door through Eau Rouge. I came out slightly ahead and got the jump on him,” described van Eijndhoven from the Uniserver by Team GP Elite. “I’ve had a few bouts of bad luck this season. Now, I’m just happy to be on the Supercup overall podium for the first time,” grinned the 24-year-old.
Harry King utilised Van Eijndhoven’s slipstream to squeeze past ten Voorde as well. The overall runner-up from England and the championship leader from the Netherlands continued to battle it out in almost every corner. On the final lap, they, too, drove side-by-side through Eau Rouge. The two nine-eleven race cars made slight contact on several occasions but ultimately, King had the upper hand. “We both knew what was at stake and always gave each other enough space. That was a thrilling duel,” said the Briton from the BWT Lechner Racing team.
Behind ten Voorde, his Schumacher CLRT teammate Alessandro Ghiretti finished fifth. The Porsche Junior from France battled with South African Keagan Masters from Team Ombra throughout the race. In the end, Ghiretti came out on top by a slim margin of around one second.
Larry ten Voorde remains on top of the overall standings. However, his lead over Harry King has been further diminished to just seven points. With two races left to go this season, Marvin Klein also has a shot at the title with a twelve-point deficit.
The race in the Rookie classification
The top of the Rookie standings is also inching closer together after round six of the season. Championship leader Kas Haverkort (Uniserver by Team GP Elite) was left empty-handed after a collision. His rival Robert de Haan (BWT Lechner Racing), on the other hand, celebrated his third victory in the Rookie classification of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. “I’ve made a few mistakes recently,” admitted the 18-year-old Dutchman. “Today, I just concentrated on getting it all together. That’s how it has to continue from now on.”
In addition to de Haan, two drivers climbed the Rookie podium for the first time: Israeli Ariel Levi (Uniserver by Team GP Elite) in second place and German Sebastian Freymuth (Proton Huber Competition) in third.
“Congratulations to Marvin Klein on his first win of the season. The race at Spa-Francorchamps once again offered not only the spectators of our one-make cup action at its finest. After Larry ten Voorde’s run of four straight wins at the start of the season, suddenly we have a three-way fight for the title – which proves how evenly matched things are at the top of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. That makes the rest of the season so much more exciting,” commented Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
Drivers and teams now get to enjoy a summer break. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup’s circa 375 kW (510 PS) six-cylinder boxer engines will not rev up again until the weekend of 23 to 25 August 2024, when they will contest round 7 as support to the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.
Result round 6 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Spa-Francorchamps (B)
1. Marvin Klein (F/Schumacher CLRT), 12 laps
2. Huub van Eijndhoven (NL/Uniserver by Team GP Elite), +2.777 seconds
3. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), +4.732 seconds
4. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), +5.334 seconds
5. Porsche-Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (F/Schumacher CLRT), +7.609 seconds
6. Keagan Masters (ZA/Ombra), +8.663 seconds
Overall standings Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (after 6 of 8 races)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), 123 points
2. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), 116 points
3. Marvin Klein (F/Schumacher CLRT), 111 points
Full results and championship standings on the Porsche Motorsport Hub.
Qualifying
For the second time this season, Marvin Klein and Larry ten Voorde will start a Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race side by side from the front row. Like four weeks ago at the Red Bull Ring, Klein again set the fastest qualifying time at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. This time, the Frenchman outpaced his Dutch Schumacher CLRT teammate by around a tenth of a second. The sixth round of the international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup gets underway tomorrow, Sunday (28 July 2024) at 11:45 CEST, directly before the Belgian Grand Prix. Rain hampered the qualifying session on the Grand Prix circuit in the Ardennes: Just as the drivers commenced another attempt at their fastest lap times on their second set of tyres, the floodgates opened from above. “I was faster in the first sector than my previous attempt. But then, from one second to the next, the rain became so heavy that I had to abort the attempt,” said Marvin Klein, echoing his rivals’ sentiments.
However, the Frenchman was the fastest driver on the first set of tyres and thus, secured pole position for round six of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season. Klein undercut the previous qualifying record by roughly three tenths of a second. “The track had been freshly sealed in some spots. The new asphalt has better grip than the old one,” explained the current third-placed driver.
“Congratulations to Marvin, that was a stellar performance,” commented Larry ten Voorde, praising his Schumacher CLRT teammate. The championship leader and four-time victor this season seemed content with second place in qualifying: “The main thing is that I start the race ahead of my closest rival in the championship.” Harry King from the BWT Lechner Racing team, who lies second overall in the championship, only managed the fourth-fastest lap. After his victory in the previous Supercup race in Budapest, only ten points separate the Englishman from ten Voorde.
King shares the second row of the grid with Dutchman Huub van Eijndhoven, who drives for Uniserver by Team GP Elite. French Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti, another Schumacher CLRT driver, and Dutchman Jaap van Lagen from the Dinamic Motorsport team will start from the third row.
The youngest in the field is another Dutchman: 17-year-old Flynt Schuring. The guest driver for Proton Huber Competition qualified 14th on the grid, which means he has no real chance of breaking the record still held by his brother Morris. He made Supercup history in the 2023 season at Spa-Francorchamps: At 18 years and five months old, he was crowned the youngest winner in the history of the one-make cup.
Interestingly, none of the 27 drivers in the current field has ever won a Supercup race on the Belgian Formula 1 circuit. However, Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti recently celebrated two victories in the Porsche Carrera Cup France at the same venue.
Flagship project in the Supercup: eFuels with partner HIF Global
2024 marks the first year of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup running exclusively on predominantly fully synthetic eFuels for the first time. The raw fuel comes from the Haru Oni plant in Chile, which is operated by HIF Global. This raw fuel is readied for use through a process known as blending. The final product enables the 911 GT3 Cup cars to potentially run almost CO₂-neutrally. A second-generation bio-based, semi-synthetic fuel mixture has already been used in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in the previous three years. Together with HIF Global, Porsche’s top one-make cup is set on taking the next step.
Result Qualifying, Round 6 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Spa-Francorchamps (B)
1. Marvin Klein (F/Schumacher CLRT), 2:20.058 seconds
2. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), +0.096 seconds
3. Huub van Eijndhoven (NL/Uniserver by Team GP Elite), +0.495 seconds
4. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), +0.736 seconds
5. Porsche-Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (F/Schumacher CLRT), +0.813 seconds
6. Jaap van Lagen (NL/Dinamic Motorsport), +1.085 seconds
Complete qualifying results on the Porsche Motorsport Hub.
