Thrilling finale: Four drivers vie for championship title in Mexico

Ammermüller has an advantage of 14 points

Michael Ammermüller, Larry ten Voorde, Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer and Ayhancan Güven – these four will fight for a total of 40 points at the double-header event run as support to the Formula One this coming weekend (25-27 October). With 110 points to his credit, Ammermüller travels to the season finale as the leader. Ten Voorde ranks second with 96 points, with Andlauer four points behind in third place. Güven (88 points) currently ranks fourth.

Thanks to his 14-point advantage, Michael Ammermüller is the only contender for the title to hold the decision in his own hands. The Lechner driver has claimed two wins so far this season on the street circuit of Monaco and at the Hungaroring in Hungary. All in all, Ammermüller has climbed the podium five times – no other driver has finished in the top three more often than him. “The fight will stay open until the very end. I was recently crowned runner-up of the German Carrera Cup, but I really want to defend my Supercup title,” says Ammermüller.

The 33-year-old German has clinched the championship in Mexico for the past two years. Previously in the international one-make cup, only Patrick Huisman and the reigning DTM champion René Rast have taken home three titles in a row. In fact, Huisman from the Netherlands won the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup four consecutive times from 1996 to 2000.

The challengers: ten Voorde and Andlauer

Like Ammermüller, ten Voorde has celebrated on the podium with champagne five times this season. The Dutchman travels to the capital of Mexico feeling confident. At the previous race in Italy’s Monza, the 22-year-old notched up his first win of the season. “Before the season got underway I didn’t think I’d have a hope of winning the title at the finale. I’ve enjoyed a really consistent year. My worst result was fourth place. In view of this, I’m really looking forward to tackling the last two races,” summarises ten Voorde.

Porsche Junior Andlauer could possibly pocket his second championship title this season. At the end of September, the French youngster became champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Andlauer is also performing well in the international Supercup, with the 20-year-old winning the races at Barcelona (Spain) and at Austria’s Red Bull Ring. “Last year in Mexico I won both races and I really like the circuit. Unfortunately my retirement at Monza cost me the championship lead. That’s annoying, but I’ll do my best to earn as many points as possible,” states Andlauer.

Güven: "I have nothing to lose."

Güven tackles the race on the Mexican Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the first time. The young race driver from Turkey, who came to the Supercup as the champion of the French Carrera Cup and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Benelux, has turned heads from day one in his debut Supercup season. After achieving two podium finishes, Güven finally scored his maiden victory at Silverstone, Great Britain. In Mexico City, the 21-year-old not only fights for the title in the overall standings, but is also on track to win the rookie class. Güven says about his debut in Central America: “I’m super excited about my first two races in Mexico. I have nothing to lose and I want to conclude the season with a good result.”

Florian Latorre (Fach Auto Tech, 76 points) has a purely theoretical chance to clinch the title. For this, the Frenchman would have to achieve a top result from both races and, moreover, hope that the leading quartet make mistakes.

The decisions in all other classifications will also go down-to-the-wire at the finale: The rookie class is led by Güven with 88 points. First in the ProAm category is Roar Lindland (N/pierre martinet by ALMÉRAS), who has won all races in this class and earned himself 140 points. With 202 points, the BWT Lechner Racing squad leads the team classification.

The race

After 2017 and 2018, Mexico City hosts the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup for the third time. The highlight of the 4.304-kilometre circuit is the corner combination through the Foro Sol basebal stadium. Overseas races have been a regular fixture on the international one-make cup calendar since 1999. The first overseas round was held in Melbourne as part of the Australian Grand Prix followed by races in Indianapolis (USA), Sakhir (Bahrain), Abu Dhabi (VAE) and Austin (USA).