Jaxon Evans on podium in Spain in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup

Race

Initially, it looked as if Evans would wrest victory from polesitter Ten Voorde: He got the better start and overtook the Dutchman in the first corner. A collision, however, halted the race after a few seconds after a driver stalled at the start. The evasive moves of the drivers starting further behind led to a chain reaction with four vehicles becoming entangled in the collision. Actor Michael Fassbender was also caught up in this accident. The German-Irish Hollywood star contested the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as a guest driver and was one of the drivers to be thrown out of the race after just a few metres. 

When the race went green again, Ten Voorde turned the tables: He overtook the now-leading Evans and eked out a small advantage over the remaining laps. “Jaxon simply got off the line better at the first start,” admitted Ten Voorde. “But I couldn’t resist the chance of correcting that at the restart.” For Evans, the two starts were the complete opposite. “My first was perfect, the second I misjudged my tyre temperature and fluffed the clutch – that opened the door for Larry to overtake me.” Pereira took his loss of the championship lead matter-of-factly: “After taking up the race from P5 I improved by two positions. More wasn’t possible today.” 

Jordan Love delivered a strong performance, the Supercup Rookie overtook nine cars to finish in eleventh place, after a penalty forced the West Australian to begin the race from 20^th position.

Next stop for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is the Formula One racetrack in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), where the seventh round is held as part of the Belgian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time (30 August 2020).

Results

Results round 6 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Barcelona (E), 13 laps
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 41:33.214 minutes
2. Jaxon Evans (New Zealand/BWT Lechner Racing), + 0.524 seconds
3. Dylan Pereira (Luxembourg/BWT Lechner Racing), + 3.854 seconds
4. Florian Latorre (France/CLRT), + 4.421 seconds
5. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), + 8.733 seconds
6. Leon Köhler (Germany/Lechner Racing Middle East), + 8.997 seconds

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2020, standings after 6 of 8 races
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 118 points
2. Dylan Pereira (Luxembourg/BWT Lechner Racing), 114 points
3. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Martinet by Alméras), 88 points 
4. Jaxon Evans (New Zealand/BWT Lechner Racing), 82 points
5. Florian Latorre (France/CLRT), 68 points 
6. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 63 points

The qualifying

In temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius, Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) clinched pole position for round six of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Barcelona. The Dutchman shares the front row for Sunday’s race with Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans (New Zealand/BWT Lechner Racing).

Lining up behind them are Florian Latorre (France/CLRT) and the fastest of the eight rookies, Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/Team GP Elite). Hollywood star Michael Fassbender (Ireland) contests the international one-make cup in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup this weekend as a prominent guest driver.

“The balance of my car wasn’t optimal on the first set of tyres,” reported Ten Voorde. “My mechanics tweaked the suspension setup and my second attempt ran perfectly.” With this, he was just 0.184 seconds faster than Porsche Junior Evans. “My flying lap wasn’t ideal, but the first row is super. I can do something from here,” said the New Zealander. “The racetrack is tough on cars, so a lot can happen in the race,” said Latorre, already looking ahead to Sunday’s race. Van Splunteren thanked his teammate Ten Voorde. “I followed Larry during my hot lap. I made a minor mistake otherwise we might have shared the front row.” The fifth spot on the grid is occupied by championship leader Dylan Pereira (Luxembourg/BWT Lechner Racing).

Guest driver Michael Fassbender has made progress. Compared to his free practice time, the German-Irish actor (“Inglourious Basterds”, “12 Years a Slave”, “X-Men”) slashed about 1.5-seconds off the gap to the frontrunners. Fassbender is currently on his personal “Road to Le Mans”. His goal is to contest the famous 24-hour race at the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR. With this racing version of the Porsche 911, Fassbender tackles the long-distance races of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) this season. In the ELMS, the Heidelberg-born Irishman shares driving duties with Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) and Felipe Fernández Laser (Germany).

Laser also coaches Michael Fassbender during the Barcelona weekend. The racing actor’s guest appearance in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is another mosaic stone in the comprehensive training programme on the “Road to Le Mans”. In the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, he has already contested a season in the Porsche Sports Cup Deutschland and has undertaken test drives on the Formula 1 racetrack in Spielberg (Austria). 

“The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup requires a different driving style than the 911 RSR. The cup car moves around more, which means I can learn a great deal,” describes Fassbender. “Now I’m looking forward to the race on Sunday. Every kilometre in a racing car counts for me.” 

The sixth of eight races in the 2020 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup kicks off on Sunday (16 August) at 12:30 pm (CEST). Fans can follow the action via live stream on F1TV.formula1.com, with live timing available on www.porsche.com/supercup-livetiming.

The preview

A prominent guest driver joins the grid for round six of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup this weekend: The German-Irish Hollywood star Michael Fassbender tackles the international one-make cup run as support to the Spanish Grand Prix at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“The level of competition in the Supercup is extremely high, so my goals are modest,” says Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds”, “12 Years a Slave”, “X-Men”), who drives a Porsche 911 RSR in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). “I’m most looking forward to driving a different racing version of the Porsche 911 and gaining more experience.”

Fassbender went through a Porsche-run professional training programme for motor racing. He first completed a short training course with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup as part of the Porsche Driving Experience. After advancing to the Porsche Racing Experience and competing in Porsche Sports Cup races, the Heidelberg-born actor started into his debut season in the ELMS in 2020 with the Proton Competition customer squad. Last weekend, Fassbender finished the four-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) fourth in the GTE-class with the Porsche 911 RSR. He shared the cockpit of the racer with Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) and Felipe Fernández Laser (Germany).

“I know Michael Fassbender from the movie ‘X-Men’. It’s really cool to compete on the racetrack against such a famous actor. And it’s great to have him as a guest in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup,” says Dylan Pereira (BWT Lechner Racing), the current championship leader. At rounds four and five in Silverstone, the Luxembourger lost some of his earlier gains over Larry ten Voorde (The Netherlands/Team GP Elite) and Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Martinet by Alméras). “The Circuit de Catalunya suits me better than the Grand Prix circuit in England. I reckon I’ll be back in winning form in Barcelona,” predicts Pereira.

Round six of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup takes off on Sunday (16 August) at 12.30 pm local (CEST). Fans can enjoy the race via live stream on F1TV.formula1.com.

Info

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, round 6, Barcelona/Spain*
Friday, 14 August, 5:55 – 6:40 pm: Free Practice
Saturday, 15 August, 1:45 – 2:15 pm: Qualifying
Sunday, 16 August,12:30 pm: Race (14 laps)
* all times CEST

Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, standings after 5 of 8 laps

1. Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing), 97 points
2. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 93 points
3. Ayhancan Güven (TR/Martinet by Alméras), 80 points
4. Jaxon Evans (NZ/BWT Lechner Racing), 62 points
5. Florian Latorre (F/CLRT), 54 points
6. Marvin Klein (F/Martinet by Alméras), 52 points