The result of the first of a total of eight races of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2022 was four Dutch drivers from four different teams in the top ten.
In the wet race at the Imola circuit in Italy, Larry ten Voorde, the leader of Team GP Elite, finished in second place behind Luxembourg winner Dylan Pereira.
Dylan Pereira enters Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Supercup season from pole position
Rudy van Buren, originally from sim racing and after some good results in the German Porsche Carrera Cup, now for the first time in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, finished in seventh place for the German Huber Racing. Loek Hartog, riding for the Italian team Ombra, finished the race in ninth place, ahead of veteran Jaap van Lagen of the French team Martinet by Alméras.
Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup 2022
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Larry ten Voorde (NL), Team GP Elite (#25), Bastian Buus (DK), BWT Lechner Racing (#7),
Right from the start of the anniversary season, in which the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup celebrates its 30th anniversary, the improvisational capacity of teams and drivers was called upon. On Friday there was heavy rain in the Emilia-Romagna region, which made it very difficult for drivers in the formula car classes in particular. As a result, the timetable was adjusted, which meant for the participants of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup that the free practice scheduled for Friday in the early evenings was postponed to early Saturday morning. As a result, there was little time left until qualifying, which was held at the regular time of 2 p.m.
In free practice Larry ten Voorde opened well with the fastest time, while Loek Hartog also finished seventh and Rudy van Buren ninth in the top ten. Max van Splunteren (Team GP Elite, 12th), Jesse van Kuijk (Team GP Elite, 16th), Morris Schuring (Huber Racing, 18th) and Daan van Kuijk (GP Elite, 19th) followed a little further back. There was a technical problem with Jaap van Lagen, which prevented him from finishing 25th, Lucas Groeneveld (GP Elite) finished the free practice in 32nd.
Best Dutchman in qualification
Defending champion Larry ten Voorde was the best Dutchman in qualifying with the second time, determining the positions on the starting grid. He had to concede 0.249 seconds on pole-sitter Dylan Pereira. “My first set of tires went perfectly, but on my second attempt I didn’t quite get a perfect lap, but second place is also a good starting position,” said Ten Voorde. The two Dutch drivers of Huber Racing, Rudy van Buren and Morris Schuring, qualified eighth and eleventh respectively. Behind that was Loek Hartog in twelfth place. “I was even on my way to a second row, but made a mistake in the last corner. That is immediately severely punished in the Supercup,” said Hartog. Max van Splunteren and Jaap van Lagen started in places 15 and 16 and Jesse van Kuijk, Daan van Kuijk and Lucas Groeneveld, all three within two tenths of a second, in 21st, 23rd and 24th respectively, after losing some time. in traffic in the large starting field.
Downpour
The training and qualifying took place on a dry track, but just before the start of the race on Sunday, a heavy shower came down again, after which the race management decided to start the race behind the safety car, in order to give the drivers to get used to the wet conditions. On the fourth lap, the race was officially released. In doing so, Ten Voorde retained second place behind pole-sitter Pereira, despite a small excursion in the Variante Alta, which showed how difficult the conditions were. Morris Schuring also missed the track. In the seventh lap, the safety car came into action again after Italian Leonardo Caglioni ended up in the gravel box at the Piratello corner. The race was reopened on the tenth lap. Ten Voorde retained second place, while Van Buren and Hartog also finished in the top ten, with Jaap van Lagen and Max van Splunteren close behind.
Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup 2022
Larry ten Voorde (NL), Team GP Elite (#25), Dylan Pereira (L), BWT Lechner Racing (#5), Porsche Mobil 1
‘I am quite happy with the second place as a start’
In the end, Pereira drove home the first win of the season relatively unscathed, followed by Ten Voorde, who defended his position with verve. “I didn’t quite have the speed I expected,” he admitted. “I was even hit twice, but luckily saw them coming in the mirror. I am quite happy with the second place.” Rudy van Buren started his first full Supercup season strongly with seventh place, while Loek Hartog in a Dutch get-together with Jaap van Lagen took ninth place in the last round and was thus classified as third ‘rookie’. Van Lagen saw a well-run catch-up race rewarded with tenth position, one place ahead of Max van Splunteren. The rankings of the other Dutchmen: Morris Schuring 14th, Jesse van Kuijk 18th, Lucas Groeneveld 19th and Daan van Kuijk 21st.
The next race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is an absolute classic: the race on the street circuit of Monte Carlo will be held on May 29.