Written by Sameena Khan, Edited by Owen Bradley
Credit: Porsche Press
The final race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season occurred at the iconic Autodrome Nationale Monza and was nothing short of dramatic. With four safety cars, multiple yellow flags, and a race that came down to the final seconds, it was perhaps the most dramatic race from this Porsche Supercup season.
Larry Ten Voorde for Schumacher CLRT, who had two Porsche championships under his belt, started from second position, with Harry King for BWT Lechner Racing starting in third position. At the front of the grid was the second BWT driver, Robert De Haan, racing for his position as the Rookie Champion. Ten Voorde had to finish P11 or higher to win the championship, King had to win with Ten Voorde finishing lower than P12 to win the championship, and the Rookie Championship was tight between Haverkorta and De Haan.
De Haan had a rough start to the race, with Ten Voorde taking the lead into the first corner. De Haan eventually dropped to third place, but King managed to make up one position to fourth. However, the racing did not last long as Ariel Levi, driving for Universal GP Elite, went off into the barriers in the second sector. A safety car was sent out, and Ten Voorde was able to pit under the safety car to replace his rear right. At this point, Kas Haverkort, driving for Team GP Elite, had now gained seven positions, placing him in contention for the Rookie Championship.
Credit: Porsche Press
The safety car ended on the third lap, and all the cars were backed up behind Ten Voorde, who waited until the final corner to finally take off, leading the cars into lap four. Harry King remained in P.4 or the entire lap. Further down the grid, Proton Huber Comptiton driver Alexander Tauscher, moved up to sixth position at Curva Grande. King set a fastest lap during Lap 5 but it was not enough to make up any positions towards his potential championship win. After a brief yellow flag in Sector One due to Tauscher spinning off, lap five ended smoothly and was perhaps the last time this race was not dramatic.
In Lap 6, Ghiretti took the race lead from Ten Voorde in a dramatic overtake. De Haan went wide and rejoined side by side with the race lead, eventually giving the place back and dropping back down to third position. Again, the racing did not last long with Aldo Festante, the Dinamic Motorsport SRL driver, going off in Turn One and being unable to leave the gravel. A yellow flag came out, but with the Dinamic Motorsport SRL car remaining beached, a safety car had to be deployed and did not end until the end of Lap Eight.
Twelve minutes on the clock, and the pressure was evidently on. King overtook De Haan going into Turn One, moving up to third position. Rookie De Haan then went wide, again, and dropped to eighth position - at this point, he had to finish in the top ten if he wanted to win the Rookie Championship as his main competition, Haverkort, was in the points. A dangerous re-entry from Risto Vukov, Ombra SRL driver, saw his car almost ending De Haan's race early. The Rookie Championship was now back in Haverkorts hands until he went over the chicane and De Haan made up more positions.
Credit: Porsche Press
Eventually, Haverkort was in the lead of the Rookie Championship once more but a small mistake saw him going off; he was now down in 16th after the roger chicane and De Haan had the Rookie Championship in his hands… again. Again, the racing did not last long as another Safety Car was deployed after Prima Ghinzani driver Simone Laquinta beached his car into the gravel. Five minutes and twenty seconds of racing time remained going into Lap Twelve and the Safety Car was still deployed. As it stood, Ghiretti was winning the final race, Ten Voorde was defending his second position against King and De Haan and Haverkort were still fighting for the Rookie Championship with one point between them.
One minute of racing remained when the third safety car returned to the pits. The final lap began. Ghiretti had continued to lead, his first win in the Porsche Supermobil Cup was in his hands, and Ten Voorde was close behind, the second-time Championship driver soon to be a third. King was in P.3 with Eijndhoven, Masters, and Klein all following in close pursuit. The BWT driver, De Haan, was making no progress and trying to defend into the second chicane. Haverkort had the Rookie Championship in his hands and only had to stay in position. As the drivers came around the final few corners to finish the Porsche Mobi1 Supercup season, the Safety Car also fancied one final lap. A blur of green and white could be seen further down the grid as Martinet by Almeras driver, Victor Bernier, went off the track and then unsafely rejoined right into the path of Haverkort. Like bowling pins, the impact sent Haverkort across the track and straight into the Proton Huber of Sebastian Freymuth, causing both cars to retire. In the final seconds, the Rookie Championship was now back in the hands of De Haan, and Haverkort's dreams were over as the fourth and final safety car was deployed.
As the drivers came over the finish line, Ghiretti took his first win, with Ten Voorde becoming the three-time Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Champion and King coming in third, making him second in the championship—one higher than his third-place finish in 2023. After a tough race, De Haan was crowned Rookie Championship, with second going to Haverkort. Out of 32 cars, five did not finish, and car 28 of Giuseppe Guirreri for Prima Ghinzani Motorsport finished with a five-second penalty due to a false start.
Credit: Porsche Press
With such a dramatic end to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercut season, it is exciting to see what the next season has in store for us. Will Harry King finally claim the championship, or will Ten Voorde continue to defend? Or will a different driver take us by surprise? Either way, it is an exciting future, and with so many promising rookies in the standings, it is definitely a racing series to keep our eyes on.
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Results
Alessandro GHIRETTI
Larry TEN VOORDE (Championship Winner)
Harry KING
Huub VAN EIJNDHOVEN
Keagan MASTERS
Marvin KLEIN
Robert DE HAAN (Rookie Championship Winner)
Wouter BOEREKAMPS
Risto VUKOV
Gianmarco QUARESMINI
Francesco BRASCHI
Lirim ZENDELI
Theo OEVERHAUS
Louis ROUSSET
Pietro ARMANNI
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