- ain-delayed rolling start behind the safety car
- Marvin Klein completes one-two victory for Schumacher CLRT
- Robert de Haan finishes third and as best-placed rookie
Larry ten Voorde is the man to beat in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in 2024. At Silverstone, the Dutchman prevailed once again in the fourth race of the international one-make cup season with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Ten Voorde took victory on the Formula 1 circuit north of London ahead of his French Schumacher CLRT teammate Marvin Klein. Third place and victory in the Rookie classification went to Robert de Haan. The Dutchman drives for BWT Lechner Racing.
Typical Silverstone: Following a sunny morning, heavy rain set in shortly before the start of the Supercup race. Subsequently, a so-called rolling start behind the safety car was planned. However, after one lap behind the lead car, race director Peter Roberts decided to call the field back into the pit lane due to safety concerns. “Absolutely the right decision,” confirmed Larry ten Voorde, the fastest driver in qualifying. “I was struggling with aquaplaning even at the comparatively slow pace behind the safety car.”
Just a few minutes later, the sun reappeared and the 29 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars took to the wet track once more. After two more laps behind the safety car, race control finally released the rolling start.
Larry ten Voorde and Marvin Klein, second fastest in qualifying, were locked in a thrilling duel for the lead over the opening kilometres. Ten Voorde managed to defend the lead against his teammate and then controlled the race on the slowly drying track. Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti, Schumacher CLRT’s third driver, could not retain his third position from qualifying for long. Harry King and Robert de Haan, the two fastest drivers from the BWT Lechner Racing team, overtook him in quick succession. Rookie de Haan then made light work of his experienced teammate and set off in pursuit of the ten Voorde/Klein duo.
Shortly before the end of the race, the safety car was once again deployed when a competitor spun off into a gravel bed – and round four of the Supercup finished behind the safety car. The running order remained unchanged as a result.
“The duel with Marvin was thrilling and 100 per cent fair. We were side by side several times, but always gave each other space,” said ten Voorde, describing the decisive seconds of the race. “The conditions were still very tricky. I tried to overtake Larry – but it just didn’t work out. Even with second place, I managed to score a heap of points for the championship,” summarised Klein. The Frenchman reduced the gap to King, who is ahead of him in the overall standings, to eight points.
Behind the Briton, Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti crossed the finish line in fifth place. Sixth place went to South African Keagan Masters (Ombra). Together with Robert de Hann, Dutchman Kas Haverkort (Uniserver by Team GP Elite) and, for the first time, German Lirim Zendeli (Ombra) stepped onto the Rookie podium.
After four of eight races, ten Voorde (100 points) leads the overall standings, followed by King (74) and Klein (66). The Rookie leader at the halfway point of the season is Haverkort, sitting just one point ahead of de Haan. Schumacher CLRT leads the team standings.
“The fact that Larry ten Voorde was once again unbeatable in these tricky conditions proves that he’s in a class of his own behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Congratulations also to Schumacher CLRT on this dominant team performance. I’m curious to see whether other drivers will be able to join the three-way battle between Larry ten Voorde, Harry King and Marvin Klein in the latter half of the season. The Rookie classification is exciting too, three drivers – Kas Haverkort, Robert de Haan and Theo Oeverhaus – have pulled away slightly from the chasing pack,” commented Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
He welcomed a special guest to the paddock at Silverstone: Peter Gabriel, founding member of the rock band Genesis and successful solo artist (“Solsbury Hill”), made the trip to Silverstone to find out more about Porsche’s international one-make cup.
The Supercup teams now travel from Great Britain to Hungary. The Formula 1 circuit near Budapest will host the fifth race of the season from 19 to 21 July 2024.
Result round 4 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Silverstone (UK)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), 11 laps
2. Marvin Klein (F/Schumacher CLRT), +0.478 seconds
3. Robert de Haan (NL/BWT Lechner Racing), +0.826 seconds
4. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), +1.105 seconds
5. Porsche-Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (F/Schumacher CLRT), +1.644 seconds
6. Keagan Masters (I/Ombra), +2.066 seconds
Overall standings Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (after 4 of 8 races)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), 100 points
2. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), 74 points
3. Marvin Klein (F/Schumacher CLRT), 66 points
