Porsche Mobil1 Supercup now becomes even more exciting

The fight for pole position in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup now becomes even more exciting. A new qualifying format with two sessions will be introduced for Sunday’s race on the Nürburgring. Remaining unchanged is the first 25 minute session where all competitors go out for top times. After a five-minute break, only the top ten on the time list may go back out on the track to spend the next 15 minutes fighting for the first ten grid positions. Jens Walther, Head of Porsche Makes Cups: “This new qualifying format is a stimulating element for our race series and is guaranteed to provide spectators at the track with gripping action from the first to the last minute.”

Local hero, Renè Rast, is keen to contribute to the fans getting their money’s worth in the Eifel. There was hardly a better way to motivate the German for his upcoming home race than with his first victory in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. “Now I want to win on the Nürburgring as well,” said the German VELTINS MRS Racing pilot after his success at Silverstone. Rast is not yet thinking about winning the title, “but we want to create a bit of a stir amongst the leaders.”

The signs for an interesting race on the Nürburgring look good. René Rast is not the only serious pursuer of points’ leader Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands), who is again on track for championship laurels after claiming three victories with his Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Richard Westbrook from Great Britain is back in the fight for the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup title. In Silverstone, instead of adding to his two victories so far this season (Barcelona and Monaco), the Federsand-Jetstream Motorsport pilot defended his lead in the FIA GT Championship (GT2) in Oschersleben. Another rival to breathe down Bleekemolen’s neck alongside René Rast and Richard Westbrook is his compatriot Patrick Huisman. Driving for the SPS Performance squad, the Supercup specialist is eager to increase his total number of Supercup wins to 25.

The three strongest contenders chasing front-runner Jeroen Bleekemolen are separated by just two points heading into the second half of the season. Competing for Federsand-Jetstream, Matt Halliday, the Supercup rookie from New Zealand, still has a chance to break into the top three of the championship. Another hopeful is Stefan Rosina from Slovakia (Walter Lechner Racing School), who awaits his breakthrough this season and is ready to make a renewed charge for a podium result on the Nürburgring.

After making a successful start to their season at the British round in Silverstone, two of Germany’s young racing hopes, Lance David Arnold and Christian Engelhart, are also determined to perform well in front of home crowds: Above all, the ex-Porsche junior Arnold, who contests the rest of the season in the third car of the SPS Performance squad, made an excellent start at his Supercup comeback. After his strong drive to secure sixth in Silverstone, the young German could be good for a surprise on the Nürburgring.

Television stations “Eurosport” (11.45 hrs) and “Premiere” (11.30 hrs) broadcast the race on the Nürburgring live on 12th July. In addition, “Eurosport” televises highlights of the race on Sunday evening in its “Motorsports Weekend” programme.