Monday, September 2, 2019

PMSC: Pereira Holds Off Guven For Spa Victory


Dylan Pereira held off late race pressure from rookie Ayhancan Guven to claim victory at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, in round seven of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup yesterday.

“As a Luxembourger, this was a home race for me. To win in front of my fans, partners and family feels fantastic. I made a slight mistake shortly before the end, but I managed to defend myself well from Ayhancan Güven,” he said.

Starting from pole position, Pereira made a strong start to move ahead of the chasing pack and control the race in the early stages. Guven, meanwhile had to defend from the fast starting Jaxon Evans. As the race wore on, Guven managed to shake off the attention of the New Zealander and set off in pursuit of Pereira.

It wasn’t until the closing stages that Guven was able to take the fight to Pereira and on the final lap he launched a sustained attack, making several attempts to pass the leader, which at one point resulted in the two drivers making contact. However, they were both able to continue unhindered and Pereira just held on to take his second victory of the season following his triumph earlier in the season at Hockenheim. This time though, Pereira was rewarded with twenty championship points unlike in Germany when no points were awarded due to less than fifty percent of the intended race distance being completed.

On finishing second Guven said: “My third podium result so far this season is terrific. I put a lot of pressure on Dylan Pereira towards the end, but he defended himself brilliantly and deserved to win.”

Evans held on to third and was understandably delighted with his first Supercup podium: “I’m really thrilled. My start was great and I managed to beat Larry ten Voorde in the sprint to the first corner.”

Ten Voorde was fourth ahead of Florian Latorre in fifth and Tio Ellinas in sixth.

One of the most exciting battles of the race raged over seventh place with Jaap van Lagen coming out on top ahead of defending champion Michael Ammermuller, who finished eighth, and Julien Andlauer who had to settle for ninth.

The result means that Ammermuller moves level on points with Andlauer at the head of the championship. The Frenchman still holds the lead though, courtesy of more second place finishes so far this season.


In the ProAm class, Roar Lindland maintained his perfect record by claiming his seventh victory of the season. Philipp Sager was second ahead of Clement Mateu in third.

The championship continues next weekend with round eight at Monza in Italy.

Result
Spa-Francorchamps, Race 7 of 10:
1. Dylan Pereira (Momo Megatron Lechner Racing)
2. Ayhancan Güven (martinet by ALMÉRAS)
3. Jaxon Evans (Fach Auto Tech)
4. Larry ten Voorde (MRS GT-Racing)
5. Florian Latorre (Fach Auto Tech)
6. Tio Ellinas (Momo Megatron Lechner Racing)
7. Jaap van Lagen (martinet by ALMÉRAS)
8. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing)
9. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing)
10. Mikkel Pedersen (Dinamic Motorsport)

Points standings after 7 of 10 races
Drivers’ classification:
1. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing), 92 points
2. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing), 92 points
3. Ayhancan Güven (martinet by ALMÉRAS), 76 points

Pereira just held off a determined Ayhancan Guven

This was Pereira's second Supercup victory of the season but his first to result in championship points.


Sunday, August 18, 2019

PCCGB: Harper Claims Historic Thruxton Double

Dan Harper became the first driver to win both races and claim a maximum points haul in a Carrera Cup GB weekend since the reverse grid draw was brought in at the start of last season.

The young Irishman delivered another impressive display to tighten his grip on the championship with six races remaining.

The opening race of the weekend was run on a drying track following rain on Sunday morning. At the end of the formation lap Tom Roche, Dan Vaughan and Lewis Plato dived into the pits to fit wet tyres.

As the lights went out Harper assumed the lead of the race from Josh Webster as both front row men made good starts. However, the trio of drivers on wet tyres looked to have made an inspired choice as they scythed through the field and quickly locked out the top three positions. With just a few laps remaining though, the track began to dry sufficiently enough to suit the slick shod men and Harper set about reclaiming the lost ground. He passed Vaughan and Plato in near identical moves at the Club chicane on consecutive laps before easing past a fading Roche a couple of laps later. He then set about building a commanding lead and stretched the gap to over five seconds by the flag. Webster worked his way back up to second ahead of George Gamble who completed the podium in third.

In race two, a first lap collision between Seb Perez, pole sitter Jamie Orton and Gamble saw the latter instantly eliminated and allowed Webster to swoop into the lead. A lap later Harper found a way past Perez in second and set off in pursuit of Webster. The decisive moment of the race came on lap 11 when Harper cleverly jinked one way and then the next to wrong foot Webster on the run into Club and dived down the inside to take the lead at the chicane. It would be a lead he would never relinquish and he headed Webster over the line to complete a memorable weekend. Lewis Plato was third after making a decisive move to pass Perez early on in the race.

Esmee Hawkey completed a fine Pro-Am double victory to take the category championship lead, while in the Am division John Ferguson won both races to close the gap to points leader Justin Sherwood.

Dan Harper leads Josh Webster, this would prove to be the theme of the weekend.

PCCD: Andlauer Holds Off Ammermuller to Complete Nurburgring Double Victory


Julien Andlauer held off experienced team mate and title rival Michael Ammermuller in a gripping duel at the Nurburgring to win for the second time this weekend in the Carrera Cup Deutschland. The Frenchman crossed the line just 0.182 seconds clear of Ammermuller to extend his championship lead to 23.5 points.

“Actually I was really fast. Unfortunately I made a mistake during the race and Michael Ammermüller caught me and was right on my bumper until the end of the race,” said Andlauer.

Andlauer made a good start to maintain his lead from pole position, and after a short safety car period on lap two, he pulled clear of the chasing pack. However, as the race wore on Ammermuller relentlessly pursued and hunted him down. Try as he might, though, the double Supercup champion could not find a way through despite several attempts to squeeze by on the run into turn one.

“I definitely could’ve won, but there are only very few places to overtake here. There’s no point impetuously going for a gap and risking retirement. Everything is still open in the championship,” said Ammermüller.

Dylan Pereira was third, to complete a 1-2-3 finish for Walter Lechner’s team, matching their result in the first race.

“My aim is to finish the championship in third and I took the next step towards this goal today. It gives me confidence that I made it into the top three for the fourth time in a row,” said Pereira.

Larry ten Voorde was fourth ahead of team mate Henric Skoog, with Jaap van Lagen rounding out the top six.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland continues on the weekend of the 14th/15th of September at Hockenheim.

Result race 12:
1. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing)
2. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing)
3. Dylan Pereira (Lechner Racing Team)
4. Larry ten Voorde (Overdrive Racing by Huber)
5. Henric Skoog (Overdrive Racing by Huber)
6. Jaap van Lagen (Förch Racing)
7. Joey Mawson (CARTECH Motorsport by Nigrin)
8. Igor Walilko (Overdrive Racing by Huber)
9. Gustav Malja (Förch Racing)
10. Toni Wolf (Car Collection Motorsport)


Points’ standings after 12 of 16 races:
Drivers’ classification
1. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing), 197.5 points
2. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing), 174 points
3. Larry ten Voorde (Overdrive Racing by Huber), 154 points

Julien Andlauer won both races at the Nurburgring this weekend.


Saturday, August 17, 2019

PCCGB: Harper Pips Webster to Thruxton Pole

Championship leader Dan Harper took his fourth pole position of the year as he edged former champion Josh Webster in a gripping session at Thruxton.

The 18-year-old Porsche junior left it late to lap the Hampshire circuit in a best time of 1:13.420s to beat Webster by just 0.067 seconds.

Early pace setter George Gamble was third fastest for Redline Racing ahead of Motorbase Performance’s Lewis Plato who was fourth.

Esmee Hawkey continued her recent Porsche purple patch by taking Pro-Am Pole ahead of category points leader Karl Leonard.

John Ferguson took a comprehensive Am pole as he headed nearest rival Peter Kyle-Henney by almost one second.

Round nine will take place at 10:40 tomorrow, Sunday 18 August, while round ten will take place at 15:50 with live coverage on ITV4.

Dan Harper claimed his fourth pole of the season.

Josh Webster will start from the front row and scored a double podium the last time the Carrera Cup visited Thruxton.

PCCD: Andlauer Wins Nurburgring Opener to Extend Championship Lead


Julien Andlauer claimed a lights to flag victory in the first Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland race of the weekend at the Nurburgring.

The race was anything but straight forward for the Frenchman though, as a race strewn with safety car periods saw his lead repeatedly nullified. This led to extreme pressure, firstly, from title rival and team mate Michael Ammermuller, and later in the race, from Dylan Pereira, after the Luxembourger found a way past the Porsche veteran.  Despite Pereira’s best efforts Andlauer was not to be beaten and the pair crossed the line separated by just 0.358 seconds.

“At first it wasn’t easy to get the tyres up to the right temperature on the damp track. Everything went smoothly then until I lost my front lip when I drove over the kerb. That was a big setback. So it makes me even happier that I managed to defend myself to the finish line,” said Andlauer.

Of his third consecutive Carrera Cup podium Pereira said: “Of course it’s a little disappointing not to win. Still, for me, it’s a great result for the championship.”

Ammermuller finished third but was incredibly frustrated post-race. “I was faster than Julien Andlauer, but I came under increasing pressure from Dylan Pereira and I had to fight to defend myself. In view of the overall classification, it would have been too risky so I let him pass. When I attempted to counterattack shortly afterwards, he blocked me and our vehicles touched.”

Toni Wolf secured his best result of the season so far in fourth, ahead of practice pace setter Jaap van Lagen.

In the amateur class, Stefan Rehkopf claimed his fifth victory of the season to take the lead of his class championship.

Round twelve of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes place tomorrow at 11:40 CEST with Andlauer once again starting from pole position.

Result race 11:
1. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing)
2. Dylan Pereira (Lechner Racing Team)
3. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing)
4. Toni Wolf (Car Collection Motorsport)
5. Jaap van Lagen (Förch Racing)
6. Joey Mawson (CARTECH Motorsport by Nigrin)
7. David Kolkmann (Black Falcon)
8. Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (Lechner Racing Team)
9. Larry ten Voorde (Overdrive Racing by Huber)
10. Henric Skoog (Overdrive Racing by Huber)


Points standings after 11 of 16 races:
Drivers’ classification
1. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing), 172.5 points
2. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing), 154 points
3. Larry ten Voorde (Overdrive Racing by Huber), 141 points


Andlauer leads the pack in the early stages of the race.
Photo credit: Porsche Motorsport

Porsche Carrera Cup GB so far: Harper Steals a March on Rivals


With four rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB gone and four remaining, it seems a perfect time to take stock of what has happened so far. Dan Harper currently holds a 20 point lead after winning four of the first eight races.

Harper laid down an instant marker by grabbing pole position for the opening race at Brands Hatch Indy and converting it into a lights to flag victory. He also set the fastest lap to claim a maximum points haul from the opening race. Lewis Plato was second, after forcing Seb Perez into a late race mistake at Paddock Hill Bend. This meant the Redline Racing driver was forced to settle for the final place on the podium in third, ahead of his team mate George Gamble.

Harper started the season with a win and has led the championship ever since.


In race two, the reverse grid draw put Gamble on pole and he duly took full advantage by converting his advantageous grid slot into victory. Lewis Plato made it a brace of second places for the weekend after jumping Perez off the line. However, he was forced to defend vehemently from a hard charging Harper in the closing stages. The JTR driver however, couldn’t find a way through and was forced to settle for third. In Pro-Am, Karl Leonard claimed a brace of victories, while in the Am class Peter Mangion and Justin Sherwood took a victory apiece.

The next stop for the championship was the East Midlands and Donington Park. The main news heading into the weekend was the return of 2014 champion Josh Webster to the series with Team Parker Racing. Webster wasted little time in showing his intent by claiming pole position. However, he made a poor start and fellow front row starter Gamble went all the way around the outside of him at the first corner, Redgate, to take the lead. Harper moved into second and Plato assumed third, leaving Webster fourth by the end of the first lap. On lap nine, Harper made what proved to be the decisive move, diving down the inside of Gamble into Redgate to take a lead he would never relinquish. A lap later Plato swooped around the outside of Gamble for second but as the rain began to fall on lap 11, Plato ran wide and off the road, losing second to Gamble and third to Webster in the process. This would remain the order at the flag.

In race two, Webster atoned for not making the most of his pole position in the first race by winning from fourth on the grid. An aggressive start saw the former champion up to second behind Dan Vaughan by the time the pack had exited the Craner Curves. Following a short safety car period after a collision between Rob Boston and Jamie Orton, Webster pulled off a well-executed overtake at Coppice to take the lead from Vaughan. Plato, Harper, Gamble and Roche would all also find a way past Vaughan in the remaining laps. However, Webster stole the headlines with a dominant victory as he crossed the line nearly five seconds clear of second placed Plato. Jack McCarthy dominated Pro-Am with a double victory, whilst Justin Sherwood and John Ferguson shared the wins in the Am category.


Josh Webster marked his return to the series with a win at Donington Park.


The series moved north to Croft for rounds five and six of the championship, and as always, the Darlington track really mixed up the title battle and also provided a surprise race winner. In the opener Dan Harper absolutely dominated from pole position and had a five second lead as he rounded the final corner of the last lap. That was until he was a little eager on the throttle as he tried to finish the race in style. Unfortunately for the JTR man, his car rotated into a full 360 degree spin. However, Harper managed to keep the engine running and got the car back pointing in the right direction in just enough time to cross the line first, a mere four tenths of a second ahead of Josh Webster. Jamie Orton took an impressive overall podium by finishing third on the road while Seb Perez was fourth but the third Pro over the line. The race was a disaster for two of Harper’s title rivals Gamble and Plato as the two collided on the opening lap, this sent Gamble into a tyre stack and then spearing into the barriers. This damaged his car so severely that it ruled him out of the rest of the weekend. Plato was severely delayed and limped home ninth overall.

The second race was the most chaotic and unpredictable of the season so far as rain started to fall on the formation lap. It also saw history made as Karl Leonard became the first non-Pro driver to win a race outright since the Carrera Cup GB started in 2003. This resulted in everyone but Perez, Webster and Harper diving for the pits for wet tyres instead of taking the start. Jack McCarthy was the first driver out on wet tyres and he quickly set about catching the three drivers on dry tyres. McCarthy soon succeeded and assumed the lead of the race. Shortly after this, Webster pitted for wets and a lap later both Harper and Perez followed suit. On lap seven an off for John Ferguson at Clervaux caused the safety car to be deployed and closed the field up. At the restart, a slight off track excursion from McCarthy cost him the lead to Leonard. This would be a lead the Irishman would keep until the flag to take his first ever Carrera Cup win. McCarthy was second from Plato who won the Pro class ahead of Motorbase team mate Dan Vaughan. Webster was fifth overall and third in Pro just ahead of points leader Harper. Peter Kyle-Henney completed a double Am victory by just holding off Justin Sherwood.

Karl Leonard won for the first time in the Carrera Cup.

Lewis Plato finished as the top Pro in a crazy second race at Croft and is Harper's closest championship rival.


At Oulton Park order was restored as the Pro drivers dominated proceedings. Harper took his third pole position of the year and as before, made no mistake in converting it into an untroubled lights to flag victory. Plato was second ahead of Gamble in third, while there was a season’s best performance from Tom Roche in fourth. The reverse grid put newly reclassified Pro Jamie Orton on pole from Roche but it was Gamble who dominated the race. The Redline driver launched past Roche off the line and piled the pressure on early leader Orton. This pressure eventually told as Gamble got alongside coming out of Lodge and dived down the inside on the run into Old Hall. He then set about building a dominant lead and was never troubled on his way to his second victory of the season. Orton held on to secure a season’s best second position. Lewis Plato was third but had to withstand race long pressure from Harper in what was an intense and fascinating battle. Karl Leonard and Esmee Hawkey shared the Pro-Am victories; this was Hawkey’s first win of the season. In the Am category Peter Kyle-Henney and Justin Sherwood claimed a win apiece.

George Gamble has won twice this season including at the most recent round at Oulton Park.


Championship Standings after eight rounds:
1)      Dan Harper (JTR) – 81pts
2)      Lewis Plato (Motorbase Performance)- 61pts
3)      George Gamble (Redline Racing)- 49pts
4)      Josh Webster (Team Parker Racing)- 40pts
5)      Dan Vaughan (Motorbase Performance)- 31pts

Pro-Am:
1)      Karl Leonard (Team Parker Racing)- 68pts
2)      Esmee Hawkey (GT Marques)- 59pts
3)      Jack McCarthy (Redline Racing)- 50pts

Am:
1)      Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing)- 81pts
2)      Peter Kyle-Henney (In2Racing)- 58pts
3)      John Ferguson (In2Racing)- 47pts

All photos courtesy of Porsche GB.

Sunday, August 11, 2019

PCCD: Ammermuller Wins to Complete Zandvoort Double

Michael Ammermuller won a curtailed second race at Zandvoort to complete a perfect weekend and move to within five and a half points of the championship lead.

Ammermuller made a good start but was forced to defend for a considerable proportion of the race by the hard charging Jaap van Lagen. The Dutchman made a better start than Julien Andlauer in second place on the grid, and jumped him into turn one. He then pressured Ammermuller but couldn’t find a way through; not helped by two safety car periods. The race finished under the second one and with less than 75% of the intended race distance completed half points were awarded.

“The rain in the morning left some sections of the racetrack a little damp, and that made the first laps very challenging. For this reason, I drove a little more cautiously. Jaap van Lagen took a little more risk but I managed to successfully fend him off,” said Ammermüller.

“My start went really well. In my duel with Michael Ammermüller there was only one real opportunity for me to overtake. However, the risk was too high. Climbing the podium at my home race feels great,” said van Lagen.

Larry ten Voorde crossed the line third but was handed a 30 second penalty after the race for what was deemed unnecessary contact whilst overtaking Andlauer. This saw him finish outside of the points paying positions for the first time this season.

This promoted Dylan Pereira to third, ahead of Igor Walilko and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer. Julien Andlauer completed the top six to maintain his slender championship lead.

In the Am class Stefan Rehkopf was victorious, ahead of Matthias Jeserich and Andreas Sczepansky.

The championship continues next weekend at the Nurburgring for rounds 11 & 12 of the series.

Result race 10:
1. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing)
2. Jaap van Lagen (Förch Racing)
3. Dylan Pereira (Lechner Racing Team)
4. Igor Walilko (Overdrive Racing by Huber)
5. Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (Lechner Racing Team)
6. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing)
7. Luca Rettenbacher (MSG/HRT Motorsport)
8. Jaxon Evans (Team Project 1 – JBR)
9. Berkay Besler (Car Collection Motorsport)
10. David Kolkmann (Black Falcon)

Championship standings after 10 of 16 races:
1. Julien Andlauer (BWT Lechner Racing), 143.5 points
2. Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing), 138 points
3. Larry ten Voorde (Overdrive Racing by Huber), 134 points

Ammermuller holds off a hard charging Jaap van Lagen to lead the pack on the opening lap.
Ammermuller celebrates his fourth Carrera Cup victory of the season on the podium.

Julien Andlauer left Zandvoort as the new points leader.



PMSC: Pereira Holds Off Guven For Spa Victory

Dylan Pereira held off late race pressure from rookie Ayhancan Guven to claim victory at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, in round seven of the...