Back on pole position – Dylan Pereira makes a comeback
A long dry spell has ended for Dylan Pereira at the Red Bull Ring: The Luxembourger turned the fastest lap during qualifying for round three of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Fittingly, he set pole position for the first time in almost a year on the home turf of his BWT Lechner Racing team. After the first two races of the season, the reigning vice-champion currently ranks 17th in the standings. “I’m pleased that everything finally ran perfectly again. Last weekend here in Spielberg, things didn’t go so well for me. Since then, my team has worked hard and my car now has a significantly better setup,” commented Pereira.
The military athlete was just 0.118 seconds faster than Jaxon Evans (Martinet by Alméras) on the 4.318-kilometre Formula 1 circuit. “When I went out on my second set of tyres, yellow flags came out so I had to slow down slightly. After that my tyre pressure wasn’t ideal. Had this not happened, perhaps I could have beaten Dylan’s time,” explained the New Zealander, who had turned the fastest lap in Friday’s free practice at the wheel of his ca. 375 kW (515 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
For the Turkish Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven, the hunt for pole position was also less than ideal on the second set of tyres. Despite rounding off the strong qualifying result for the BWT Lechner Racing squad with the third quickest time, he was anything but happy. “On my flying lap, the intermediate times in the first two sectors looked like I’d set a new top time. Unfortunately, a colleague hampered me in the last sector.”
Championship leader Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), the winner of last weekend’s Spielberg race, posted the fourth quickest time. Taking up Sunday’s race from the third grid row is Germany’s Laurin Heinrich (Nebulus Racing by Huber), who won a round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on the Red Bull Ring three weeks ago. Lining up alongside him is Marius Nakken (FACH AUTO TECH) from Norway. Positions 1 to 22 are separated by less than a second.
Pereira celebrates a comeback on the very track where he claimed second place and a win in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in 2020. In contrast, the defending vice-champion is experiencing mixed fortunes this season. Race 1 in Monaco: fastest in free practice, accident in qualifying, last grid spot to eleventh place in the race. Race 2 last weekend in Spielberg: eighth in qualifying, only 25th in the race after an accident and time penalties. “A mere five points from two races is not how I imagined the start of the season. I hope I’ve broken my unlucky streak. Now the pursuit begins,” said a confident Pereira.
Round three of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup over 18 laps starts on Sunday (4 July 2021) at 12:15 pm CEST. Hollywood star Michael Fassbender tackles the event in the No. 911 VIP car. The German-Irish actor, who usually contests the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) in a Porsche 911 RSR, makes his second guest appearance in Porsche’s international one-make cup.
The TV channels Eurosport and Sky Sport and the streaming service f1tv.formula1.com provide a live broadcast. Fans can also follow the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup action with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at any time on the social networks Twitter (@PorscheSupercup / @PorscheRaces), Instagram (@PorscheSupercup) and Facebook (@PorscheSupercup). The full qualifying results can be found on: https://motorsports.porsche.com/usa/en/article/2021/03/12/pmsc-2021-results
Qualifying result, race 3 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Spielberg (A)
1. Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing), 1.30.911 minutes
2. Jaxon Evans (NZ/Martinet by Alméras), +0.118 seconds
3. Ayhancan Güven (TR/BWT Lechner Racing), +0.166 seconds
4. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), +0.239 seconds
5. Laurin Heinrich (D/Nebulus Racing by Huber), +0.259 seconds
6. Marius Nakken (N/FACH AUTO TECH), +0.268 seconds