Larry ten Voorde set the fastest time in qualifying for the 300th race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. The reigning champion from the Netherlands drove in the pouring rain to pole position for the fifth round of the international one-make cup season with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The GP Elite driver's lead over Luxembourg's Dylan Pereira (BWT Lechner Racing) was clear at 0.568 seconds for Supercup conditions.

"With the start of qualifying, it started to rain heavily – so the conditions were extremely difficult. In addition, I ran into a colleague on my first fast lap. But I stayed calm and concluded another very good lap," said Ten Voorde, the current leader of the standings. Dylan Pereira, for whom the Formula 1 track at Spa-Francorchamps is almost a home track, first had to get used to driving the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the rain. "Sections like Eau Rouge or Blanchimont are a big challenge even when the sun is shining. In the rain, the adrenaline rush is even greater," the Luxembourger described.

As the third fastest in qualifying, the Frenchman Florian Latorre (CLRT) was able to keep the second in the standings, Martinet by Alméras driver Jaxon Evans from New Zealand, behind him. Behind the simultaneous GP Elite driver Max van Splunteren (NL), his only 16-year-old compatriot Morris Schuring secured sixth place. The youngest participant from the second team of GP Elite is coached by Larry ten Voorde. Ayhancan Güven qualified for seventh place on the grid. "My car was set up for a dry track," admitted the Turkish Porsche Junior, who competes for the BWT Lechner Racing team. "To be honest, I didn't expect such heavy rain." Also in the race on Sunday precipitation is not unlikely.

In addition to the obvious, the rain tyres, the teams also have to adapt their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to a wet track in other details: "We place the rear spoiler steeper in the wind so that it generates more downforce on the rear axle and the rear wheels build up better grip," says polesetter Ten Voorde. This effect requires adjusting the brake balance towards the rear axle. "What you absolutely have to avoid are locking front wheels when braking, because then you can no longer steer," explains the reigning champion. For further increased road grip of the tires, softer adjusted stabilizers ensure. "On wet tracks, I also drive more aggressively over the curbs to reach a more direct ideal line," reveals Porsche Junior Güven. "To ensure that the front splitter is not damaged, I have the ground clearance of my car increased." Another conceivable measure would be the use of shock absorbers with rain tuning. However, this is excluded in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in order to keep the costs for the teams within limits. "But that's not a problem, because everyone drives with the same shock absorber set-up anyway," adds Güven.

The fifth round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will run over eleven laps on Sunday (29 August 2021) from 12:05

CEST. The TV channel Sky Sport and the streaming service f1tv.formula1.com broadcast the race live. Fans can also follow the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at any time on the social networks Twitter (@PorscheSupercup and @PorscheRaces), Instagram (@PorscheSupercup) and Facebook (@PorscheSupercup). Full result of qualifying: