Dylan Pereira has won the season opener for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the Formula 1 circuit in Imola, northern Italy. Undeterred by the rain, the Luxembourger from the BWT Lechner Racing team achieved a superior start-finish victory. Dutchman Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) crossed the finish line in second place ahead of British BWT Lechner driver Harry King. Laurin Heinrich (D/SSR Huber Racing) finished his first Supercup race as a Porsche Junior in fourth place. Danish rookie Bastian Buus showed a strong race in another Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of the BWT Lechner Racing team and was rewarded with fifth place.

Five minutes before the scheduled start, heavy rain set in over the grandstands of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, which were fully occupied for the first time after two years of pandemic-related restrictions. All drivers had their approximately 375 kW (515 hp) Cup nine-elevens converted to profiled rain tyres. For safety reasons, the start took place behind the safety car. Pereira took advantage of the pole position and quickly set himself apart from the chasing field with a clear view of the front. "My car set-up fitted very well with the wet track. My car was very stable in the corners," revealed the Luxembourger, who was on the road with a slightly steeper position of the rear wing compared to qualifying runner-up Larry ten Voorde and thus more downforce on the rear axle. "I was able to concentrate on not making any mistakes and choosing the line with the best grip."

Larry ten Voorde had much more work. The reigning Supercup champion had to defend himself against overtaking attempts by the pursuers for the entire duration of the race, which was interrupted by another safety car phase. At first he had Bastian Buus in his neck, but he fell back to fifth place after a driving error. Harry King then tried everything to get past the GP elite nine-eleven. "I didn't quite have the speed I expected," ten Voorde admitted. "As a result, my race was anything but boring. Twice someone even pushed me slightly. But I saw that coming both times in the rearview mirror and was able to prepare for it. So I'm more than satisfied with second place."

Harry King struggled a bit with the shortened race duration. "I started from seventh place and was able to quickly work my way up to third place. With a few more laps, I might have overtaken Larry," the Briton summed up. On the other hand, King passed Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich on the second lap of the race. "I didn't get my front tyres up to temperature properly. As a result, my race was very difficult. With fourth place, I definitely saved important points," Heinrich analysed.

Bastian Buus was in third place for a long time in his first Supercup race. With fifth place, he finally secured the trophy for the best-placed rookie. The fastest ProAm driver was the Norwegian Roar Lindland from the Martinet by Alméras team.

"It was emotionally overwhelming to see the start of the 30th season of the Porsche Supercup exactly on the race track where it all began in 1993. I'm also extremely impressed with how professionally drivers and teams reacted to the surprising rain just before the start. Despite the difficult conditions, the race also showed motorsport at its finest," commented Michael Dreiser, Head of Sales at Porsche Motorsport.

At the next race, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will once again be racing on one of the most traditional Formula 1 race tracks: From 26 to 29 May 2022, the international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup will be held in Monaco.

Result 1st round Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Imola (I)
1st Dylan Pereira (Luxembourg/BWT Lechner Racing), 30m 09.383s

2nd Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), + 2.014 seconds

3rd Harry King (Great Britain/BWT Lechner Racing), +2.995 seconds

4th Laurin Heinrich (Germany/SSR Huber Racing), + 4.371 seconds

5th Bastian Buus (Denmark/BWT Lechner Racing), +4.659 seconds
6th Dorian Boccolacci (France/Martinet by Alméras), + 7.615 seconds