Bastian Buus from the BWT Lechner Racing team set the fastest time in practice on Friday and also dominated the qualifying session for round five of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. On the Formula 1 circuit in Le Castellet, southern France, the 19-year-old Supercup rookie from Denmark secured his first ever pole position for a race of the international one-make cup. Second fastest time was posted by Frenchman Marvin Klein driving for the CLRT squad. Third and fourth fastest were Harry King from England and series leader Dylan Pereira from Luxembourg, like Buus both competing for Robert Lechner’s team. Round five of the Supercup gets underway on Sunday (24 July 2022) at 11:45 am CEST just before the French Grand Prix Formula 1 race.

Bastian Buus has emerged as the fastest rookie of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup since the start of the season. In the qualifying session for round five, the 19-year-old from the seaport city of Kolding in Denmark outpaced also all the experienced drivers for the first time. Buus lapped the 5.842-kilometre Formula 1 circuit at Le Castellet in his ca. 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by BWT Lechner Racing 0.122 seconds faster than Frenchman Marvin Klein (CLRT). “My first flying lap was the fastest at that point. That put the others under pressure. I didn’t need to go all-out during the second attempt. I just drove as smoothly as I could and was even faster,” shared Buus after the session.

Klein’s second place is also his best qualifying result so far this season. “After my first hot lap, we tweaked the setup of my car slightly, so my second lap was even better,” reported the reigning champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup France. However, his strong performance was clouded by a penalty from the previous race in Austria: As a result, Klein has to relinquish his second grid spot and takes up Sunday’s race from P5.

In contrast to his BWT Lechner Racing teammate Buus, the qualifying for Harry King proved extremely stressful. “I had to come into the pits twice to get a new front splitter, so I only had time for one flying lap,” said the UK driver, who posted third fastest time in qualifying. However, because of Klein’s penalty, King takes up the race from the first grid row. Lying in wait behind them sit the current series leader Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing) and defending champion Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite). Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich (D/SSR Huber Racing) qualified on P7. “I’m seven-tenths of a second off pole position. To be honest, I don’t know where I can find those fractions of a second,” said the puzzled 20-year-old from Germany.

Porsche Junior drives a racing oldie: Laurin Heinrich in the 911 RSR from 1973
Laurin Heinrich was born in 2001. The racing car in which the Porsche Junior delighted spectators last weekend at the “Solitude Revival” is more than twice his age: a Porsche 911 RSR 2.8 from 1973, which today is one of the treasures of the Porsche Museum. Heinrich turned demo laps in the former works car on the historic racetrack near Stuttgart, which from 1961 to 1964 even hosted Formula 1 races. “No power steering, no brake booster, H-pattern gear shift. That’s really hard work – but it’s fantastic,” beamed Laurin Heinrich after his outing in the ca. 221 kW (300 PS) GT racer, which Porsche designed back then for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, among others.

Porsche 911 RSR 2.8 (1973), Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich (D), Solitude Revival 2022

Like in 1973, Porsche continues the concept of developing winning racing cars from production vehicles. For the 911 RSR 2.8, the starting point was the legendary Porsche 911 RSR 2.7 with its distinctive “ducktail spoiler”. The latest Supercup 911 is also based on a GT production model. Compared to the 911 RSR, the Supercup 911 with electrically assisted power steering and shift paddles offers drivers more comfort. In one respect, however, the 1973 racing oldie seems to have an advantage. “The temperatures in the cockpit of the RSR are more pleasant,” states Laurin Heinrich after his journey into Porsche’s racing past.

Round five of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on TV and the Internet
The 13-lap race on the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet takes off on Sunday (24 July 2022) at 11:45 am CEST. The TV station Eurosport2 broadcasts the race live. Moreover, the streaming service f1tv.formula1.com also airs the Supercup race.

Qualifying result, round 5 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Le Castellet (F)
1. Bastian Buus (DK/BWT Lechner Racing), 2:04.689 minutes
2. Marvin Klein (F/CLRT), +0.122 seconds
3. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), +0.139 seconds
4. Dylan Pereira (L/BWT Lechner Racing), +0.252 seconds
5. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), +0.429 seconds
6. Morris Schuring (NL/Huber Racing), +0.698 seconds

Full qualifying results:
https://motorsports.porsche.com/germany/de/category/mobil1supercup/pmsc-2022-results