Fastest in free practice, twice on pole position and winner of both races – Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) enjoyed a perfect start to the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland season. After his victory on Friday, the Dutchman followed up with another win on Saturday ahead of Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing) and Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech). “I’m over the moon with this top result. We prepared intensively during tests and that has now totally paid off. It was important that I kept complete concentration over the entire race distance,” said ten Voorde. At the opening round held as support to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on the Belgian Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, 29 drivers treated fans to gripping races with the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Spearheaded by polesitter ten Voorde, the competitors rolled onto the grid in bright sunshine and an outside temperature of ten degrees Celsius. The GP Elite driver beat Heinrich in the sprint to the first corner – but the duel for the lead was not yet a foregone conclusion. After ten Voorde pulled almost a second clear of his pursuer, Heinrich proceeded to close the gap to the leader as the race progressed. In lap twelve, Heinrich attempted to catapult out of ten Voorde’s slipstream with his 510 hp Cup car but found no gap. Two laps later, the 24-year-old took the flag 0.9 seconds ahead of Heinrich. “Shortly before the finish I saw a chance but unfortunately it didn’t work out. Still, two second places are a great start to the season for me,” said the 19-year-old.”

Zöchling occupied the third step of the podium. “I wanted to put pressure on the frontrunners right from the start, but I only managed to match the pace for the first few laps. In the end, I took home crucial points towards the championship for third place,” summed up the experienced Carrera Cup driver. Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing) was satisfied with fourth place: “Obviously, I would’ve preferred to be further up the order, but fourth place is a good result after my retirement on Friday. More may have been possible in the last laps, but with a view to the overall standings, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.” Fifth place went to Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber) ahead of Sandro Kaibach (Germany/Fach Auto Tech) and Max van Splunteren (GP Elite) from the Netherlands.

As the best rookie, Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing) crossed the finish line on the tradition-steeped 7.004-kilometre racetrack in the Belgian Ardennes in eighth place. In the ProAm class, Carlos Rivas (Black Falcon Team Textar) celebrated a double victory: After securing first place on Friday, the Luxembourger again won his division on Saturday ahead of Georgi Donchev (Bulgaria/Nebulus Racing by Huber) and Kim Hauschild (Germany/HRT Motorsport). “Two action-packed races with many in-fights on one of the world’s most famous racetracks – that was a successful start to the 32nd season. Both the talented youngsters and the seasoned racers treated us to some great motor racing. That’s precisely what characterises our one-make cup,” said Hurui Issak, Project Manager of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.

After his two wins at the season-opening weekend, ten Voorde leads the championship with 50 points. Heinrich (40 points) and Zöchling (32 points) round off the top three in the rankings. Next on the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland calendar is the doubleheader event in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, held from 14 to 16 May as part of the ADAC GT Masters.

Result race 2, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
3. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech)
4. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
5. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber)
6. Sandro Kaibach (Germany/Fach Auto Tech)
7. Max van Splunteren (Netherlands/GP Elite)
8. Bastian Buus (Denmark/Allied-Racing)
9. Loek Hartog (Netherlands/Black Falcon Team Textar)
10. Morris Schuring (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)

Points standings after 2 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 50 points
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), 40 points
3. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech), 32 points