Two-time champion Larry ten Voorde has made a perfect start to the 2024 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup year. The Dutchman won the season opener on the Formula 1 circuit in Imola, Italy. At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by the Schumacher CLRT team, ten Voorde crossed the finish line ahead of British BWT Lechner Racing driver Harry King and his French teammate Marvin Klein.

Race

In recent years, Larry ten Voorde has celebrated victories in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and the national Carrera Cups in Germany and Italy, among others. The 27-year-old Dutchman once again demonstrated his winning ways in his 200th one-make cup race with a Porsche. “I’m a racer, I want to win every race,” he warned his rivals ahead of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season opener in Imola.

True to his word, the competition only posed a threat to his black and gold Cup nine-eleven from the French team Schumacher CLRT in the first few metres of the 14-lap race. “My start wasn’t ideal,” admitted ten Voorde. “That meant I had to work hard to fend off Harry King for the first few corners.” A safety car phase shortly after the start of the race ended this duel. The collision that caused the deployment of the safety car also cut Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti’s race short. Despite damage to his suspension, the Frenchman managed to crawl back to his team Schumacher CLRT’s pits but ultimately had to retire.

Alessandro Ghiretti

After the restart, Larry ten Voorde controlled the race. “I want to thank my new team, Schumacher CLRT, which has become like a family to me. I’m proud of this success in our first race together. I think, I haven’t started a Supercup season this well in a long time.”

Harry King was also satisfied with second place. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t overtake Larry at the start. After that, I had my hands full defending myself against Marvin Klein’s attacks. That cost me the tenths of a second that I would have needed to attack Larry,” reflected the 23-year-old Englishman. Piloting the BWT Lechner Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, he crossed the finish line just under two seconds behind ten Voorde.

Marvin Klein rounded off the strong debut performance for the newly-established Schumacher CLRT team with third place. “My start was great and I could overtake Robert de Haan on the second corner. Trying to find a gap to pass Harry was a different story. But, third place in the season opener is great and I’ve secured my first championship points,” said the 24-year-old Supercup returnee from France.

“Of course, I would have preferred third place but at least I won the Rookie classification,” said Robert de Haan, reflecting on losing the duel with Klein. The 17-year-old Dutchman, who drives for BWT Lechner Racing, is the youngest driver in the current Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season. Fifth and sixth place went to two rookies as well: German Theo Oeverhaus (BWT Lechner Racing) and Dutchman Kas Haverkort (Uniserver by Team GP Elite) underlined the fighting spirit of the Supercup rookies.

“I’m particularly pleased with the strong performances from the rookies: five newcomers in the top 10 in the first race – that’s quite a statement,” praised Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. “Congratulations to Schumacher CLRT for the first victory and to Larry ten Voorde, who once again showcased his prowess at his 200th race. This season opener was definitely a great start to the 32nd Supercup season.”

The next race in Monaco this coming weekend

From Imola, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup teams will travel directly to Monaco, where the second race of the season is set to take place next Sunday. The 3.337-kilometre street circuit in the Monte-Carlo and La Condamine districts has been a regular fixture on the Formula 1 calendar and one of the world’s most historic racetracks since 1950. The international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup raced as part of the Monaco Grand Prix in its 1993 inaugural season.

Exactly one year ago, Harry King (BWT Lechner Racing) won the Monaco event ahead of Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) and last year’s Porsche Junior Bastian Buus (BWT Lechner Racing) from Denmark. “You can only win in Monaco if everything goes perfectly in qualifying and you can start the race from the front row. You also need a bit of luck,” says King, looking forward to the highlight of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season.

The second race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on TV and the internet

The Monaco race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will run over 17 laps next Sunday (26 May 2024) from noon CEST. TV channel Eurosport will broadcast the race live. The streaming service f1tv.formula1.com will also provide a broadcast. Independently of the race weekends, fans and media representatives can also follow the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on the social networks Instagram (@PorscheSupercup), Facebook (@PorscheSupercup) and X/Twitter (@PorscheSupercup and @PorscheRaces).