Pole position for Larry ten Voorde in the heat of Barcelona
In temperatures above 30 degrees, Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) secured pole position for the sixth round in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Barcelona. The Dutchman shares the front row of the grid with Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans (New Zealand / BWT Lechner Racing) on Sunday. In the second row are Florian Latorre (France / CLRT) and Max van Splunteren (Netherlands / Team GP Elite), the fastest of the eight rookies. The German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender is a prominent guest starter in the international one-make cup for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup this weekend.
“The balance of my car was not optimal with the first set of tires,” reported Ten Voorde. “My mechanics changed the suspension setup a little. My second attempt then went perfectly. ”With this, he distanced Porsche Junior Evans by just under 0.184 seconds. “My fast lap wasn't ideal. But the first row on the grid is great, something can be made of it, ”said the New Zealander. "This track is tough for the cars, so a lot can happen in the race," said Latorre, looking ahead to Sunday. Van Splunteren thanked team-mate Ten Voorde. “I followed Larry on my fastest lap. I made a small mistake, otherwise we might have split the front row. ”Championship leader Dylan Pereira (Luxembourg / BWT Lechner Racing) was fifth fastest.
Guest starter Michael Fassbender made a step forward. The Hollywood star (“Inglourious Basterds”, “12 Years a Slave”, “X-Men”) reduced his gap to the top group by around 1.5 seconds compared to free practice. Fassbender is currently completing his personal “Road to Le Mans”. His goal is to contest the famous 24-hour race in a Porsche 911 RSR. It is precisely with this 510 hp racing version of the Porsche 911 that Fassbender is competing in the endurance races of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) this season. In the Porsche customer team Proton Competition, the born Heidelberger takes turns at the steering wheel with Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) and Felipe Fernández Laser (Germany).
Michael Fassbender also looks after Laser as coach on the Barcelona weekend. The guest start in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is a further component of the comprehensive training program on the “Road to Le Mans” for the racing actor. In the 485 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, he has already driven one season in the Porsche Sports Cup Germany and also completed test drives on the Formula 1 racetrack in Spielberg (Austria).
“The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup requires a different driving style than the 911 RSR. The cup vehicle moves more. This means I can learn a lot in the 911 GT3 Cup, ”describes Fassbender. "Now I'm looking forward to the race on Sunday, every kilometer in the racing car counts for me."
The sixth round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2020 will start on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CEST). The television channels Eurosport, Sport1 and Sky Sport as well as the Internet streaming services Sport1.de and F1TV.formula1.com broadcast live.