The results for the first ever edition of the PorscheSport Podcast Awards are in. Listeners to the show had their chance to crown champions in 5 prestigious categories and celebrate the best of the Porsche motorsport in 2020. Listeners and viewers of the show were able to vote for the nominee they think performed best in each category during the season. The categories include Porsche Driver, Team, Newcomer, Series and Race Victory in 2020.

Porsche Driver of the Year: Larry ten Voorde

While racing drivers often seek an adrenaline rush in their spare time, the 23-year-old Dutchman takes a different tack. “Fly-fishing helps me relax completely and recharge my inner battery.”

His strategy obviously works. Notching up three wins from eight races, Ten Voorde was the dominant driver of the 2020 season. “What an incredible year. My GP Elite team was new to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. I wouldn’t have thought it possible to win the title off the bat,” says Ten Voorde, as he looks back on the shortest season in the history of the international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup run over just ten weeks. “Initially we had to learn the hard way, but we put in the effort and improved from race to race.”

As the team captain, Ten Voorde played a major role in improving the squad’s performance. On the racetrack, the fastest member of the 2,500-strong community of Boekelo close to Enschede shows no signs of angler serenity: “Larry has an incredible will to win. His entire life revolves around winning the next race,” explains team boss Torsten van Haasteren. Although the Dutch squad GP Elite is new to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, it promptly clinched the overall trophy with Ten Voorde. “Larry has fitted into our team very well. He has definitely matured as a driver.”

Ten Voorde somehow joined GP Elite already back in 2014. “I had no race programme that year. I worked at GP Elite. I put up road cones for driver training sessions, stood in the mud at rally courses,” he recalls. In the meantime, Ten Voorde has been promoted to instructor and coach, lending his knowledge to younger drivers. “I know from my own career just how important professional help is,” he says, in reference to a time when he drove a small car thousands of kilometres each year travelling from one kart race to the next. After successful years, during which he spent some time living in Germany, Ten Voorde switched to single-seater racing. As a member of the “Talent First” squad fielded by the Dutch motorsport association KNAF, he learned the off-track trade of a professional racing driver alongside today’s Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen, among others. This also included completing vocational training. Ten Voorde studied Sport and Business Communication at the Johan Cruyff College.

Porsche Newcomer of the Year: Harry King

Harry King put in a truly dominant perforamnce in his first outing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. The Porsche Junior took 12 wins from 16 races and was only beaten in qualifying once during the 2020 campaign. King secured the title with a meeting still to go and could be set to race in both the Carrera Cup GB and Porsche Supercup next year.

“During pre-season testing, I knew we had a good car and that myself and Josh would be strong this season. I didn’t want to get carried away but when we then went to Donington Park and put the car on pole for the first race, I knew that we would be able to challenge for the championship. To win the title with a round to spare is fantastic, and I can’t put into words how I feel right now. The Porsche Carrera Cup GB is a hugely prestigious title to win and I’m proud to have added it to my CV - and to now have two major championships at just 19-years-old. The pressure will be off when we go to Brands Hatch for the final rounds, and it’ll be nice if we can celebrate the title with some more silverware there."

Porsche Victory of the Year: Rowe Racing Spa 24 Hours

The endurance race in the Ardennes was contested under difficult conditions with changeable weather and an often slippery racetrack. Many incidents including rain during the night resulted in a total of 18 full course yellows and 14 safety car phases. In the close competition among the 55-strong GT3 field from eleven manufacturers, the lead spot changed almost by the hour. The victorious Porsche 911 GT3 R from Rowe Racing swept into the lead for the first time early Sunday morning, after the 2015 outright Le Mans winner Tandy turned heads as the fastest driver in the field on a gradually drying track. After his teammates Bamber und Vanthoor put in impressive stints, it was again the Briton who took the limelight in the final hour. After perfect tactical decisions by the seasoned customer squad, at the wheel of his ailing car, Tandy outpaced the No. 66 Audi in a gripping final sprint. After 24 hours, he crossed the finish line with a mere 4.687-second advantage – his racing car, making alarming noises due to lack of transmission oil, would very likely not have managed another lap.

Nick Tandy: “I’ll never forget this finale. Our victory was hanging by a thread when loud noises suddenly started coming from the rear of the vehicle in the penultimate lap. It almost sounded as if small bombs were exploding. I got a fright and at the same time, the rear axle was sliding around on a trail of oil. What I didn’t realise was that the oil was coming from our car. I still can’t quite believe that the Porsche 911 GT3 R got us over the finish line. The relief and joy are indescribable.”

Series of the Year: IMSA

Porsche’s factory campaign in the North American sports car scene came to an end for at the moment last month with the final outing in Sebring. At the twelve-hour race in Florida, the Porsche GT Team and its long-standing partner Core Autosport once again made a strong impression: At a spectacular final round of the season, the two Porsche 911 RSR took the flag in first and second place. The emotional and extremely successful farewell from the fiercely competitive GTLM class contested by numerous manufacturers in North America concludes a seven-year programme that yielded an outstanding record: Seven title wins in the IMSA series, five championships in the North American Endurance Cup, 21 race wins and 56 podium results went to Porsche.

In the 2020 season, the Porsche GT Team initially face a tough test of patience. The new ca. 515 hp Porsche 911 RSR, which had impressively showcased its qualities at the first races of the FIA WEC, again turns heads in the IMSA series. At the first six events of the year, the works team posts pole position four times. During that same period, the two cars lead the field over a total of 3,445 kilometres – which is about the same as the combined distances of the Sebring and Road Atlanta endurances races! Still, it takes until 17 October for the long-awaited first victory to be achieved. At Petit Le Mans, the ten-hour race on the outskirts of Atlanta, Nick Tandy, Frédéric Makowiecki and the Australian Matt Campbell bring the No. 911 car over the finish line in first place. At the following race, Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor notch up the first victory for a factory 911 at Laguna Seca. At that point the tradition-steeped racetrack in California was the only permanent circuit on the annual IMSA calendar where Porsche had never won.

Last month’s final appearance could not have gone more perfect. Race day in Sebring begins with five Porsche 911 RSR from three different generations turning parade laps. The vehicles flying the colours of Brumos, Coca-Cola and Mobil1, amongst others, are spearheaded by the latest model finished in a farewell livery. The stars and stripes paintwork and thunderous burnouts delight and thrill fans at the track. And ultimately, the event ends in amazement: After an immaculate performance from the Core Autosport team at the twelve-hour classic, the works cars take the flag in first and second. After seven years, this triumph closes the circle perfectly for the Porsche GT Team in the IMSA series: Victory at the maiden outing in 2014 at Daytona, victory at the final race in Sebring 2020.

Porsche Team of the Year: BWT Lechner Racing

With Dylan Pereira and Jaxon Evans finishing fourth and fifth in the final race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season 2020 in Monza, BWT Lechner Racing defended its title in the Team Championship again, ahead of its Dutch rivals of GP Elite. Leon Köhler in the MSG Porsche of Lechner Racing Middle East claimed his second podium of the year, finishing third behind new Supercup Champion Larry Ten Voorde and Florian Latorre, another great result for the German Rookie.

Pereira had gone into the race with a four point lead ahead of Ten Voorde, “but starting from P4 with Larry on pole I knew in advance that it was going to be a very difficult task and I probably would need some help from others.” But that did not happen, and so even if he managed to get up to P3 with a good start, “we did not have enough speed today to really do something on our own to catch the two guys at the front”, the 23-year-old from Luxembourg, who was passed by Köhler on lap 9 and had to settle in P4 again, stated. “Of course it is disappointing, as I was leading the championship for quite some time this year, but congratulations to Larry Ten Voorde, who really did a great job over the whole season and deserved the victory.”

His BWT Lechner Racing Teammate Jaxon Evans had to start from P8 after a grid penalty, but already gained two places with a very good getaway and later in the race overtook his fellow Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven for P5. “I was really happy with the performance, the car was great and we really showed we were more than fast enough in the race. Shame on me for my mistake on Friday and the penalty, a podium was easily in the cards. Congratulations to Leon for a great race and to Larry on the championship. Dylan has been the benchmark all year, he should hold his head high even though the result was not what he wanted”, said the 23-year old from New Zealand. “I am also very happy to have been able to contribute to secure the Team Championship again for BWT Lechner Racing and I want to say thank you for a great season spent with Walter and his team.”

Porsche Motorsport contunies to mourn the loss of Walter Lechner (1949-2020). The Austrian from Faistenau in the Salzkammergut has been a valued member of the Porsche family since 1985. The Porsche Motorsport family wishes Walter Lechner’s family the strength to come through this difficult time, and say with all our heart: Thank you, Walter!