The rainy qualifying for round 2 of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the Red Bull Ring ended with a big surprise: South African Keagan Masters lines up next to two-time Supercup champion Larry ten Voorde on the front row for the first time. The rookie from the Italian team Ombra Racing narrowly beat Bastian Buus for second. The Porsche Junior from Denmark shares the second grid row with Leon Köhler from Germany. The race run as part of the Austrian Grand Prix support programme gets underway on Sunday at 11:40 am CEST.

A damp track, increasingly heavy rain, drying asphalt, and two red flags: the qualifying session for round two of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on the Red Bull Ring required strong nerves: “First I opted for slicks and that was no good. Then I switched to rain tyres – too late, another mistake. Only my third attempt with dry tyres was right, the timing was perfect,” said Larry ten Voorde describing the hectic qualifying. The Dutchman from the GP Elite squad was, in fact, one of the very few drivers who managed to turn two flying laps on an almost dry track in the few minutes left after the last interruption.

Keagan Masters applied a similarly clever approach. The 23-year-old South African tackles his first season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. In Spielberg, the rookie came out of the pits ahead of ten Voorde, but let the Dutchman pass. Behind the GP Elite 911, Masters then turned an excellent lap on the Formula 1 circuit in Styria. “Nevertheless, I made a few minor mistakes. That mustn’t happen to me in the race on Sunday, otherwise I’ll lose my second position very quickly,” he said.

Porsche Junior Bastian Buus experienced a less fortunate qualifying. “I only managed one lap at the end, which was not enough,” analysed the 20-year-old. “Apart from that, I’d set up my 911 for drier conditions. The speed is good, things should go better for me in the race.” Buus set the third fastest time in the 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

The Dane’s teammate at BWT Lechner Racing, Harry King, was even less satisfied. After winning the opening round in Monaco, the UK driver travelled to the Red Bull Ring as the Supercup overall leader. However, he only managed the tenth-fastest time in qualifying. “I managed only one flying lap after the last red flag – and I got stuck in traffic. I’m facing a tough job in tomorrow’s race,” stated King.

Local team Lechner Racing: 20 years after first Supercup podium
The Supercup race at the Austrian Grand Prix represents a home race for Lechner Racing, the team founded by Walter Lechner Senior, who passed away in 2020. “We have great memories of Styria and all of the older versions of this circuit. As children, we spent a lot of time at the Österreichring because our father’s racing school was there,” says Robert Lechner, who now runs the team together with his brother Walter Junior. Both have contested races on the circuit, which was called the A1-Ring from 1996. In 2003, Lechner Racing joined the Porsche Supercup. That same year, Walter Junior stood on the Supercup podium for the first time – fittingly, on his home circuit.

In 2011, the 4.318-kilometre Formula 1 circuit was renamed to Red Bull Ring. Lechner Racing is still one of the most successful teams in the Austrian Supercup races: drivers from the Salzburg-based squad have won several times – last season, for example, victory went to the eventual Supercup champion Dylan Pereira. Now, Porsche Junior Bastian Buus hopes to add another trophy to the Lechner collection on Sunday.

TV and internet coverage of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race
Round two of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on the Red Bull Ring will get underway on Sunday (2 July 2023) from 11:40 am CEST and runs over 18 laps. TV channels Eurosport and Sky Sport provide a live broadcast of the race, with the streaming service f1tv.formula1.com also televising the race.

Qualifying result, Round 2 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Spielberg (Austria)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 1.32.186 minutes
2. Keagan Masters (ZA/Ombra Racing), 1.32.812 minutes
3. Porsche Junior Bastian Buus (DK/BWT Lechner Racing), 1.32.967 minutes
4. Leon Köhler (D/Huber Racing), 1.32.993 minutes
5. Jaap van Lagen (NL/Dinamic Motorsport), 1.33.047 minutes

Full qualifying results:
https://motorsports.porsche.com/international/en/category/mobil1supercup/pmsc-2023-results