Austrian Clemens Schmid (Walter Lechner Racing Team) has won round four of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on the British circuit of Silverstone. The 23-year-old took up Sunday’s race from pole position and relegated Kuba Giermaziak (PL/VERVA Lechner Racing Team), Porsche Cup Scholar Earl Bamber (NZ/Fach Auto Tech) and Porsche junior Connor de Phillippi (USA/FÖRCH Racing by Lukas Motorsport) to positions two to four respectively. “Right now I’m the happiest guy in the world. The pressure at the front was huge, but I kept my head. I’ll never forget this weekend,” said an ecstatic Schmid after his champagne shower on the podium. After four of ten rounds, Giermaziak sits first overall with 66 points.
The storied Silverstone race track turned out to be lucky turf for Schmid. Snatching pole position under difficult conditions on Saturday, the Lechner pilot drove a commanding lights-to-flag race on Sunday to score victory. Despite series leader Giermaziak putting him under immense pressure, the political science student kept his cool and was flagged off in first place. “I simply couldn’t get past him,” said Giermaziak. “But I knew that second place would also earn me vital championship points.” Earl Bamber also put in an impressive performance. Starting from eighth on the grid, the New Zealander charged through the field to finish third. With 53 points, Bamber currently sits second behind Giermaziak in the overall standings. “That was a great race and I’m very happy with the overall outcome,” said Bamber.
The 25-strong international driver line-up contesting the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup drove a fair but spirited race with many gripping overtaking manoeuvres. The Porsche junior from Germany Sven Mueller (Team Project 1) fought his way through the pack from eleventh to sixth at the wheel of his 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, which is based on the 911 GT3 lightweight production sports car. “I was right on the bumper of Michael Ammermueller’s car but unfortunately I just couldn’t get past him. After messing up the qualifying I’m very pleased with sixth place,” said 22-year-old Mueller. Local man Ben Barker (VERVA Lechner Racing Team), who lives in Oxford just 20 minutes away from the race track, finished on tenth, but managed to beat strong championship rivals. With 42 points to his credit, the Briton is tied for points with Mueller.
The Austrian Porsche junior Klaus Bachler (A/Konrad Motorsport) made up two places on the 5.898 kilometre circuit and saw the flag in seventh place. “My start was good but at one point in the race I was nudged into the gravel and afterwards things didn’t go as smoothly,” Bachler summed up his race. Porsche junior Alex Riberas (Mc Gregor powered by Attempto Racing) struggled with his fate: The 20-year-old Spaniard clashed with his French teammate Kévin Estre in the first lap and was unable to finish the race. “I braked a little too late and hit him. It was very disappointing,” said Riberas. Taking up the race from second on the grid, Porsche junior de Phillippi had hoped for more than fourth place at the flag, but he remained upbeat: “To be honest this is my first time here in Silverstone. Fourth place is more than I had imagined for this weekend.” The fastest race lap was posted by German Michael Ammermüller (Walter Lechner Racing Team) in 2:07.968 minutes. The Bavarian finished in fifth place.
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup heads to the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg from 18 to 20 July. Round five marks the home race for several competitors. Sven Mueller lives just an hour’s drive from the Hockeheimring. Driving for the Project 1 team, the Porsche junior contests his first season in the fiercely competitive one-make race series and has turned heads already this year with commendable results. Germany’s Supercup contestant Michael Ammermueller (Walter Lechner Racing Team) from Pocking in Bavaria and Christian Engelhart (Konrad Motorsport) from Kösching near Ingolstadt are looking forward to their race in Hockenheim. And fans can look forward to a real treat when Hollywood star Patrick Dempsey lines up on the grid. The famous “Grey’s Anatomy” TV doctor takes up the challenge at the wheel of the VIP car. TV stations Eurosport and Sky broadcast the race live.
