The battle for the title in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup remains exciting to the end. The champion will only be decided at the double-header event on November 2nd and 3rd in Abu Dhabi. At the last round of the popular brand trophy series on European soil at the ultra-fast Autodromo Nazionale in Monza, Nicki Thiim celebrated his second win of the season on Sunday with his 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, which is based on the seventh generation of the 911. Driving for the Attempto Racing squad, the Dane doggedly pursued the points’ leader from Britain, Sean Edwards (Team Allyouneed by Project 1), who had to settle for fifth place on the Grand Prix circuit in the Royal Park after three wins so far this season.
Behind the Monza pole-setter and Silverstone winner Nicki Thiim, Michael Ammermüller achieved second place. Competing for the Lechner Racing team, the German put the front-runner under intense pressure over the entire 14-lap race distance, but his maiden victory in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup remains elusive. A strong third went to Frenchman Kévin Estre, who battled his way up the order from eighth place to ultimately net his second podium result this season after the Nürburgring. Germany’s Christian Engelhart (FACH AUTO TECH) put up a valiant fight against Sean Edwards right to the flag to finally cross the finish line in fourth ahead of the main favourite for the title. This sees Sean Edwards and Nicki Thiim as well as Michael Ammermüller travel to the capital of the United Arab Emirates for the season finale holding title hopes.
Like recently in Spa-Francorchamps, both Porsche juniors put in a strong drive. Two weeks after his first Supercup win, Austrian Klaus Bachler (FÖRCH Racing) occupied seventh place as the best rookie behind Poland’s Kuba Giermaziak (VERVA Racing Team). The Dane Michael Christensen, who won the Nürburgring round this season, finished in eighth which keeps him at the head of the rookie classification. Jean-Karl Vernay at last celebrated a good result: Scoring ninth place, the Frenchman of the MRS GT Racing team, who receives support from Porsche to contest this year’s Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as the winner of the International Cup Scholarship, finally managed to finish in the top ten.
Italian fans were also treated to some gripping race action from Emanuele Pirro. For the first time, the local hero and five-time Le Mans winner competed as a guest driver in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup with the VIP car fielded by Porsche AG. After a good start where he made up several positions, Pirro delivered a spirited race against Supercup specialists from 13 countries. However, in the penultimate lap he slid while braking for a fast corner and became beached in the gravel.
Nicki Thiim (winner): “What a fantastic weekend. I’m thrilled that we found our way back on the road to success. A huge thank you to my team for their impeccable work and beautifully prepared cars. Now I look forward to Abu Dhabi where we will again go all out.”
Michael Ammermüller (second): “These are vital points for us. Now the championship stays exciting to the last races. Again we saw here how important a good qualifying result is. If you start up near the front not a lot can actually happen to you in the race.”
Kévin Estre (third): “My grid position was bad, but my start was great. I immediately made up four positions and after a great duel with Michael Christensen I moved into third. I’m pleased with this result and I hope we can also continue with our strong team performance in Abu Dhabi.”
Klaus Bachler (Porsche junior, seventh): “Best rookie third time straight – of course I’m very pleased about that. This was my first race in Monza. I got away well at the start, fell back slightly but later regained ground. Now we have to see that I find a few more fractions of seconds in qualifying.”
Michael Christensen (Porsche junior, eighth): “The race was not exactly as I had imagined. My start was good but I came under pressure and lost a few places. But that happens when things get so tight. There is not a lot you can do.”
Jean-Karl Vernay (Winner International Cup Scholarship, ninth): “This is my first top ten result this season. I had to wait a long time for this. It’s a shame that we only have two more races to contest. But I’ll be pulling out all stops there.”
Emanuele Pirro (VIP-driver, 23rd place): “It was a fantastic experience for me. Thanks to Porsche who gave me the chance to contest this great series. Unfortunately I was shunted in the first chicane by another car which didn’t do my suspension much good. I held back a little at first. But the car improved over the course of the race and I could hold my own again. In the penultimate lap I was a little too optimistic and landed in the gravel. Still, this Supercup weekend was a lot of fun.”
Race result
1. Nicki Thiim (DK), Attempto Racing, 26:22.346 minutes
2. Michael Ammermüller (D), Lechner Racing, + 1.387 seconds
3. Kévin Estre (F), Attempto Racing, + 1.755
4. Christian Engelhart (D), FACH AUTO TECH, + 6.071
5. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Allyouneed by Project 1, + 6.433
6. Kuba Giermaziak (PL), VERVA Racing Team, + 8.761
7. Klaus Bachler (A), FÖRCH Racing, + 9.453
8. Michael Christensen (DK), DAMS, + 12.684
9. Jean-Karl Vernay (F), MRS GT-Racing, + 13.864
23. Emanuele Pirro (I), Porsche AG, + 2 laps
Points’ standings after 7 of 9 races
Driver
1. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Allyouneed by Project 1, 118 points
2. Nicki Thiim (DK), Attempto Racing, 100
3. Michael Ammermüller (D), Lechner Racing, 94
4. Michael Christensen (DK), DAMS, 78
5. Kuba Giermaziak (PL), VERVA Racing Team, 75
Kévin Estre (F), Attempto Racing, 75
Rookie classification
1. Michael Christensen (DK), DAMS, 78 points
2. Klaus Bachler (A), FÖRCH Racing, 63
3. Ben Barker (GB), Team Bleekemolen, 41
