Britain’s Sean Edwards is the man of the moment in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. After clinching the season-opener in Barcelona, last year’s Monaco winner also secured Sunday’s prestigious race driving for Allyouneed by Project 1 on the challenging street circuit in Monaco. With the new 460 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, based on the seventh generation of the 911, he found the fastest race line through the twisting labyrinth between skyscrapers and luxury boutiques and celebrated a commanding lights-to-flag victory.
While he was able to pull clear of his rivals in the first lap after getting away well from pole position, a fierce battle for second was played out in his slipstream, particularly in the closing phase of the race. Poland’s Kuba Giermaziak (VERVA Racing Team) came out on top in this spectacular duel set against the picture postcard backdrop of the Principality on the Cote d’Azur, successfully fending off all attacks from Germany’s Michael Ammermüller. Like in Barcelona, the Lechner Racing Team pilot brought home third and with Kuba Giermaziak is one of the strongest contenders in the bid for the title against Sean Edwards.
Jeroen Bleekemolen’s dream of scoring his third Supercup win in Monaco did not come true. Driving for the Lechner Racing team, the double Supercup winner from the Netherlands returned in Monaco to the flagship series of Porsche’s 20 one-make championships worldwide and narrowly missed out on a podium spot with fourth. Behind Christian Engelhart (FACH AUTO TECH) and the Frenchman Kévin Estre (Attempto Racing), New Zealander Richie Stanaway (DAMS) snatched seventh place as the best newcomer. This puts him at the head of the rookie classification. Denmark’s Nicki Thiim (Attempto Racing), who made a promising start to the season with second place at round one in Barcelona, had to settle for eighth in Monaco.
Behind the best rookie of 2012, two other Supercup fledglings rounded off the top ten: Ben Barker (Great Britain) from Team Bleekemolen and Porsche Junior Klaus Bachler (Austria) driving for FÖRCH Racing. Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay (MRS GT-Racing), the winner of the 2012 International Cup Scholarship, finished in eleventh place. Bad luck for the Porsche Junior Michael Christensen from Denmark: After yielding a strong fifth in Barcelona, the DAMS squad pilot became entangled in a collision early on in the race and found himself shuffled to the back of the pack.
One of the highlights of the Supercup guest performance in the millionaires’ playground was the duel of the rally stars: Manning the VIP car fielded by Porsche AG, the nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb from France brought home 16th place from his second Supercup race. His compatriot Sébastien Ogier, the current leader in the WRC, celebrated his debut in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as a guest driver for the Allyouneed by Project 1 team and received the flag in 13th.
Points’ standings after 2 of 9 races
Drivers
1. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Allyouneed by Project 1, 40 points
2. Michael Ammermüller (D), Lechner Racing Team, 32
Kuba Giermaziak (PL), VERVA Racing Team, 32
4. Nicki Thiim (DK), Attempto Racing, 26
5. Richie Stanaway (NZL), DAMS, 16
6. Klaus Bachler (A), FÖRCH Racing, 15
Rookie classification
1. Richie Stanaway (NZL), DAMS, 16 points
2. Klaus Bachler (A), FÖRCH Racing, 15
3. Ben Barker (GB), Team Bleekemolen, 13
