Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Martinet by Almeras) and Jaxon Evans (New Zealand/BWT Lechner Racing) take up round seven of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on Sunday from the first grid row.
In qualifying on the Formula 1 racetrack in Spa-Francorchamps, only 19-hundredths of a second separated the two Porsche Juniors. “After my less than perfect race in Barcelona, I’m thrilled about my second pole position this season. It’s fantastic that Jaxon starts next to me,” said Güven.
Evans not only has to hold his ground against the fellow Porsche Junior at the start; directly behind him on the third grid spot sits his teammate Dylan Pereira (Luxembourg). “It’s a good constellation. In the initial phase all three of us will definitely behave sensibly and not obstruct each other,” states Evans.
The championship leader Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite) starts from just P6 behind Florian Latorre (France/CLRT) and Leon Köhler (Germany/Lechner Racing Middle East).
“It wasn’t optimal,” admitted Ten Voorde, who was less than three-tenths of a second off the top time. “And ‘wasn’t optimal’ in the fierce competition of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup means missing out on the first or second grid row.”
Like Ten Voorde, Dylan Pereira has won two rounds so far this season. In the overall classification of the international one-make cup series contested with the 485 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, only four points separate the leader and his hottest pursuer. Pereira’s chances to reclaim the points lead in the overall standings look good. “It’ll be difficult, but at least I’m ahead of Larry at the start,” said Pereira optimistically.
With a points distribution of 25-20-17-14-12 for the first five drivers of each race, the two Porsche Juniors have little chance of winning the title, with Ayhancan Güven holding 88 points and Jaxon Evans with 82 points.
The only way to help their campaign is to secure their respective second win of the season – and for Ten Voorde and Pereira to go home empty-handed.
The statistics, however, show that this is unlikely. Ten Voorde concluded the last six races no lower than fourth place, with Pereira finishing each race on sixth or higher.
