STUTTGART, Germany — Loek Hartog drove a commanding race against Bastian Buus over the entire distance and brought home his first victory in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
Securing second place, Porsche Junior Buus increased his lead in the overall standings to 21 points over third-placed Larry ten Voorde.
This pushes the title decision in the international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 to the finale next Sunday run as part of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
In order for ten Voorde to score the title, the Dutchman must win on the Formula 1 racetrack in northern Italy to secure the 25 points. In this scenario, eleventh place would be enough for Bastian Buus to take home the title.
“I had a great duel with Bastian. We both went for it but kept it fair at all times,” said Hartog. “A dream has come true for me with my first Supercup victory. I grew up not far from Zandvoort and I’ve driven all kinds of race cars at this track. To win here in front of my home crowd is unbelievable.”
Thanks to his first victory, the 20-year-old Dutchman advanced to sixth place overall.
“Larry’s attempts to attack kept me as occupied as my attempts to overtake Loek. Of course, I didn’t take any major risks. Second place also means that my lead heading to the final in Monza is pretty reassuring,” concluded Buus. “But it’s also about the Teams’ championship, which I’d obviously like to win for BWT Lechner Racing.”
In this classification, the Porsche Junior’s team leads the standings with a 31-point advantage over the GP Elite team with its drivers Loek Hartog as the Zandvoort winner and ten Voorde. In the teams’ classification, a maximum of 45 points are still up for grabs in Monza.
Ten Voorde remains realistic about his chances and aims to focus on the teams’ championship crown at Monza.
“I did my absolute best but I couldn’t achieve more than third place today. My goal is to win at Monza next Sunday. Even if I only have an outside chance of clinching the title, I’d like to use it to score points in the team classification,” he stated.
Fourth place went to Morris Schuring. The 18-year-old Dutchman put in a strong drive and made up five positions from his grid spot in Fach Auto Tech’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Despite two victories so far this season, he is out of contention for the title. The same applies to U.K. driver Harry King (BWT Lechner Racing), who finished fifth.
“Once again, the Zandvoort weekend was fantastic,” Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup said. “We witnessed two thrilling races, where Morris Schuring and Loek Hartog were cheered for their victories by tens of thousands of their home crowd fans. Congratulations to Loek as a new addition to the circle of Supercup winners.
“I’m now looking forward to our finale in Monza, which should again be a nail-biter with all three categories still open.”