STUTTGART, Germany — The Porsche Supercup season will go down as one of the most suspenseful in the history of the series — two out of three championship decisions went down to the wire at the very last race of the season finale.
In Monza, Italy, a mere 0.4 seconds decided the title fight between Bastian Buus and Larry ten Voorde, with the Porsche Junior from Denmark ultimately coming out on top.
Australia’s Harri Jones narrowly missed out on clinching the rookie crown by less than 0.3 seconds. This accolade went to the Frenchman Alessandro Ghiretti. BWT Lechner Racing from Austria won the team title in the Porsche Supercup for the 13th time.
“This year’s Porsche Mobil1 Supercup was a real nail-biter with some wild races – and the fans were once again treated to some top-level entertainment. The thrilling duels underline the high level of competition at the top,” said Oliver Schwab, project manager, Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible professionalism of the teams. I congratulate Bastian Buus, Alessandro Ghiretti and BWT Lechner Racing on their titles and would like to thank all the teams, our partners and the entire Supercup squad for a successful year.”
Eight races run as support to the Grands Prix in Monaco, Austria, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy made up last season’s Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup calendar.
Each of the sprint races took around 30 minutes. 16 teams competed with a total of 52 permanent drivers and guest drivers from 20 countries. The Netherlands provided the largest contingent with twelve drivers, ahead of the United Kingdom (7) and Italy (6). But the flags of Argentina, Venezuela, USA, South Africa, Australia, China and, for the first time, North Macedonia were also flown on the B-pillars of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
In terms of victories, Harry King was the most successful driver. The United Kingdom racer occupied the top step of the podium three times. Morris Schuring from the Netherlands won twice, while Porsche Junior Bastian Buus, Loek Hartog from the Netherlands and Alexander Fach from Switzerland each won once.
A total of 11 drivers climbed the podium this year. Buus and ten Voorde both finished in the top three five times. Buus, ten Voorde and King clinched pole position twice each, with the newly crowned Supercup champion Buus turning more fastest race laps (4) than anyone else. The Dane also delivered the best performance in terms of speed, lapping the Formula 1 circuit in Monza at an average of almost 190 km/h.
Alessandro Ghiretti – first Rookie champion, then Porsche Junior
Newcomers to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, the so-called rookies, enjoy special support. As a coach, Marco Seefried, himself an active racing driver, is on hand to help with questions about technology or tactics, for example. The young drivers also benefited from a special fitness regime including a pre-season medical test. The rookies also exchanged ideas with seasoned specialists such as ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock and former deputy race director of Formula 1 Herbie Blash.
With four victories, the Frenchman Alessandro Ghiretti secured overall victory in the rookie classification. Huub van Eijndhoven from the Netherlands crossed the finish line twice as the best-placed rookie. The Belgian Benjamin Paque and Harri Jones from Australia each scored one Rookie-class win in the Supercup.
Moreover, Ghiretti prevailed in the in-house rookie ranking, which, in addition to the race results, also assessed criteria such as fitness, punctuality and attention to detail, for example in race reports. At the end of the season, the 21-year-old Frenchman also won the shootout to become the 2024 Porsche Junior. Ghiretti follows in the shoes of Supercup champion Bastian Buus.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock contests two races as a guest driver
In Budapest and at the finale in Monza, ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock took the wheel of the Supercup’s VIP nine-eleven. The German produced a documentary for the Sky Sports TV channel, for which he now accompanies the Grands Prix as a commentator.
As part of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Glock helmed the 5,000th Cup 911 ever built and finished in 15th place. At the Italian Grand Prix, he called on his wealth of experience in the turbulent Supercup race: Taking up the race from P23 on the grid, Glock advanced through the field to take the flag in 11th place.