LARRY TEN VOORDE DEFENDS PORSCHE CARRERA CUP DEUTSCHLAND CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN AT HOCKENHEIM

After scoring his eighth win this season, Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) has become champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland for the second time in a row. At the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, the Dutchman won race 15 on Saturday and thus holds an attainable lead with 306 points before the final race on Sunday. “That was a tough season. I’m absolutely thrilled. During the race, I focused totally on my performance, but when I drove through the final corner the emotions kicked in,” says ten Voorde. Positions two and three in the race run as part of the ADAC GT Masters support programme went to Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing) and Morris Schuring (Netherlands/Team GP Elite). The duel in the ProAm classification has also been decided: The overall victory goes to Carlos Rivas (Luxembourg/Black Falcon Team Textar).

For ten Voorde, the situation was clear-cut: Should the 25-year-old reach the finish line before Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing) in his 510 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, he would be champion. Due to a technical defect in the starting lights, the race took off behind the safety car. Polesitter ten Voorde remained unfazed and eked out an advantage of one second in the early stage. Behind the GP Elite driver, drama unfolded. Heinrich put Schuring under increasing pressure and swept past the Dutch rookie in lap 14. However, Heinrich could no longer catch ten Voorde. After 19 laps, ten Voorde beat the Huber driver to the flag by 2.9-seconds. The 25-year-old Dutchman is the first driver to win the title in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup twice in succession.

Ten Voorde’s teammate Schuring secured his first podium result in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland at Hockenheim. “That’s a great result. Second place would have been better, but Laurin Heinrich was clearly faster and I didn’t want to jeopardise my chances of a great result through making any risky tactical moves,” said the 16-year-old. Fourth place was occupied by Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber) ahead of Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin) and Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech).

Bad luck hampered Ayhancan Güven. For a long stretch, the 23-year-old was running in fourth place. After a braking error in the final phase, Güven finished the race in seventh place. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have the pace from the start to be in the fight for the title. Still, I managed to hold on to fourth until shortly before the flag. We will analyse the race and go all-out again on Sunday,” concluded Güven. Jukka Honkavuori (Finland/MRS GT-Racing) crossed the finish line on the 4.574-kilometre racetrack in eighth place.

In the ProAm classification, Rivas scored his tenth win of the season ahead of Kim Hauschild (Germany/HRT Motorsport) and Bashar Mardini (UAE/Van Berghe Huber Racing). This earned the Luxembourger his third consecutive trophy in the ProAm class. “Defending the title was our goal. I’m proud that we achieved this ahead of schedule. In the race, I was in second place in the ProAm for a long time but I knew that my car would be fast in the final phase thanks to the setup. That paid off,” said Rivas.

Alexander Pollich, CEO of Porsche Deutschland GmbH, and Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, handed the winners their trophies on the podium. “Three of the four titles were still open prior to the season finale. That says a lot about the consistently strong standard and the high level of competition in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Congratulations to Larry ten Voorde and Carlos Rivas, who have been rewarded for their strong performances in defending their titles,” said Pollich.

Another title decision will be made on Sunday: Loek Hartog (Black Falcon Team Textar/285 points) from the Netherlands and the Dane Bastian Buus (Allied-Racing/273 points) will fight for the rookie-class crown. A maximum of 25 points is still up for grabs. The GP Elite team already claimed the title in the team classification last weekend at the Sachsenring.

The 16th and final race of the Porsche Carrera Cup season takes off on Sunday at 3:10 pm local time and will be broadcast live on the German free TV Sport1. Porsche ambassador Jörg Bergmeister shares his knowledge as co-commentator. The race can also be watched via a live stream on the YouTube and Facebook channels of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland as well as in the Porsche Motorsport Hub.

Result race 15, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
2. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing)
3. Morris Schuring (Netherlands/Team GP Elite)
4. Leon Köhler (Germany/Nebulus Racing by Huber)
5. Rudy van Buren (Netherlands/CarTech Motorsport by Nigrin)
6. Christopher Zöchling (Austria/Fach Auto Tech)
7. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing)
8. Jukka Honkavuori (Finland/MRS GT-Racing)
9. Loek Hartog (Netherlands/Black Falcon Team Textar)
10. Huub van Eijndhoven (Netherlands/JW Raceservice)

Points standings after 15 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Larry ten Voorde (Netherlands/Team GP Elite), 306 points
2. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey/Phoenix Racing), 266 points
3. Laurin Heinrich (Germany/Van Berghe Huber Racing), 214 points

Source. Porsche