Earl Bamber of Fach Auto Tech stunned his fellow Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup competitors by resuming the season with a commanding victory at the spectacular Spa Francorchamps venue and snatching the series lead off of VERVA Lechner Racing Team man Kuba Giermaziak.
The New Zealander sums up his weekend simply, “Fastest in free practice, pole position, victory and now the points lead – what a perfect weekend. I am over the moon!”
Perhaps the only blot on an otherwise exemplary copybook was a mistake the youngster made on the first lap of the race. In spite of the drama said mistake provided though, it is worth dismissing, if not something Bamber will forget in a hurry. Exiting the historic Eau Rouge corner, his Type 991 GT3 Cup car slid spectacularly sideways. He recovered beautifully but lost momentum and granted Nicki Thiim (Walter Lechner Racing Team) the race lead.
It would be a short six lap lived lead, with Bamber furiously hunting down Thiim. After a brief duel, the position fell back to the pole sitter and he would not let it go again. “Our fight was tough but very fair,” concluded the Danish racer who maintained second to the flag. Rounding out the podium trio was Klaus Bachler of Konrad Motorsport. The Porsche Junior enjoyed a much simpler race than that experienced by the leaders, if any race at the iconic Belgium venue can be described as thus.
It was another Porsche Junior, Sven Müller, who finished fourth after winning a race long scrap with his Team Project 1 teammate Philipp Eng. The top eight was rounded out by Clemens Schmid (Walter Lechner Racing Team), Britain’s Ben Barker and his teammate, the erstwhile points topper Kuba Giermaziak.
American Connor de Phillippi (FӦRCH Racing by Lukas Motorsport) and Spaniard Alex Riberas (McGregor powered by Attempto Racing) endured slightly more difficult encounters than their fellow Porsche Juniors. De Phillippi crossed the line in tenth, one position behind a charging and guesting Jaap van Lagen (MOMO-Megatron) who finished ninth from seventeenth on the grid. Riberas’ miserable year continued, he ended the race sixteenth and needs to perform better next time out at Monza.
