Rast and Tandy congratulate each other on the podium - Photo Credit: Porsche AG
Nick Tandy won the penultimate race of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season, while Rene Rast secured a second straight title in the one-make series by finishing the race in second place.
Kevin Estre started from pole position and held onto the lead at the start ahead of Rast and Tandy. With his priority on points rather than the race win, Rast allowed the quicker Tandy to pass for second.
Tandy, recently crowned Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland champion, then set off after BBS rookie classification winner Estre. He forced the Frenchman into a mistake, taking the opportunity to move into a lead that he would keep until the end. The victory was the Brit's first in the Supercup this year. Rast also benefited from an Estre mistake to take second place and move out of touch in the drivers' standings ahead of the season finale on Sunday.
“My first victory at last,” said Tandy. “I've waited for this for the entire year. It's great that I have now finally achieved this. It was a very interesting race. Kevin was setting a blistering pace, Rene and I took our time watching him and hoped that he'd maybe make a mistake, which he did. Congratulations to Rene on his title win. After my victory today I'm heading into the race on Sunday feeling very confident. ”
Rast said: “I'm simply thrilled and relieved. It's difficult to describe what it means to have won this championship two times in a row. This year was even tougher than last season because there were more drivers competing who were good to take the title.
“We experienced a poor start to the season, but we fought our way out of this minor setback and found our old form again. This makes our success today even sweeter. In the race I tried to keep out of any trouble. Nick was quicker than me, so I let him pass. After that I just concentrated on reaching the flag safely. But then Kevin made a mistake so I used the chance. Thanks to my team for all they have done to make this victory possible.”
Estre was positive despite not making the most of his pole position. “That was a tough race. To sit in the lead with René and Nick behind you is not exactly easy. I was determined to finish on the podium and I achieved this despite making a few small mistakes. So from this point of view, I'm pleased and I now look forward to tomorrow's race.”
Rast's teammate Norbert Siedler finished fourth, moving into second place in the standings as a result. Christian Engelhart was fifth, just ahead of Sean Edwards.
Race result:
1. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 31:15.317 minutes
2. René Rast (D), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 1.549 seconds
3. Kévin Estre (F), Hermes Attempto Racing, + 6.232
4. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS Lechner Racing, + 6.658
5. Christian Engelhart (D), Konrad Motorsport, + 10.235
6. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 10.382
Drivers' standings after 10 of 11 races:
1. René Rast (D), 161 points
2. Norbert Siedler (A), 136
3. Kuba Giermaziak (PL),130
4. Nick Tandy (GB), 129
5. Sean Edwards (GB), 126
6. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 117
