Porsche Junior Thomas Preining battled to a superb victory in front of his home crowd in Austria for the latest round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup last weekend after starting the race from pole position.
Despite starting from pole, Preining lost out at the start of the race as Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer leapt from third place on the grid to lead the field in to the first corner.
A safety car was called on the second lap, closing the field back up again, but the young Frenchman remained in control on the restart as Preining latched on to his bumper, challenging for the lead throughout the race.
Andlauer would show a masterclass in defending up until the penultimate lap when the Austrian managed to find a way by to take victory.
Credit: Porsche
“That was one of the most intense races I’ve ever driven.” said Preining after the race. “Julien Andlauer and I fought hard for victory to the very last lap. It’s simply fantastic to wind up the weekend with a victory at my home race,”
Andlauer, who is the reigning Porsche Carrera Cup France champion and also became the youngest class winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans this year was thrilled by the close racing.
“The race gave fans some great entertainment.” said the Frenchman. “Of course I would have preferred to win, but Thomas Preining was simply faster. I’m thrilled to have earned important points towards the championship,”
It was another French driver that would complete the podium as rookie driver Florian Latorre finished third.
“This is my first podium result in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and I’m thrilled. The race was extremely tough but completely fair,” said the 21-year-old.
Credit: Porsche
Dylan Pereira finished fourth place ahead of Monaco winner Nick Yelloly, who fought his way up from eighth place after a frustrating qualifying.
Zaid Ashkanani took sixth place ahead of championship leader Michael Ammermüller, Rookie points leader Larry ten Voorde, and the two Dinamic Motorsport cars of Mattia Drudi and rookie Alberto Cerqui.
The the Pro Am class, Philipp Sager took victory ahead of Nicolas Misslin and Brit Mark Radcliffe.
The race also marked the return of the Porsche VIP car which saw reigning Dakar Rally champion Matthias Walkner take to the track, finishing in twenty-ninth place. “That was a really cool experience with a lot of action. I had a great duel out on the track. It was fun,” said Walkner.
The championship is still being led by Michael Ammermüller after the Austrian round, but his points advantage shrinks to just one point over Dylan Pereira in second and three points ahead of Nick Yelloly who will be looking to make the most of topping the time sheets at the recent Silverstone test for the British Grand Prix this weekend.
