MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Harry King from the BWT Lechner Racing team won the opening round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Monte-Carlo – his first-ever victory in the international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Second place went to the Dutchman Larry ten Voorde from the GP Elite squad. Porsche-Junior Bastian Buus also climbed the podium – King’s Danish teammate secured third.
The decisive move happened right after the lights went off. Ten Voorde’s start was not ideal and he lost the sprint to the first corner against King. The U.K. driver then defended his lead at the wheel of his 375 kW Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by the BWT Lechner Racing team.
“My car ran perfectly,” said King, who also celebrated his first victory in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland four weeks ago. “I could have driven a little faster but I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks – in Monaco, you always have to expect a safety car, which wipes out any advantage.”
King was proven right with this prediction. A few minor incidents occurred during the opening laps. However, they did not affect the running of the race. Jorge Lorenzo was one of the victims, with the five-time motorcycle world champion from Spain failing to reach the flag.
On lap 12 of 17, a 911 stranded in a barrier caused a safety car phase. Since clearing the track could not be done immediately, the race ended behind the safety car.
As a result, ten Voorde could no longer attack Harry King.
“I botched my start, which was my mistake,” admitted the two-time Supercup champion. “I’m sorry for the team. At first, I managed to keep Harry under pressure but I didn’t really get a chance to overtake.”
Porsche-Junior Buus was not entirely happy with his race either.
“I was expecting a bit more,” said the 19-year-old Dane. “Still, I achieved a podium finish and that’s the most important thing in terms of the season ahead.”
Fourth and fifth place went to Dutchman Loek Hartog (Team GP Elite) and Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci (CLRT) respectively.
“The first race of the season in Monaco threw big challenges at the drivers and teams,” Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil1 Supercup said. “However, they all mastered them exceptionally and treated fans along the racetrack to some great motor racing.
“It’s a pity that the race ended behind the safety car, but we could still see that the level of competition is very high this year.”