Thrilling finale to the 2018 Porsche Supercup in Mexico

Perhaps it was inevitable that Michael Ammermüller took the title, but there was a thrilling finale to the 2018 Porsche Supercup in Mexico. Consisting of two rounds, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, the title went down to the wire in the final round on Sunday.
Round 9 on Saturday went to Porsche Junior, Julien Andlauer (martinet by ALMERAS), who celebrated his first win in the international one-make cup. “To climb to the very top of the podium after a Supercup race has been my goal over the entire year. So, I’m over the moon. I had an almost perfect start and was able to gradually pull clear of my pursuers,” said Andlauer.

Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing), who started from pole, was overtaken by both Andlauer and Larry ten Voorde (Team Project 1) in the first corner, a move that allowed the ten Voorde to snatch the lead. The Dutchman, Larry ten Voorde, then led the field all the way to the flag in the 16-lap race but he was judged to have performed a jump start and was handed a ten-second penalty. This handed victory to the 19-year-old Andlauer in Round 9.

Following on Andlauer’s rear bumper was the points leader, Michael Ammermüller, but he was put under constant pressure by his teammate, Thomas Preining (BWT Lechner Racing). The 32-year-old Ammermüller said after the race, “It was a difficult race and my aim was to bring home as many points as possible. A collision would have been devastating for my title chances. Tomorrow I want to be crowned champion for the second time in a row.”

Preining drove a flawless race to finish in third place, securing his fifth podium finish of the season. “That was a crazy race with lots of duels. I just couldn’t find a way past Michael, so I had to settle for third place,” said 20-year-old Preining. Nick Yelloly crossed the finish line in fourth place with his Dutch teammate Jaap van Lagen in fifth.

After 9 of the 10 races completed the Drivers’ points standings were

Final round

Once again it was the Porsche Junior, Julien Andlauer (martinet by ALMERAS), who dominated the final round of the 2018 Porsche Supercup series to take his second victory of the weekend. But the cool and calm attitude of Michael Ammermüller (BWT Lechner Racing) saw the Bavarian driver accumulating sufficient points throughout the season to clinch the title for the second successive year. This makes Ammermüller only the fifth driver after Patrick Huisman, Richard Westbrook, Jeroen Bleekemolen and René Rast to defend his championship title in this international one-make cup.

At the start of Round 10, polesitter Ammermüller had the best starting position but he lost it to Andlauer in the sprint to the first corner. Ammermüller, however, could not defend his second place as Yelloly and Thomas Preining put Ammermüller under pressure and on the third lap, Yelloly grabbed the chance to move into second place. Three laps later, Porsche Junior Preining also overtook his teammate, Ammermüller, before chasing down Yelloly and passing him on lap ten. The 20-year-old, however, was handed a three-second penalty due to gaining an advantage by leaving the track. As a result, Yelloly inherited second place ahead of Ammermüller.

Ammermüller was overjoyed, “Even if it looked easy today, I was tense to the last lap. I still can’t believe I’ve won the title for the second time straight.” Ammermüller scored his only victory of the season at the opening round in Barcelona, Spain, but with seven podium finishes, it was his consistency that won him the title. A second and third place finish in Mexico was all that was needed to secure Ammermüller his second championship title in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Nick Yelloly (Fach Auto Tech) from Great Britain finished in second place in the final round, and his points tally was sufficient to secure second place in the Supercup for the 2018 season. After crossing the finishing line first on Saturday, the Porsche Junior driver, Julien Andlauer, scored his second Supercup win of the weekend in Mexico City. “It’s fantastic to conclude the season with a double victory. Fourth overall in my debut Supercup season is a great result.”

The 20-year-old Austrian, Thomas Preining, finished in fourth place and, in his debut year in the Supercup title race, he secured third place after winning four races. “Had I not received the time penalty I could have done better, but I have to live with fourth place. Still, I fought to the end for the championship. It was a thrilling season for me,” said Preining.