– 18-year-old Dutchman clocked the fastest time in qualifying for round five of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Spa-Francorchamps Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci qualifies on the first grid row for the third time straight
– Series leader Bastian Buus from Denmark tackles the 12-lap race on Belgium’s Formula 1 circuit from position three
With a flawless flying lap on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Morris Schuring clinched his first-ever pole position in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Competing for the FACH AUTO TECH squad, the 18-year-old Dutchman was just under a tenth of a second faster than CLRT’s driver Dorian Boccolacci from France. Although Harry King set the third fastest time, a penalty relegates the Englishman five positions down the grid for the race. As a result, Porsche Junior Bastian Buus inherited the third grid spot. The Dane, who like King is competing for BWT Lechner Racing, is determined to extend his lead in the championship at round five of the season on Sunday right before the Belgian Grand Prix.
Morris Schuring could hardly believe it himself. « I was fully expecting one of the top drivers to outpace me for pole position, » admitted the Dutchman, who currently ranks twelfth in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup standings. « I’m over the moon with my first pole position. There are a lot of Dutch spectators in the grandstands all dressed in orange so this almost feels like a home race. I hope I can bring home my first Supercup victory in front of this crowd on Sunday. »
Dorian Boccolacci was also pleased with his second-fastest lap time. « I’m starting from the front row for the third consecutive time – so it’s high time for my first win, » stated Boccolacci. Racing for the CLRT team, the Frenchman tackles round five of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season ranking fourth in the standings. « My plan is, of course, to outpace Morris in the sprint to the first corner. If that doesn’t work, luckily, this racetrack offers more overtaking opportunities than others. » Sunday’s race with the field of 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars will run over twelve laps on the 7.004-kilometre Grand Prix circuit.
Harry King has his eyes firmly set on achieving a podium spot. While the UK racer posted the third-fastest time in qualifying, a so-called ‘grid penalty’ cost him five places, which handed the third grid position to his teammate at BWT Lechner Racing, Bastian Buus. « At the Red Bull Ring, I started from eleventh on the grid and finished on the podium. Such a feat should be even more realistic at Spa-Francorchamps because there are more places to overtake. My car is running well on this track, so I’m feeling cautiously optimistic. »
Porsche Junior Bastian Buus seemed not entirely satisfied with how his qualifying went. « I didn’t get a clear run on my first set of fresh tyres and had to overtake several slower cars. Things went better with the second set of tyres, but it still wasn’t ideal. The good thing is that my closest rivals Harry King and Larry ten Voorde are starting behind me, » concluded the current leader of the Supercup standings. Harry King lies five positions behind Buus. Dutchman Larry ten Voorde from GP Elite currently ranks third in the standings behind Buus and King and will tackle the race from fourth place.
Qualifying result, round 5 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Spa-Francorchamps (B)
1. Morris Schuring (FACH AUTO TECH), 2:21,094 minutes
2. Dorian Boccolacci (F/CLRT), 2:21,191 minutes
3. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), 2:21,458 minutes
4. Porsche-Junior Bastian Buus (DK/BWT Lechner Racing), 2:21,482 minutes
5. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 2:21,644 minutes
6. Marvin Klein (F/Ombra), 2:21,799 minutes…
Holger Eckhardt,