• Guest driver Harry King wins both races at the Red Bull Ring
• Maximum score for Glenn Van Parijs, new leader in the standings
• Nicolas Saelens and Floris Dullaart winners in Pro-Am
• Jan Lauryssen unapproachable in Am
Is the Red Bull Ring the ideal playground for the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup type 992? One thing is certain, the fast Austrian route resulted in two great races during the second round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux!
20-year-old Briton Harry King (Parkers Revs Motorsport) came as a guest driver to prepare his races for the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup and made an impression. Twice he started fourth on the grid, twice the reigning champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Great-Britain managed to take the lead with a cannon start in the first round of the race, only to not give up afterwards. In Spielberg, King was… king!
Of the regular drivers of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, double pole sitter (with an average of more than 170 km / h) Glenn Van Parijs proved to be the best. By wisely not wanting to compete with Harry King - as a guest driver he did not score points - the NGT Racing driver recorded a maximum score. Not only did the Belgian conquer both pole positions, but he also set the fastest race lap twice, and turned out to be the best of all Benelux riders twice. He now leads the championship with 68 points.
Xavier Maassen (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing), the 2017 champion, made his comeback with two starting places on the front row of the grid. At the first race, however, he stopped at the start line, but luckily he could be avoided by everyone. Afterwards, the Dutchman put down a great catch-up race, and climbed from 13th to fifth place in 20 laps. Maassen experienced a calmer race on Sunday: he came out of a duel with Dylan Derdaele as the winner and finished third behind Van Parijs.
And speaking of him: Dylan Derdaele had a weekend of ups and downs. As leader in the championship, the Belgian Racing driver managed to limit the damage in the Saturday race by climbing from seventh to fourth place. The Limburger delivered some nice duels, including with the German Sebastian Freymuth (PG Motorsport) and the Dutchman Thierry Vermeulen (Team GP Elite). The latter was eventually punished for not respecting the "track limits". On Sunday, Derdaele got off to a great start, delivered a nice battle with Maassen, but then made a mistake and touched the guardrail. He finished 12th, good for a few points in the championship. However, he has lost the lead in the standings.
Huub van Eijndhoven (#TeamPGZ by JW RaceService) finished on the podium of the first race and was penalized in the second after contact with Steven Van Rhee, placing him fifth. Because of that regularity, he is in the intermediate position just behind new leader Van Parijs. We also note the great performances of Steven Van Rhee (Team GP Elite), seventh and fourth, which means that he is now fourth in the championship.
Pro-Am: once Saelens, once Dullaart
A nice battle was also fought in Pro-Am. On Saturday, the Belgian Nicolas Saelens (Belgium Racing) won ahead of Floris Dullaart (Team GP Elite). The next day, the Dutchman took revenge and dominated his category from start to finish. Despite a five-second penalty for a false start, Saelens was second, keeping him in the lead in the standings. With two third places, Ziad Geris (Team GP Elite) stayed ahead of Filip Teunkens (Q1 Trackracing by EMG Motorsport) on Saturday, in a race that was marked in the final phase by the penalty for Nicolas Vandierendonck (Q1 Trackracing by EMG Motorsport), after contact with Wim Meulders. On Sunday Vandierendonck took fourth place, ahead of Andrey Mukovoz (DUWO Racing), twice in the top-5 in Austria.
Am: Lauryssen head and shoulders
After the opening round in Spa-Francorchamps, there was already a strong suspicion, and that was only confirmed in Spielberg: Jan Lauryssen is head and shoulders above the rest in the Am category. The Q1 Trackracing by EMG Motorsport driver not only achieved two resounding victories, but he also remained the best Pro-Am driver twice, crossing the line sixth and seventh overall. The Belgian rookie is already delivering performances worthy of an experienced hand!
Behind him, Wim Meulders (Speedlover) took second place twice in the Am category. In race 1 Ad Geerts (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing) completed the podium, the next day the American Dominique Bastien (Speedlover) did the same in race 2.
After the FIA WEC and the ELMS, it will be next time for the ADAC GT Masters to serve as the backdrop for the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. Appointment in Zandvoort, from 9 to 11 July!