• Part 2 of the 2021 season at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg
• Derdaele (Pro), Saelens (Pro-Am) and Lauryssen (Am) leaders in the standings
• Both races can be followed live via social media
Barely two weeks after the start of the season at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux will already have a second meeting between the 14th and 16th of May, this time at the Red Bull Ring. The drivers of the fastest single-brand cup in the Benelux will make their first appearance on the Austrian circuit, and will do as support series of the European Le Mans Series.
Pro: who can do something about Derdeale?
After two victories in the Belgian Ardennes, Dylan Derdaele (Belgium Racing) is the first leader in the championship. In the meantime, the Limburger already has sufficient racing rhythm at the wheel of the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup type 992: last Sunday he took victory in the GT division and the Porsche Endurance Trophy, as part of the season opener of the Belcar Endurance Championship. The champion of 2016 can therefore, more than ever, call himself a big title favorite!
However, the Austrian F1 circuit is very different from the circuit in Spa-Francorchamps. Huub van Eijndhoven (#TeamPGZ by JW Raceservice), the revelation of 2020, looks forward to winning. The young Dutchman finished on the podium twice at the opening meeting and also captured his first pole position. If he wants to conquer the title, he has to keep the pressure on Dylan Derdaele high, and especially score a lot of points.
In the Austrian mountains there is no shortage of podium candidates: German Sebastian Freymuth (PG Motorsport), Belgian Glenn Van Parijs (NGT Racing), Austrian home driver Felix Neuhofer (PG Motorsport), or the Dutch Steven van Rhee (Team GP Elite) and Thierry Vermeulen (Team GP Elite) all have a chance of winning a place of honor. The latter two, both very fast, have a few things to put right after their collision with Francorchamps. In addition to Xavier Maassen (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing), the 2017 champion can finally start his season after his absence from Spa, Ghislain Cordeel (Team GP Elite) and certainly the Brit Harry King (Parker Revs Motorsport) should also keep an eye on are held. The latter, guest driver in Spielberg, is none other than the defending champion in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.
Pro-Am: will Saelens continue on his streak?
Just like his teammate Dylan Derdaele in the overall ranking, Nicolas Saelens left the Ardennes as leader in the Pro-Am championship. He also mastered the Porsche 991 GT3 Cup type 992 even better last weekend, because during the race for the Porsche Endurance Trophy he shared the car with Dylan Derdaele! The driver of Belgium Racing therefore goes to Austria as one of the favorites.
Floris Dullaart (Team GP Elite), twice on the podium in Spa, will be a tough nut to crack. The same applies to Nicolas Vandierendonck (Q1 Trackracing by EMG), Ziad Geris (Team GP Elite), Andrey Mukovoz (DUWO Racing), Michael Cool (NGT Racing) and Filip Teunkens (Q1 Trackracing by EMG), all of whom have no plans are to return empty-handed from Styria.
Am: Lauryssen the best again?
There is no need to beat around the bush: Jan Lauryssen (Q1 Trackracing by EMG) made quite an impression in Francorchamps! In his very first race, the Belgian not only captured a double hat-trick (pole, victory and fastest race lap) in the Am category, but in the first race he managed to stay ahead of even the best drivers in the Pro-Am class. Could the change of scenery threaten his preponderance? Competitors Ad Geerts (#TeamPGZ by Red Ant Racing) and Wim Meulders (Speedlover) certainly hope so. Also the American Dominique Bastien (Speedlover), who started last year with a Porsche 911 RSR in the 24 hours of Le Mans, is aiming for a place on the podium. At the same time, it proves that you can still enjoy the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup at 75!
As usual, the 35-minute qualifications (Saturday at 2 pm) are preceded by two free practice sessions. The first race is also scheduled on Saturday (5:25 PM), the second race starts on Sunday at 9:45 AM. Both races can be followed on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux.