The race
Schuring defended his lead over the entire race distance against Porsche Junior Bastian Buus. The Dane from the BWT Lechner Racing team finished ahead of the French CLRT driver Dorian Boccolacci and extended his lead in the overall Supercup rankings.
The strain was still apparent on his face long after crossing the finish line. “Bastian pushed me relentlessly on every lap and that was really tough,” declared Morris Schuring, recalling his battle with Porsche Junior Bastian Buus over the entire race distance. Heading into the race from pole position, Schuring managed to hold on to his lead. Buus, on the other hand, beat Dorian Boccolacci to the first corner and swept into second place. Schuring and Buus then lapped the Formula 1 circuit in eastern Belgium in formation. At one point, Buus pulled alongside at the end of the start-finish straight but was unable to get past. “I noticed that Bastian braked a little too late. I held my line and was able to pull ahead again,” said Schuring.
The situation took an exciting turn when rain set in. “Things got really tricky. The front wheels locked up under braking and I got wheelspin when accelerating,” explained Schuring. When several drivers slid into a run-off zone while braking, the stewards stopped the fifth round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup early. “That was the right decision,” stated Schuring. At the age of 18 years and five months, the Dutchman was crowned the youngest winner in the international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup that has been held since 1993. For his FACH AUTO TECH team, it was the second victory of the season after Alexander Fach won at Silverstone in the UK.
With this success, Schuring dethroned his Spa rival Buus as the youngest Supercup winner of all time. For his part, the now 20-year-old Dane was satisfied with his second place: “I finished ahead of my closest rivals in the title fight and that’s the most important thing.” His advantage over BWT Lechner Racing teammate Harry King, who finished fourth at Spa, has increased to 13 points. Buus, however, was not particularly happy about the red flagging of the race: “As long as it was dry, I had virtually no chance to overtake Morris. On the wet track, however, I coped better with the difficult conditions than he did. I think I would have had a chance to get past.”
Tackling the race alongside Schuring on the front row, Dorian Boccolacci suffered a setback in the first few seconds of the race. “My start was not good and Bastian immediately overtook me. Then I had Harry King breathing down my neck, but luckily, I managed to keep him at bay. At least I scored enough points to advance to third place in the standings,” concluded the Frenchman from the CLRT squad. In the overall standings, Boccolacci overtook Dutchman Larry ten Voorde, who only finished eighth in the 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by the GP Elite team.
This result put the two-time Supercup champion behind the two fastest rookies. For the Frenchman Alessandro Ghiretti, this was his second victory this season in the special category for Supercup newcomers. “It’s a great feeling to be on top of the podium and to hear the French national anthem,” said the 21-year-old from the Martinet by Alméras team, who also holds the overall lead in the Rookie classification. The rookie podium was rounded off by Australian Harri Jones (BWT Lechner Racing) in fifth and Belgian Benjamin Paque (CLRT), who finished the race in 12th.
“Congratulations to Morris Schuring on his first Supercup victory. His success and the previous victories of his teammate Alexander Fach as well as Porsche Junior Bastian Buus and Harry King show that the youngsters are calling the shots in the Supercup this year. After a short summer break, we’re off to the doubleheader in Zandvoort. I think we will witness a gripping second half of the season,” asserted Oliver Schwab, Project Manager Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
The next round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will be held as part of the Dutch Grand Prix support programme from 25 to 27 August 2023.
Race 5 result, Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
1. Morris Schuring (NL/FACH AUTO TECH)
2. Porsche-Junior Bastian Buus (DK/BWT Lechner Racing)
3. Dorian Boccolacci (F/CLRT)
4. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing)
5. Marvin Klein (F/Ombra)
6. Alessandro Ghiretti (F/Martinet by Alméras)
Standings 2023 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (after five races)
1. Porsche-Junior Bastian Buus (DK/BWT Lechner Racing), 84 points
2. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), 71 points
3. Dorian Boccolacci (F/CLRT), 69 points
4. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 62 points
The Qualifying
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.
TV and internet coverage of round five of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race held as part of the Belgian Grand Prix support programme gets underway on Sunday (30 July 2023) at 11.45 am CEST and runs over 12 laps. TV channels Eurosport and Sky Sport provide a live broadcast of the race, with the streaming service f1tv.formula1.com also televising the race.
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