Race 14
Thanks to his win on the Austrian Formula 1 racetrack, Porsche Junior Bastian Buus consolidated his runner-up position in the standings. The Hockenheimring hosts the season finale of the one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup from 20-22 October 2023.
Larry ten Voorde looked relieved. “It was a tough race with more fighting for positions and more contacts than I would have liked, but it was great fun,” said the Dutchman from the GP Elite team, after finishing Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring in fifth place. “When I first contested the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in 2017, I would never have dared to dream that I would set a new record with three titles. It’s been an incredible journey so far and I hope it continues for a long time to come.”
In the race, the dominant championship leader could have taken the pressure off himself: To claim the title, he only needed to score two points at round 14 of the 16-race calendar. However, heading into the race from the fifth grid spot, ten Voorde was determined to fight for a podium finish. He and Harry King (Allied Racing) went head-to-head for third place over many laps – at times swapping paint as well as a spectacular detour through a gravel bed for the GP Elite car. “After that, my car didn’t handle so well,” ten Voorde reported later. He let King and, a little later, Morris Schuring (Auto Tech) go and concentrated on making it across the finish line unscathed. Ultimately, fifth place was enough to clinch an early title.
At the head of the field, Porsche Junior Bastian Buus drove a commanding race to bring home his third win of the season. On lap three, the 20-year-old Dane and his Allied-Racing teammate Harry King initially swept past polesitter Loek Hartog (Team GP Elite) from the Netherlands. However, the stewards decided that King’s overtaking manoeuvre was a little too ambitious. When the Englishman was instructed to fall back behind Hartog again, the door opened for Buus. His lead after 21 laps was 4.1 seconds – a huge margin by Carrera Cup standards. “I won, that’s all I could do today. Congratulations to Larry on winning the title,” said Buus showing true sportsmanship.
After failing to turn his pole position into a victory on Saturday, Loek Hartog was also less than thrilled on Sunday. “I’m not happy, that I lost the lead in the race. At least I still have the points for second place,” he concluded. Third-placed Harry King would also have preferred to finish further up the field. “I could’ve won, but the penalty cost me two positions. At least I had a great duel with Larry ten Voorde,” he concluded.
Behind Morris Schuring and Larry ten Voorde, Germany’s Leon Köhler (Proton Competition) crossed the finish line in sixth place. Scoring seventh place, his fellow countryman Alexander Tauscher (Huber Racing) was the best-placed driver from the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Talent Pool.
Repeating the success from the previous day, Theo Oeverhaus (CarTech Motorsport Bonk) won the Rookie classification. “After just a few laps I managed to take the lead of the Rookies and held on to it to the flag. The points are valuable,” stated the 18-year-old from Germany, thrilled with his seventh win of the season and his extended lead in the standings. Joining him on the Rookie podium were Vincent Andronaco (Allied-Racing) from Germany in second place and Jasin Ferati (Fach Auto Tech) from Switzerland in third.
Ahmad Alshehab (CarTech Motorsport Bonk) claimed the top step of the ProAm podium for the fourth time this season. “My engineer told me to push, push, push – so that’s what I did,” beamed the Kuwaiti racer. The current ProAm leader Sören Spreng (GP Elite) from Germany finished second ahead of Bulgarian Georgi Donchev (ProfilDoors by Huber Racing).
“My sincere congratulations to Larry ten Voorde on winning the title. He clearly dominated the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland season and takes home the well-deserved championship crown for the third time. Now I’m looking forward to the season finale in Hockenheim and the title decisions in the ProAm, Rookie and Team classes. There’s still a lot of suspense in all three classifications,” said Issak Hurui, Project Manager for the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland after the weekend in Styria.
Larry ten Voorde: first triple champion in Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
Larry ten Voorde is Europe’s most successful driver in Porsche’s one-make cups. To date, the 26-year-old has celebrated 29 victories and climbed the podium 99 times in the international Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as well as national series in Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries. He won the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in 2020 and 2021. In the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, which began in 1990, he is the only champion from the Netherlands and has now set a new record with his third title after 2020 and 2021.
The lean Dutchman has also made his mark in international endurance racing. He celebrated a class victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR and also delivered a strong performance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Results race 14, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, Red Bull Ring (A)
1. Porsche Junior Bastian Buus (DK/Allied-Racing), 32:18.355 minutes
2. Loek Hartog (NL/Team GP Elite), +4.119 seconds
3. Harry King (UK/Allied-Racing), +6,016 seconds
4. Morris Schuring (NL/Fach Auto Tech), +7.726 seconds
5. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), +9.066 seconds
6. Leon Köhler (D/Proton Competition), +9.388 seconds
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / Drivers (after 14 races)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 289 points
2. Porsche Junior Bastian Buus (DK/Allied-Racing), 230 points
3. Harry King (UK/Allied-Racing), 209 points
4. Loek Hartog (NL/Team GP Elite), 206 points
5. Morris Schuring (NL/FACH AUTO TECH), 155 points
Full results and all championship standings:
motorsports.porsche.com/germany/de/category/carreracup/pccd-2023-results
Race 13
Thanks to his victory in Saturday’s race at the Red Bull Ring, Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite) increased his lead over Porsche Junior Bastian Buus (Allied-Racing) to 73 points. This means that Buus still has an outside chance of snatching the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland title from the Dutchman. But even if his Danish pursuer wins Sunday’s race, ten Voorde needs only two more points to take home his third overall crown in the one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup already tomorrow.
“Number games are not my thing, so I simply focused on my race and made the most of my chances,” said ten Voorde, who started round 13 from the second grid spot. In the second corner, ten Voorde overtook his teammate and polesitter Loek Hartog. The 26-year-old then controlled the race from the front and refused to let a safety car phase disrupt his rhythm.
For Hartog, however, the neutralisation behind the safety car heralded bad luck. Shortly after the restart, the Dutchman was overtaken by the two Allied-Racing drivers Harry King and Bastian Buus and then Leon Köhler (Proton Competition) from Germany. Hartog ultimately saw the flag in sixth place.
From P4 on the grid to second place
“I started from P4 on the grid and finished in second place, so I’m really happy with my race. I have to admit, Larry was out of reach today,” commented King. In any case, the British racer is now out of contention for the title. “For me, it’s just about beating Bastian and Loek in the fight for runner-up honours.”
Porsche Junior Buus had a mixed reaction to his day. “I overtook Loek and was overtaken by Harry, so I couldn’t improve on my grid position. Third place is not my goal, I’m here to fight for victories,” confessed the 20-year-old Dane.
Buus to start in front of ten Voorde tomorrow
This will again be no easy feat for Bastian Buus in the second race of the weekend. On Sunday, the Porsche Junior will only start from position four, but at least directly in front of title favourite Larry ten Voorde. Loek Hartog once again starts from pole position and shares the front row with Harry King.
Behind Leon Köhler, sixth place went to Theo Oeverhaus. Driving for the CarTech Motorsport Bonk team, the German won the Rookie classification of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland for the sixth time this season. “I have significantly increased my lead in the standings, which is reassuring. From now on I can concentrate on defending the lead,” said the 18-year-old, looking ahead to the remaining three races of the season. The Rookie podium was rounded off by Australian Harri Jones (Scherer Sport PHX) and Belgian Ghislain Cordeel (GP Elite).
Sören Spreng climbed to the top of the ProAm podium for the seventh time this season. “I got off the line well at the start and then enjoyed a few fun battles for position,” reported the GP Elite driver from Germany. Thanks to this result, Spreng has increased his championship lead over the Bulgarian Georgi Donchev (ProfilDoors by Huber Racing) and Ahmad Alshehab (CarTech Motorsport) from Kuwait, who shared the ProAm podium with him.
Internet coverage of Sunday’s race
Round 14 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland will be streamed live on the internet on Sunday (24 September 2023) from 11.10 am on the one-make cup’s YouTube channel and the Porsche Motorsport Hub (www.porsche.de/pccd).
Result race 13, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, Red Bull Ring (A)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 32.47.080 minutes
2. Harry King (UK/Allied-Racing), +1.568 seconds
3. Porsche-Junior Bastian Buus (DK/Allied-Racing), +2.677 seconds
4. Leon Köhler (D/Proton Competition), +3.157 seconds
5. Loek Hartog (NL/Team GP Elite), +5.687 seconds
6. Theo Oeverhaus (D/CarTech Motorsport Bonk), +6.646 seconds
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / Drivers (after 13 races)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 278 points
2. Porsche-Junior Bastian Buus (DK/Allied-Racing), 206 points
3. Harry King (UK/Allied-Racing), 193 points
4. Loek Hartog (NL/Team GP Elite), 186 points
5. Morris Schuring (NL/FACH AUTO TECH), 142 points
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / Rookies (after 13 races)
1. Theo Oeverhaus (D/CarTech Motorsport Bonk), 216 points
2. Harri Jones (AUS/Scherer Sport PHX), 199 points
3. Vincent Andronaco (D/Allied-Racing), 180 points
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / ProAm (after 13 races)
1. Sören Spreng (D/GP Elite), 234 points
2. Georgi Donchev (BG/ProfilDoors by Huber Racing), 226 points
3. Ahmad Alshehab (KWT/CarTech Motorsport Bonk), 217 points
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / Teams (after 13 races)
1. Team GP Elite (NL), 479 points
2. Allied-Racing (D), 416 points
3. FACH AUTO TECH (CH), 231 points
Full results and championship standings:
motorsports.porsche.com/germany/de/category/carreracup/pccd-2023-results
Preview
Although others won the races recently, Larry ten Voorde’s third and second place at the Sachsenring were enough for the Dutchman to extend his championship lead in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland even further. Ahead of rounds 13 and 14 at the Red Bull Ring, the GP Elite driver has a healthy 64-point advantage over Porsche Junior Bastian Buus from Denmark. Ten Voorde‘s teammate Loek Hartog and Englishman Harry King, who drives for the German team Allied-Racing alongside Buus, rank third and fourth overall with a gap to the top of 78 and 80 points respectively. With a maximum of 100 points still available this season, ten Voorde’s position looks safe. A maximum of 50 points – for two race wins – are still up for grabs on the Formula 1 race track in Austria, with the same points tally awarded at the finale in Hockenheim.
“It looks good for me on paper, but I’ve experienced bad luck at the Red Bull Ring in the past,” says Larry ten Voorde, referring to a collision two years ago that set him back significantly in the fight for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup title.
Heading to the race weekend on the Austrian Formula 1 circuit, Bastian Buus says: “As long as I have a chance to close the gap to Larry, even if it’s theoretical, I refuse to give up. I’ve set my sights on two victories,” states Bastian Buus. Harry King ups the ante: The Brit is aiming for “two pole positions and two wins”. King would prefer to forget about the previous Carrera Cup round at the Sachsenring, when collisions robbed him of good results in both races: “All drivers knows the Red Bull Ring well, so I expect a cleaner race with fewer incidents.”
Three-way fight for the Rookie and ProAm titles
The title decisions in the other classes of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland are much closer than in the overall ranking. Among the eleven young rookie drivers from six countries, only twelve points separate the championship leader Theo Oeverhaus (CarTech Motorsport Bonk) from his closest pursuers, fellow German Vincent Andronaco (Allied-Racing) and Harri Jones (Scherer Sport PHX) from Australia. Ranking eighth overall, Oeverhaus is also the best-placed young driver from the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland’s Talent Pool.
The situation in the ProAm classification is even more gripping. A mere eight points separate the leader, Germany’s Sören Spreng (GP Elite), from Bulgarian Georgi Donchev (ProfilDoors by Huber Racing) and Ahmad Alshehab (CarTech Motorsport Bonk) from Kuwait. The team championship leader GP Elite with drivers Larry ten Voorde, Loek Hartog and rookie Huub van Eijndhoven managed to extend its lead over Allied Racing. The German team fields Porsche Junior Bastian Buus, Harry King and rookie Vincent Andronaco.
Two races of roughly 30 minutes
The Red Bull Ring hosts 30-minute Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland races on both Saturday and Sunday. Last year, Laurin Heinrich from Germany, who now contests the DTM at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R, and Dylan Pereira from Luxembourg won on the 4.318-kilometre Formula 1 circuit in Styria.
“The Alpine panorama as a backdrop and the changing track layout with uphill and downhill sections give the Red Bull Ring a very special character. What’s more, the title decisions in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland are entering the critical phase. I think the fans will be treated to two exciting and action-packed races,” says Hurui Issak, Project Manager Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland ahead of the penultimate race weekend of the season.
Live coverage of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland
Rounds 13 and 14 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland on the Red Bull Ring will be broadcast live on the one-make cup’s YouTube channel and the Porsche Motorsport Hub.
Schedule Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, round 7, Red Bull Ring (A)
Friday, 22 September
11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Practice
4:25 – 5:00 pm: Qualifying
Saturday, 23 September
11:20 am: Season Race 13
Sunday, 24 September
11:20 am: Season Race 14
Standings
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / drivers (after 12 races)
1. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Team GP Elite), 253 points
2. Porsche Junior Bastian Buus (DK/Allied-Racing), 189 points
3. Loek Hartog (NL/Team GP Elite), 175 points
4. Harry King (UK/Allied-Racing), 173 points
5. Morris Schuring (NL/FACH AUTO TECH), 139 points
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / Rookies (after 12 races)
1. Theo Oeverhaus (D/CarTech Motorsport Bonk), 191 points
2. Vincent Andronaco (D/Allied-Racing), 180 points
3. Harri Jones (AUS/Scherer Sport PHX), 179 points
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / ProAm (after 12 races)
1. Sören Spreng (D/GP Elite), 209 points
2. Georgi Donchev (BG/ProfilDoors by Huber Racing), 206 points
3. Ahmad Alshehab (KWT/CarTech Motorsport Bonk), 201 points
Standings Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland / Teams (after 12 races)
1. Team GP Elite (NL), 443 points
2. Allied-Racing (D), 380 points
3. FACH AUTO TECH (CH), 219 points
Full results and championship standings:
motorsports.porsche.com/germany/de/category/carreracup/pccd-2023-results
2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland calendar
27-29 April: Spa-Francorchamps (B)
9-11 June: Hockenheimring (D)
23-25 June: Zandvoort (NL
4-6 August: Nürburgring (D)
18-20 August: Lausitzring (D)
8-10 September: Sachsenring (D)
22-24 September: Red-Bull-Ring (A) )
20-22 October: Hockenheimring (D)