Originally from Austria, Christoph Huber learned his trade from a racing legend: none other than his compatriot Walter Lechner senior. Huber was his team manager and right-hand man in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland from 2010 to 2016. He also managed the team at Lechner Racing in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and organised the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East as Sporting Director. Today, Huber owns one of the largest motorsport autograph collections, and he has a wealth of experience in the world of Porsche one-make cups – experience that can only benefit his team.

At the beginning of 2016, the then 33-year-old founded his own team, with the support of Lechner senior. They picked up the ProAm title with Wolfgang Triller in his very first season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – a success they managed to repeat in 2017. In 2019, the team with Larry ten Voorde won a total of five races in the Carrera Cup Deutschland, finishing third in the championship and runner-up in the team standings. The 2020 season was a rollercoaster ride for Nebulus Racing by Huber. The economic impact of the pandemic hit the young team hard. In terms of sport, however, things could hardly have gone better: Ten Voorde clinched the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland title for the team and won the Porsche Carrera Cup Le Mans.

With racing driver and endurance specialist Luca Rettenbacher, Christoph Huber has once again used his network and strengthened his organisation for the Supercup. The master plan is to transfer his recipe for success to the international one-make cup. To this end, the team based in Neuburg am Inn in Lower Bavaria has manned its three cars with well-known big names from each classification: ProAm title defender Roar Lindland, Rookie and Simracer Laurin Heinrich, and Leon Köhler, eighth overall and third in the 2020 Rookie Classification, will compete against international rivals behind the wheel of the brand-new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Their goal is to leave a lasting impression in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Christoph Huber is one of a kind compared to other racing team owners. He’s not a mechanic, not an ex-racing driver – but he is very well networked with the entire racing circus, and he’s equipped with an almost unerring sense for the right people to build a successful team. We spoke with him and Luca Rettenbacher at the official season test in Monza, where his journey into the world of Porsche one-make cups began as team manager of Lechner Racing.

Hello Christoph and Luca,

it’s the first time you will race a full season in the Supercup with your own team. What are your expectations, goals and maybe dreams?

Christoph: It’s very exciting for us to take part as a permanent team in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. We need to find out about our standing against the other teams first before I can think of specific goals, but we will give our best and hopefully some magic will happen. We will see for ourselves this season.

 

Roar Lindland ProAm defending champion, Laurin Heinrichs the "hybrid race king," Leon Köhler the hotshot – what can you tell us about the selection of drivers in your team?

Christoph: For the first season at the pinnacle of Porsche’s one-make series it was important for us to put a proper driver line-up on the grid. With Roar Lindland we’re aiming at a fourth ProAm Champion title in a row. Leon Köhler has some Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup experience, with two podium finishes in the 2020 season, and we hope that he’ll build on that this year. Laurin was nominated “Rookie of the year” in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland last year, which makes him perfect to compete in the Rookie Classification this season.

Luca: I raced against Laurin and Leon and I have to say, they both are really fast drivers for their age. But the others are pretty fast as well, so we have to wait and see what will happen this season.

 

How hard would it be for you to see ten Voorde winning races against your team?

Christoph: It won’t be that hard. We started our journey with Larry in 2019 and we learned a lot from each other. He had a big influence on the team as it is today, and we also helped him to celebrate his Championship title in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and winning the Carrera Cup Le Mans with Nebulus Racing. In the end, we’ll be proud of him if he takes home the Supercup trophy again this year, but on the other hand we want to beat him on the track in every race this season.

What are the expectations regarding the performance of the new 911 GT3 Cup?

Christoph: Our expectations are of course very high. We saw at the season test in Monza, and on other tracks, that the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is very fast and something completely different compared to the previous model. We are very happy to welcome this state-of-the-art car to our team.

Luca: With the new axle system and the upgraded aerodynamics, the car feels totally different, but since every driver in the Supercup is in the same situation, we will see who gets used to it the quickest.

 

What do you think of Porsche’s plans to promote sustainability in their one-make cups?

Christoph: It’s very important to do something to preserve the Earth for upcoming generations. We are also very happy to make our contribution and help Porsche develop a sustainable fuel for the sport we all love the most.

 

Christoph and Luca, thank you so much for the chat.