Last season did not go according to plan for the normally successful North Dutch team, so they’ve made some changes for the 2023 Porsche Supercup. But one element remains the same: #25 Larry ten Voorde, who could win his third championship title.
New team manager Michel Schaap has teamed the fast Dutchman with four drivers who also compete in national Porsche one-make series. In addition to Ten Voorde's compatriots #24 Loek Hartog, #26 Lucas Groeneveld and #28 Huub van Eijndhoven, the Belgian #27 Ghislain Cordeel will also compete in the Rookie Classification alongside Van Eijndhoven. Michel's focus is on young talent, just like his predecessor Torsten van Haasteren, under whom former GP Elite driver Max van Splunteren became the 2020 Rookie Champion. Michel talked with us about what he wants to achieve in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2023 at the official Season Test in Imola.
A few questions for the team manager.
Hello Michel. You’re taking over for Torsten, who has already led the young team to great success. How are you handling the pressure?
Yes, Torsten started with the team in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup – and he had some great successes. But now he's stepping down and asked me to step in for him. I don't think it's too much pressure for me because I have a lot of experience and we have a lot of good people in the team. We have great drivers, we have competent mechanics – so the team is basically sorted. I've got some big shoes to fill, but I don't think they chose me for nothing.
Larry is back – but his 2022 rival Dylan is out of the series. Who might jeopardise the "Project Overall Champion 2023"?
This year Larry will be without his main rival from last season, that is true. But there will also be some new and old faces competing at a very high level. Even in our own team we have some new faces like Loek Hartog. So hopefully the toughest competition will come from within our team itself. But I think Lechner Racing or Huber Racing also have some good drivers. I believe it will be a difficult year, but because of the good winter programme we have done, I think we can be at the top.
So far your team has been all Dutch – now you have Ghislain, a Belgian. Are you getting more international? ;-)
Ghislain Cordeel is already in our team in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, so we know him quite well. He's a talented guy. And he asked if he could move up to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. And we said yes, we can make it happen. Three drivers from last year, including the van Kuijk brothers, retired, so we had vacancies for the 2023 season.
But to answer your question, it's no problem for us to be an international team. And since Ghislain is Belgian, he speaks our language, so it's quite easy to integrate him into the group.
What do you think sets your team apart from the competition – and how do you plan to maintain your edge in the upcoming season?
We're really looking forward to this competition because it's a prestigious series. Last year was not our greatest success. In the previous seasons we had two consecutive championships. This year we want to win the championship again. That's why we have Larry ten Voorde and Loek Hartog in our team. The other guys are rather new to the pinnacle of the Porsche one-make series, but I am sure they can develop.
Thinking ahead to Zandvoort: How can you guarantee that one of your drivers will finally stand on the podium in front of a home crowd?
We always aim to give our best at every race and try to win as many races as possible. Winning at Zandvoort is something we really want to do. I mean look at us, we have the orange army supporting us and as you can see we have orange on our suits and cars.
Honestly - I don't know why it hasn't happened yet. But this year we have a lot of opportunities. We have done a lot of preparation and we are definitely ready for the first Dutch victory in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Zandvoort this season.
Thanks a lot for the talk, Michel!
