The Furious Virtual Finale in Monza.

There was much anticipation going into Rounds 7 and 8 of the series’ Virtual Edition. The showdown between #22 Ayhancan Güven (TUR/martinet by ALMÉRAS) and #25 Larry ten Voorde (NLD/Team GP Elite) promised unparalleled motorsport entertainment, and that’s exactly what they delivered. Istanbul’s Güven secured first place in the Qualifying Round, but moments after the race’s start, ten Voorde attacked. Meanwhile, exiting from the first chicane, #2 Dylan Pereira (LUX/BWT Lechner Racing) was also turning-up the heat. A narrow field chased behind, including Porsche factory driver #81 Nick Tandy (GBR/ExxonMobil Oil Corporation – Mobil 1) and Rookie #8 Leon Köhler (DEU/Lechner Racing Middle East). A tailor-made start.

Heading into Ascari, Larry ten Voorde pushed past Güven, but just a few hundred meters later, Güven had an advantage on the entry into Parabolica, overtaking ten Voorde once again. And because neither one of them wanted to be knocked out of position, they squeezed through Prima Variante’s (Rettifilo) tight curve combination together.

In general, the chicane right after the start-finish straight was the scene of some unbelievable duels. One lap later, Güven and ten Voorde’s racing comrades, Pereira, Tandy, Köhler and #7 Joey Mawson (AUS/FACH AUTO TECH) pulled through Rettifilo’s curves lined up in a six-car formation.

The situation tightened up in Lesmo, and Güven ran out of track. The driving field around Pereira used the gap and Güven found himself back in the field between factory driver #86 Laurens Vanthoor (BEL/TAG Heuer SA), Monza expert #4 Jaxon Evans (NZL/MOMO Megatron Lechner Racing) and Team GP Elite pilot #24 Max van Splunteren (NLD). Driving at speeds over 250km/hour, nine Porsche 911 GT3 Cups hustled their way, side-by-side towards Ascari, but after the curve combination, only seven remained: Tandy hit the curbs too hard, flying off the track, taking van Splunteren with him. All this action happened at minute seven of 25, so at this point we’d already forgotten this was a virtual race.

Ayhancan Güven, who was the overall leader, suddenly found himself in fourth place. But the Porsche-Junior showed off his talent. After a struggle to pass Köhler and Pereira, he launched his attack against ten Voorde, who was unable to shake off the competition. The excitement mounted again during the race’s last lap. Güven courageously attacked Larry ten Voorde’s Porsche just before the Seconda Variante (Roggia), but the Dutchman quickly proved that not only could he hold the line, he could also draw a clear battle line. Then in a fraction-of-a-second manoeuvre, Güven hit a high curb, catching his Porsche, handing ten Voorde a run-away. It also enabled Pereira and Köhler to pass him. What a furious Round 7 finale!

In the decisive final round of the Virtual Edition, Larry ten Voorde was now number one in the Overall Classification and starting from pole position in the “Grande Finale Virtuale” of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2020. Güven needed a victory in order to keep his chances of winning the title alive. His mission: to escape as quickly as possible from fourth position and pass him at the right moment. An absolute dream start was needed. Unfortunately, for the Porsche-Junior, he wasn’t successful. As the lights went out, he was a moment too late on the throttle, losing five additional places on ten Voorde. Then, a tackling between Joey Mawson and Max van Splunteren in the Prima Variante cost him even more ground. Although Güven was in a brave chase for second – trailing 4 seconds behind ten Voorde – the gap was too large in the end. Larry ten Voorde not only celebrated Race 2’s win, but also the win of the Virtual Edition championship.

And what about the other positions? Dylan Pereira lost second place in the first lap due to a driving error at Ascari, which allowed Leon Köhler and Jaxon Evans to surpass. It was exactly the same point that former Lechner Racing teammate and current Porsche Young Professional, Julien Andlauer also lost his car and his chance to win the 2019 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Championship. It remains to be seen whether Ascari will be renamed “BWT Curve” as suggested by Lechner Racing Team Manager, Michael Schöch. Pereira did however secure 5th place in Race 2 and 3rd place in the Overall Classification.

Crossing the finish line in 3rd place was Leon Köhler and in 4th place, Porsche-Junior, Jaxon Evans. The two who fought head-to-head the entire race. The first time, Köhler managed to overtake Jaxon in minute nine with a clean manoeuvre in the Seconda Variante. Jaxon countered in the next lap, but was again defeated by Köhler when he attempted to let Güven pass. Not stopping the young Turk in his chase for the title, shows true sportsmanship from Köhler and Evans. With his convincing performance in Monza, Köhler not only won the respect of the motorsport community, but also 1st place in the Rookie Classification, ahead of Max van Splunteren and #11 Jaden Conwright (USA/Dinamic Motorsport).

Countless battles at Monza’s virtual royal park demonstrates exactly what makes this high-speed course so special: slipstream. We saw this from the get-go in the qualifying rounds when #26 Jesse van Kuijk (NLD/Team GP Elite) pulled Larry along to give him a better lap time. During the race, drivers can emerge from the slipstream just before the chicanes to push ahead. Entering the curves, the slipstream can give a decisive centimetre and the go-ahead for an overtaking manoeuvre.

In the field however, the air turbulence from the slipstream can be tricky, destabilizing trailing vehicles. And because of this, there were a number of spectacular lift-offs, including one from local guest driver David Fumanelli, who raced in the #911 racing car for the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia. And of course there were some virtual body slams in Monza. #20 Jaap van Lagen (NLD/FACH AUTO TECH) drove part of Race 2 without a bonnet. Some drivers lost performance due to car damage, including the ProAms, of which only #21 Clément Mateu (FRA/pierre martinet by ALMÉRAS) scored points during both races. The victory in the ProAm Classification went to #27 Marc Cini (AUS/Team Australia) with a slim lead over Mateu and his teammate #20 Roar Lindland (NOR).

Real race drivers give their everything, even when SimRacing. A theory proved correct when put to the test with the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition, where every victory counts because of its unparalleled international reputation. The drivers’ high-performance driving was remarkable and seemed to improve throughout the Virtual Edition series. There couldn’t be a better atmosphere to kick-off the real series this summer.