The Evans-Show at Red Bull Ring.

At the conclusion of the season’s kick-off race in Styria, it was Walter Lechner’s experienced team that impressively left their mark on home terrain. Porsche Junior #1 Jaxon Evans (NZL/BWT Lechner Racing) dominated the race from pole position at the start and drove to a sovereign victory; skillfully, controlled and resolved. Exactly as one would expect from a Porsche Junior.

There wasn’t too much to suggest that the 23-year old New Zealander would be clearly superior at the beginning of the weekend. During the open practices he was only the fifth fastest, and during the qualifying he started in P4. But in the last qualifying round, he dropped the hammer. Pole position was only half the battle. “To command the race, I needed a great start. That seemed to work, and it was also great to see that two teammates were right behind me” sums up Jaxon, whose success continues the Porsche Juniors’ winning streak in Spielberg.

Evans’ leadership was completely visible. Tire management? No problem? Rear distance? Always in the green. Even though his teammate #2 Dylan Pereira (LUX/BWT Lechner Racing) never let more than a one second gap between them, the Luxembourg sports soldier had zero chance to attack Evans.

Pereira had to work his way from fourth place on the grid past #33 Florian Latorre (FRA/CLRT) and #3 Leon Köhler (GER/Lechner Racing Middle East). The German Rookie and Pereira took Latorre by the “scruff of the neck” on the first long straight after the start. Pereira on the outside, Köhler on the inside – the Lechner duo gave a lesson in teamwork.

Köhler drove an excellent race and held on to third place to the finish, which also meant first place in the Rookie Classification. He was consistently able to keep pace with the more experienced Evans and Pereira: “I didn’t expect that,” said Köhler, surprised by his own performance.

Nevertheless, Köhler successfully managed to keep none other than Porsche Junior #22 Ayhancan Güven (TUR/Martinet by Alméras) behind him. Starting from grid position five, Güven first had to fight his way past the weakening Latorre, which he managed to do during the first lap. Over the succeeding laps, he was able to close a gap to the first three, pulling his pursuers along for the ride.

Güven’s move pulled together a group of eight 485 hp Porsche 911 GT3 race cars, all fighting for the top spot. But apparently this interim surge demanded too much from the tires and he gradually lost ground during the second half of the race. Coasting in fifth place without any pressure he unfortunately exceeded track limits a number of times. This resulted in a five-second penalty and threw him back into eighth place in the final standings.

Güven’s lag in the back was in part due to Latorre’s defensive battle throughout the race. From the outset of the first lap, Latorre engaged in a gripping battle between Pereira, Köhler and Güven and ultimately lost those three positions.

Then #25 Larry ten Voorde (NED/Team GP Elite), Rookie #4 Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (FRA/Lechner Racing Middle East) and Rookie #23 Marvin Klein (FRA/Martinet by Alméras) pushed Latorre into the fight for fifth position. At the outset, #5 Jaap van Lagen (NED/FACH AUTO TECH) joined in the fun, but retired due to a punctured tire.

The group let it rip in the tenth lap. Three Porsche 911 GT3 Cup simultaneously headed into the Rindt-Curve. While ten Voorde was able to maintain control on the inside, Latorre and Simmenauer collided slightly. Somehow they all managed to recover from the situation and the fronts were cleared.

Finishing fifth was ten Voorde, while Latorre’s tedious race in the rear-view mirror landed him a sixth-place finish. Simmenauer was unable to manage his way past the French showdown but did secure himself second place in the Rookie Classification. And, due to the time penalty against Güven, everyone was bumped up a place. The same applied to Rookie #23 Marvin Klein (FRA/Martinet by Alméras), who came out strong with a seventh-place finish with his first race.

In the middle of the field, #10 Marius Nakken (NOR/Dinamic Motorsport) drove a lonely race in ninth position for quite a while, but eventually received a visit from #16 Laurin Heinrich (GER/MRS GT-Racing) in the final laps. Heinrich worked his way up to tenth position with some fine manoeuvres on #31 Daan van Kuijk (NED/GP Elite), #6 Jordan Love (AUS/FACH AUTO TECH) and #8 Julian Hanses (GER/Lechner Racing Middle East), but the race was too short for an attack on Nakken.

Placing 11th to 13th were Hanses, Love and D. van Kuijk. The last points were awarded to Daans older brother, #26 Jesse van Kuijk (NED/Team GP Elite) and #24 Max van Splunteren (NED/Team GP Elite). The remaining point was lost to #30 Lucas Groeneveld (NED/GP Elite) in a photo finish ending. A subsequent time penalty for track limits put Groeneveld in P17 and van Splunteren in P15. A well-deserved point for the speedy Max who had turned away early in the race when attacking GP Elite teammate, D. van Kuijk in the Lauda turn and fought his way back into the race.

In a family duel between father and son, it was dad #12 Philipp Sager (AUT/Dinamic Motorsport) who was left behind. But in the ProAm Classification, it was the father who took first place – Felix Austria. What a “home game” for the Sager Boys! #20 Roar Lindland (NOR/Pierre Martinet by Alméras), who started the race from the pit lane due to brake problems in the outlap, took second place in the ProAms, ahead of teammate #19 Stéphane Denoual (FRA/Pierre Martinet by Alméras).

Beyond points, #14 Mateo Llarena (GTM/MRS GT-Racing) set a new record for the series. At 16 years, four months and nine days, the youngster from Guatemala has become the youngest driver to start in the nearly 30-year history of the one-make cup, finishing his first race in 19th position.

The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup has demonstrated that wheel-to-wheel combat is an essential part of its DNA. Nearly half of the starting field are Rookies. Six of whom drove directly into point positions, heating up many “old hands.” A week from now we’ll do it all again on the Red Bull Ring for the second round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. We are curious about the Echo from Spielberg!