Not only at Silverstone can Porsche Junior #22 Ayhancan Güven (TUR/Martinet by Alméras) take the top spot on the podium, but also at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Güven scored his second Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2020 victory on Sunday, making it his third in hisSupercup career and the first win on the European mainland. To achieve this though, he had to defend himself against another Porsche Junior, #1 Jaxon Evans (NZL/BWT Lechner Racing) for an excruciating nine laps. Not to mention during the last two laps, #2 Dylan Pereira (LUX/BWT Lechner Racing) was breathing down his neck, who in the end, took second position bringing him back into the championship lead.

The Porsche Junior from Turkey had a nearly perfect weekend: Best time during theFree Practice Session (despite it being cut short due to rain), pole position in the QualifyingSession – and the race victory. The only thing Güven did not walk away with last weekend was the fastest lap time, which was driven by Dylan Pereira. One of the decisive factors for a Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps victory is the start, which leads all the way to the Les Combes chicane. Surprisingly, even from the slipstream, there were just few attacks in the first lap. Güven managed to keep himself ahead of Evans and Pereira, but the three of them stucktogether for nine of eleven laps.

There was one attack from Evans to Güven in lap 5 before Les Combes, but then he had to focus on the defense against Pereira. Having had to give up his lead in the standings in Barcelona to #25 Larry ten Voorde (NED/Team GP Elite), the Luxembourger was showing upstrong. Pereira progressively improved through Eau Rouge and Raidillon. The 485 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup usually enters the rev limiter in fifth gear before the steep slope of the curve. At Raidillon’s exit, Pereira had gained momentum, but unfortunately wasn’t able to convert this into a position gain – largely due to Evans’ masterful defense before Les Combes.

Fighting up to the finish, Evans suddenly had a lockup before the chicane at the end ofKemmel straight and drove on to the run-off. He was lucky despite his misfortune: it only cost him one position against Pereira. But Pereira set his intention on winning knowing full-well that heading into the championship at Monza with a four-point lead would not be a comforting enough cushion. Leaning into the pedal, Pereira took the fastest lap at 2:24.868 minutes and worked his way up to Güven. But Güven was unrelenting and took home the victory with a 0.608 second lead.

During the last lap, Evans had second lockup in the Fagnes curve (also known as "Pif-Paf"), which finally cost him third place.

#33 Florian Latorre (FRA/CLRT) was able to grab third place just a half lap before the finish. The Frenchman was in the top three for the race duration. Sensing Evans’s problems with his flat spot, he took his chance to pass the Porsche Junior. With a stealth manoeuvre during the last lap, he was able to overtake giving him and Côme Ledogar’s team their first podium place in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup – a strong performance for CLRT’s first season.

Ten Voorde only crossed the finish line in fifth position. Unlike in Silverstone and Barcelona, Team GP Elite struggled on the longest racetrack on the calendar (7.004 kilometres). Starting at sixth on the grid, the Dutchman quickly made up a position by taking a firm approach: at the beginning of lap 2, he launched an attack against Rookie #3 Leon Köhler (GER/Lechner Racing Middle East) and grazed him in La Source. Not wanting to give in, the two drove side-by-side into Eau Rouge where they had contact again, only this time it was more violent. Köhler’s front right tire was damaged and the young German only barely missed the wall, sealing the fate of his race.

Ten Voorde unwaveringly continued by fending off an attack by his compatriot #5 Jaap van Lagen (NED/FACH AUTO TECH). Only then was he able to bring home fifth place, followed by the "Snellen Japie" and #23 Marvin Klein (FRA/Martinet by Alméras), who took the Rookie victory.

And there was another controversial collision behind it: #10 Marius Nakken (NOR/Dinamic Motorsport) was in eighth position when #32 Adam Eteki (FRA/CLRT) sharply torpedoed him in La Source. Nakken spun out but was able to continue and finished fifteenth. Eteki received a ten second time penalty for the collision, but Karma was more efficient: a tyre puncture threw the Frenchman back to 23rd position.

So, Rookie #24 Max van Splunteren (NED/Team GP Elite) inherited eighth place, closely followed by another Rookie, #4 Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (FRA/Lechner Racing Middle East). Simmenauer had a checkered qualifying and started the race only from grid position 16.Exploiting several situations in front of him with drivers being caught in close fights, he made up an astounding seven positions. An impressive race for the 19-year old Rookie.

Just as impressive was #35 Loek Hartog’s (NED/Bas Koeten Racing Team) tenth place performance. The 17-year old Dutchman had already garnered some attention during a guest appearance and for taking 4th place in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition in April. Now, in his very first race in the most international of the Porsche one-make cups, he drove straight into the Top 10 – on the most demanding track on the series calendar. Yet another name to add to the list of young racers to watch who have had noteworthy performances during this year’s Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

#19 Stéphane Denoual (FRA/Pierre Martinet by Alméras) is exactly three times older as Hartog. But let’s be honest, 51 years of life experience is no obstacle to drive a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fast. Denoual impressively proved this with his first victory in the ProAm Classification in Spa. Second place went to #12 Philipp Sager (AUT/Dinamic Motorsport), while persistent winner, #20 Roar Lindland (NOR/Pierre Martinet by Alméras) had to settle for third. Nevertheless, Lindland still had reason to celebrate: Third place was enough for him to secure the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2020 ProAm Classification title.

The first championship has already been decided. But with the 8th and final race of the season at Monza’s Royal Park in just a few days, the starting position couldn’t be more exciting. Pereira has a four-point lead over ten Voorde for the championship, so both will need to double-down on their victory gamble if they want to win the title. The Rookie and Team Classification is also still completely open. The anticipation for the #GrandeFinale at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza is mounting!