The Temple of Speed in Monza welcomes the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup for the season test. The Royal Park’s typical peace and quiet was abruptly replaced with a concerto infernale coming from 64 tailpipes, surely causing the hearts of fans to beat faster!
It's mid-April and the teams' season preparations are in full swing. With the first races for the national Porsche Carrera Cups just around the corner, it’s no wonder that all 32 drivers are pushing their new race cars to the limit.
While the race drivers were burning one lap after the other on the asphalt, the engineers’ and team managers' heads were spinning: Where can the new race car outperform its predecessor? Which nuanced set-up changes can deliver the decisive fractions-of-a-second difference through Parabolica’s exit? How to tune the perfect balance between high-speed and grip in Monza’s fast corners? The Autodromo Nazionale mercilessly exposes both errors in thinking, and the potential of the boosted up 510hp engine of the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Look where you stand.
When all the permanent and guest drivers are on the track, it isn’t just about technical data and vehicle set-up. It’s also a chance for everyone to see how each driver is performing – and how good are their times. Everyone pushes their limits and marks their territory on the asphalt. The competition has already begun, even if it isn’t for trophies yet.
The best free practice lap time during last season’s final race in Monza was 1:49.448 (Florian Latorre/CLRT). In qualifying, 1:48.676 (Larry ten Voorde/Team GP Elite). And in the race, 1:50.051, also set by the Supercup Champion of 2020. At the end of the first day of testing, we already saw laps driven at 1:48. In addition to last season’s top drivers, the times coming from 16-year old guest driver, #32 Morris Schuring/GP Elite, as well as Rookies #19 Dorian Boccolacci/Martinet by Alméras, #29 Laurin Heinrich/Nebulus Racing by Huber and #17 Harry King/Parker Revs Motorsport were catching peoples eyes. The younger talents showed up strong and seemingly unimpressed by the performance from the established top-class drivers. We’re eager to see which young driver will keep the pace during the entire season to take home the Rookie crown.
Michael Fassbender joins the series again.
Starting under the Irish flag, the Hollywood star completed his first laps in the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup during the test in Monza. Appearing as a guest driver in the Supercup VIP car in Spielberg at the beginning of July, #911 Michael Fassbender hopes to gain valuable experience for his "
Road to Le Mans". Since his childhood, Michael Fassbender has dreamt of becoming a racing driver. With Porsche, he is gradually turning his dream into reality. Admittedly, it’s not a walk in the park. At the Autodromo Nazionale, Michael improved from session to session. In the end, his lap time was only 1.6 seconds behind the best time set in the test by ten Voorde.
Unbridled anticipation for Monaco.
On 20th of May, the first round of the 2021 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will start on what is probably the world's most legendary street circuit: Monte Carlo. After Free Practice and Qualifying, the Supercup lights will go out for the first time on 23rd of May. Along with all motorsport enthusiasts, we’re looking forward to an eventful start to the season and the beginnings of fight for the title!