Rookie Robert de Haan secures his first pole position at the season finale

Rookie Robert de Haan secures his first pole position at the season finale

Championship leader Larry ten Voorde has secured a promising starting position to clinch his third title win in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup: The Dutchman from the Schumacher CLRT team will tackle tomorrow's final race (12:05 p.m.) from second position on the grid. Britain's Harry King, his only rival in the title fight, only achieved the fifth-fastest time in qualifying on the Monza Formula 1 circuit.

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Qualifying

For the first time, pole position went to Robert de Haan, Harry King's teammate at BWT Lechner Racing. The 18-year-old Dutchman is locked in battle with compatriot Kas Haverkort for the Rookie title in the international one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

The Formula 1 racetrack in Monza once again lived up to its reputation as the 'Temple of Speed' in the qualification session for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season finale: Robert de Haan turned the fastest lap with an average speed of over 192 km/h. This result secured the 18-year-old Dutchman from BWT Lechner Racing his first pole position. Driving for the Schumacher CLRT team, Dutchman Larry ten Voorde posted the second-fastest time. Positions one to twenty in qualifying were within one second of each other. The 15-lap race will start tomorrow, Sunday, at 12:05 directly before the Italian Grand Prix.

A new tarmac surface on the traditional Formula 1 circuit in the north of Milan presented the Supercup drivers with some unique challenges. "Some of the bumps have disappeared. As a result, the car is more stable in some braking zones," described Porsche Junior Alessandro Ghiretti. The 22-year-old Frenchman will head into the race from third position on the grid. "On the other hand, the track is smoother in other places and some of the kerbs have been rebuilt. This has slightly altered the racing line in the chicanes," added Larry ten Voorde.

Robert de Haan's lap time set a new Monza qualifying record for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, he beat Harry King's two-year-old record by around two-tenths of a second.

German Alexander Tauscher from the Proton Huber Competition team takes up the race from position four on the grid. Harry King shares the third row with Dutchman Huub van Eijndhoven, who races for Uniserver by Team GP Elite.

How the title duel will be decided

Only Larry ten Voorde and Harry King still have a chance of taking home the 2024 Supercup championship trophy. The Dutchman heads into the season finale with a 20-point lead over his English rival. A race win in the Supercup is rewarded with 25 points, while second place is worth 20. If King wants to lift his first overall winner's trophy, he must win in Monza.

The pressure on ten Voorde is much less intense. Even if King were to win, an eleventh-place finish would be enough to secure his third Supercup title after 2020 and 2021. In this case, the two rivals would be tied on points, but the higher number of wins would be 5:2 in favour of Larry ten Voorde.

Kas Haverkort leads the Rookie category by six points over Robert de Haan coming into the final. The Dutchman, who drives for Uniserver by Team GP Elite, was initially listed on top of the qualifying results. However, he later disqualified due to his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup being found to have insufficient ground clearance. Haverkort will thus start the race from last on the grid. "I'm unlikely to win the Rookie title on my own merit," the 20-year-old realised.

Result Qualifying, Round 8 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Monza (I)

1. Robert de Haan (NL/BWT Lechner Racing), 1:48.531 minutes
2. Larry ten Voorde (NL/Schumacher CLRT), +0.040 seconds
3. Porsche-Junior Alessandro Ghiretti (F/Schumacher CLRT), +0.047 seconds
4. Alexander Tauscher (D/Proton Huber Competition), +0.052 seconds
5. Harry King (UK/BWT Lechner Racing), +0.065 seconds
6. Huub van Eijndhoven (NL/Uniserver by Team GP Elite), +0.097 seconds

Full qualifying result on the Porsche Motorsport Hub:
https://motorsports.porsche.com/international/en/category/mobil1supercup