PREVIEW: Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup enters 30th season at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari

The 2022 season for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will mark the thirtieth year for the series that plays a supporting role in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, as drivers do battle in identical cars across the grid.

This weekend the new season will get under way with the Formula 1 Rolex Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell’emilia-Romagna 2022 at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (also known as Imola) as thirty-three drivers take to the iconic Italian circuit.

Reigning champion Larry ten Voorde is back, but will be going up against three-time champion Michael Ammermüller this season. Joining the regular drivers this weekend is three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo.

What happened last time Porsche Supercup visited Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari?

Credit: Porsche

While Formula 1 has visited the circuit in 2020 and 2021, this season will mark the first time the Porsche Supercup has returned to Imola since the 2006 season. That year the the series had already visited Bahrain for the opening round of the season, which was won by Uwe Alzen with Richard Westbrook in second place and David Saelens in third place.

For round 2, eventual champion Richard Westbrook, driving for Dutch team Morellato Racing Team PZ Essen, would qualify in pole position and go on to take victory, ahead of Christian Menzel (who is now driver coach for Porsche Juniors), and Belgian driver Geoffroy Horion, who achieved his best result of his Supercup career.

The Circuit – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari

The track has a total of nineteen corners, with twelve left-handers and nine right-handers and is 4.909 km (3.050 miles).

Each sector is evenly spaced out with Turn’s 1 to 6 in Sector 1. Turn’s 2 through to 4 are collectively called Variante Tamburello and Turn’s 5 and 6 are Variante Villeneuve. 

Turn 7 through to 13 is Sector 2. Turn 7, also known as Tosa, Turn 9 Piratella, and Turn 11 Acque Minerali.

Finally, Sector 3 is Turn 14 through to 19. Turn’s 14 to 15 are Variante Alta with Turn 17 to 18 known as Rivazza.

What should we look out for this year?

Reigning champion Larry ten Voorde is back once again with the Team GP Elite squad, heading up a five-car entry for the defending champions. The Dutchman will be looking to take his third championship title this season, both in the Porsche Supercup and the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. Joining ten Voorde at Team GP Elite is Max van Splunteren, Jesse van Kuijk, Daan van Kuijk, and Lucas Groenveld.

Credit: Porsche

One driver looking to stop ten Voorde take the title in both series is three-time champion Michael Ammermüller who will be returning to the series after a two-year hiatus. The German driver will be racing again with the Huber Racing squad for the first time since 2017. During his time away from the series he won the ADAC GT Masters series in 2020 and finished the 2021 season as runner-up; he also made history as the first driver to race in a Porsche in the DTM series at Nürburgring. Ammermüller will be supported by Morris Schuring, Rudy van Buren, and Laurin Heinrich.

2020 Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Harry King returns for his first full season in the series as he joins the BWT Lechner Racing team. The Brit took part in six races last season, missing out on one of the races in Austria and then in Hungary as he split his duties between Supercup and Carrera Cup GB. His best result came at the season-closing race at Monza with a sixth place. Joining King at Lechner Racing is former race winner Dylan Pereira and Bastian Buus.

Credit: Porsche

A second British driver will be lining up on the grid for a full season in 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup GB runner-up Lorcan Hanafin who will be running a dual campaign of Supercup and Carrera Cup Deutschland with the FACH AUTO TECH team. Jukka Honkavuori, and Alexander Fach join the Brit in the three-car entry for the Swiss team.

French team CLRT return with a three-car entry led by 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup France champion Marvin Klein, Clément Mateu, and Rookie Evan Spenle line up alongside.

Two-time Porsche Carrera Cup Italia champion Simone Ianquinta lines up with Dinamic Motorsport, he is joined by Daniele Cazzaniga, and Porsche Supercup regulard Philipp Sager.

Credit: Porsche

2020 Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux champion and 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Rookie champion Loek Hartog lines up at Ombra S.R.L. with Gianmarco Quaresmini, and guest driver for the weekend, Leonardo Caglioni.

Martinet by Alméras brings a host of experience with them 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup France runner-up and Rookie Champion Dorian Boccolacci, is joined by Supercup stalwart Jaap van Lagen, former Pro-Am champion Roar Lindland. Stéphane Denoual, and the third British driver on the grid, Aaron Mason.

Porsche Carrera Cup Sweden regulars Fragus Motorsport join the Supercup grid this weekend as Pontus Fredriksson, Hampus Eriksson, and Edvin Hellsten look to do their best for the team.

Credit: Porsche

The Porsche Motorsport VIP car returns for the 2022 season and will make its first appearance this weekend as three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo makes his Supercar debut behind the wheel of the #911 car. The Spaniard will be looking to make the most of the experience and gain as much knowledge of the car before he returns to Italy to take part in the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia for a full season.

What’s the schedule?

Friday 22 April – 18:30 local time – PracticeSaturday 23 April – 14:00 local time – QualifyingSunday 24 April – 12:05 local time – Race

The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup can be viewed on the F1 TV service (where available) and on Eurosport throughout Europe. Live timing for all sessions can be found here.

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