René Rast reclaims points’ lead
With
a clear flag-to-flag victory on the street circuit of Monaco,
René Rast (Germany) has snatched back the points’ lead in the
Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. Driving the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Al Faisal
Lechner Racing, he won the turbulent fourth round of the world’s
fastest international brand trophy series with a 5.018 second gap over
Nicholas Tandy (Great Britain, Konrad Motorsport), leader of the BBS
rookie classification. For René Rast, this marked his first win
in the Principality on the Cote d’Azur.From pole position, the winner of the two season-opening rounds in Bahrain sprinted clear of his rivals at the start. Only Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza) from the Netherlands, who took up the race through the streets of Monte Carlo from third on the grid, was able to match Rast’s pace. But when a drive-through penalty was imposed due to a jumped start, Bleekemolen was no longer a threat – and neither was Sascha Maassen. After securing an excellent qualifying result, the former Porsche works driver from Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit lined up alongside René Rast in the first grid row but was unable to turn this into points after a fluffed start and the drive-through penalty.
Bringing home a surprising result at the most prestigious race of the year, Supercup returnee Jaap van Lagen from the Netherlands (Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza) secured his first podium result at just the second race of the season. Finishing in fifth behind Lechner Racing pilot Stefan Rosina from Slovakia, his Italian teammate, Alessandro Zampedri, also clinched his best result of the season.
At the wheel of his Al Faisal Lechner Racing GT3 Cup, Jereon Bleekemolen only managed a lowly sixth place. After his hunt for top times during qualifying ended in the barriers, he had no real chance from ninth on the grid to defend his points’ lead. In the overall classification, the title defender from the Netherlands now ranks third behind René Rast and Nicholas Tandy. After securing his first Supercup victory in Barcelona a week ago, Austria’s Norbert Siedler (VELTINS MRS Racing) cut a chicane, received a drive-through penalty and saw the flag in twelfth.
René Rast (winner): “That was a super weekend for me. First in free practice, first in qualifying, first in the race – obviously I’m very happy. I got a great jump off the line at the start and could pull away slightly in the first lap. When Sebastiaan received his penalty I was running well in the lead and so I slackened off my pace around half way through the race and brought home victory. My team set the car up perfectly for this demanding track – a big thank you to them. I hope the next races continue like this.”
Nicholas Tandy (second): “I’m very pleased because after my accident in free practice we were all totally disheartened. But we never gave up and got better and better. Had I known the track in qualifying as good as I do now I would certainly have fought for pole and victory. I’m sorry for my team that I ruined our chance because of my mistake. But now I’m looking ahead to the circuits with which I’m a bit more familiar. Then anything is possible.”
Race result
1. René Rast (D), Al Faisal Lechner Racing, 26:19.707 minutes
2. Nicholas Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, + 5.018 seconds
3. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza, + 10.759
4. Stefan Rosina (SK), Lechner Racing, + 15.249
5. Alessandro Zampedri (I), Lechner Racing, + 18.881
6. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Al Faisal Lechner Racing, + 19,421
Drivers’ classification after 4 of 10 races
1. René Rast (D), 66 points
2. Nicholas Tandy (GB), 60
3. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 58
4. Stefan Rosina (SK), 54
5. Norbert Siedler (A), 36
6. Jan Seyffarth (D), 31
Patrick Huisman (NL), 31
Round 5 of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup takes place on 27 June as support to the European Grand Prix in Valencia/Spain.
