Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup: Italy race report
Sven Müller took his maiden Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup victory at Monza as the German racer secured Team Project 1’s first win of the year. The Porsche Junior topped a podium filled with Stuttgart-supported drivers at round eight of the 2014 season.
22-year-old Müller taking part in his first season of Porsche 911 racing (his Supercup campaign dovetailing with a Carrera Cup Deutschland drive) dominated the Italian round, converting Saturday’s pole position into a debut triumph on Sunday.
As the lights went out, the German driver immediately jumped clear of the chasing horde of 991 GT3 Cup cars behind, headed by Kuba Giermaziak and title rival, Earl Bamber, the latter quickly pressurising the Polish racer.
The championship leader’s harrying paid off as the Kiwi found a way passed Giermaziak on the opening lap, before Ben Barker’s VERVA Lechner Racing teammate lost a further position to the fast-starting Klaus Bachler further round the opening tour.
On the next lap, Bachler gained ground again, overtaking International Cup Scholar, Bamber. However, the Austrian was unable to catch Müller, having to instead settle for second 1.4 seconds in arrears come the end of the 14-lap race.
Behind, Bamber had to fend off the attentions of championship challenger, Giermaziak however, despite only ever being a few feet between them, the former held onto third place, completing a Porsche-supported podium and extending his points advantage in the process.
Michael Ammermüller finished fifth just ahead of 2013 Supercup champion, Nicki Thiim. The Dane put in the drive of the weekend to race through from tenth on the grid to sixth, albeit aided by the non-finish of ninth-place qualifier, Kévin Estre.
Clemens Schmid finished a lonely seventh ahead of fellow Austrian, Philipp Eng. Eng had to fend off the attentions of Ben Barker after the Total 911 columnist was forced to start 13th (having qualified tenth) thanks to a penalty carried over from Spa-Francorchamps.
The result extends Bamber’s lead to five points going into the double-header finale at COTA in Texas, USA. Bachler has consolidated third place, narrowly ahead of Müller while Barker has dropped from equal third to sixth ahead of the season closer on 1-2 November.
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