Jaxon Evans picked up his first win of the 2021 Porsche Supercup season at the Red Bull Ring overnight, the same venue where he earned his maiden win last year.
Starting second, Evans moved into the lead when polesitter Dylan Pereira locked his inside front and ran wide at turn three on lap one.
Pereira rejoined the race in third but muscled his way past championship leader Lary ten Voorde a few corners later to sit in P2.
The first of two safety cars was then deployed when Harry King beached himself in the turn four gravel trap.
That neutralised the race, and the running order was Evans from Pereira and ten Voorde.
Evans controlled the restart perfectly, rocketing away from the challenging pack at the ideal time so that Pereira had to defend from ten Voorde into turn one.
The Kiwi briefly enjoyed a healthy lead before the race was again halted behind the safety car as another car ran aground in the turn four sand.
However, another sublime restart ensured Evans rebuilt the small gap over Pereira.
As the laps ticked away, the margin between Evans and Pereira plateaued. At the same time, ten Voorde fell into the clutches of Ayhancan Güven and Laurin Heinrich for third.
The battle heated up, though overtaking proved challenging for the drivers.
Ultimately, Güven’s attack abruptly ended with a puncture on the penultimate lap. He limped home to finish the 26th and last of the runners.
Evans now closes the gap in the driver’s standings to ten Voorde to 12 points.
The Porsche Supercup will head to Hungary for its next round at the Hungaroring on July 26-28.