A thrilling third round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup virtual series from Spa-Francorchamps has set up a final round showdown between title rivals Larry ten Voorde and Ayhancan Güven.
A maiden win of the series for Dylan Pereira came in race one thanks to a collision between ten Voorde and Güven whilst dualing for the lead on the picturesque 7.004km circuit.
While a dominant Güven in race two means the gap between himself and ten Voorde is now just two points heading into the final round in Monza.
Jaxon Evans had a strong opening race, finishing within the top-five. But a lap-one spin in the second race meant the Kiwi had a very fluctuated round three.
From pole position in the evening’s opening affair, Larry ten Voorde lead the pack out of the La Source hairpin.
Having qualified fifth, Evans was looking to have a strong race at the circuit that yielded the Kiwi’s first Porsche Mobil1 Supercup podium.
But an innocent bystander in a collision between Nick Tandy and Leok Hartog meant Evans had dropped down to seventh by the end of lap one.
The decisive moment in the race came as the leaders completed their fourth tour. An impatient Güven made a half-hearted move on ten Voorde. The pair touched, sending ten Voorde spinning into the gravel.
A fortunate Pereira was thus able to steal both positions away from the leaders. The Luxembourgian eventually going on to a claim a convincing first victory of the virtual series.
Further back and Evans was recovering nicely after his poor start. Shrewd moves on both Max van Splunteren and Laurens Vanthoor promoted the 23-year-old inside the top-five but conceded to the ordeal that the leaders were too far down the road.
Ten Voorde and Güven rounded off the podium placings behind Pereira, while Leon Köhler and Evans completed the top five.
The evening’s second race saw the grid ordered in their race one finishing positions.
Another poor start from Evans saw the kiwi drop a spot off the line. An unfortunate netcode error while up the inside of Leon Köhler at La Source saw both Evans and the German be thrown into a spin.
A disappointing end to a promising round for Evans.
Fellow Porsche Junior driver Güven began chasing after race leader Pereira, lapping upwards of one-second per lap quicker than his rival.
Güven ultimately made his move into turn one with plenty of time on the clock.
The young Turkish driver then pulled clear of the field and celebrated his third win after eleven laps, 5.1s clear of ten Voorde as Pereira’s race one pace diminished entirely, eventually finishing in eighth.
Joey Mawson held on to a superb third position. The 24-year-old Australian enjoying his best round performance of the series having fended off a strong challenge from Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor.
After his lap one spin, Evans recovered to finish the race in 14th, first of all the lapped runners.
The final round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition will be held on Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale Monza on May 16.
