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Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2018 - Michael Ammermüller

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Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2018 - Michael Ammermüller
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Preview, Round 1, Formula 1 race in Barcelona/Spain, Preview
Capacity grid at season-opener in Barcelona

The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup heads into its 26th season as a support race to Formula 1 on the outskirts of Barcelona this coming weekend (11-13 May). For the 2018 season, fans can look forward to ten rounds run over nine race weekends. Twenty-eight drivers have signed on for the whole season, with additional guest drivers joining the grid at selected rounds. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup has featured on the same bill as the Formula 1 World Championship every year since it was launched in 1993.

Two rounds, Monte Carlo/Monaco and Budapest/Hungary, have been permanent fixtures on the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup calendar since the series began. The one-make cup also returns to Hockenheim/Germany after a year’s break. Other venues on the calendar this season are the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg/Austria, as well as the storied racetracks of Silverstone/Great Britain, Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium and Monza/Italy. A doubleheader in Mexico City provides a fitting finale to the season. “We’re thrilled to return to Hockenheim after a year’s break and to welcome international drivers to our home track. We have a strong line-up of drivers from all over the world,” says Oliver Schwab, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Project Manager.

Traditionally, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup attracts a field of international and top-class drivers: the registered competitors come from 15 countries, with guest drivers supplementing the grid over the season. The reigning champion Michael Ammermüller aims to defend his title. In 2017, the German won the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup for the first time and returns this year to compete for BWT Lechner Racing. The race series includes a classification for Drivers, ProAm and Rookies. In addition, drivers also compete in the Nations League. But unlike last year, all drivers can now earn points for a country to showcase the respective Porsche market in the race series. Registered squads can fight for the team title.

Joining the grid this season are the two Porsche Juniors Thomas Preining (Austria) and Julien Andlauer (France). Preining contested four rounds of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in 2017 as a guest driver and impressed with three top-ten results. Andlauer is the reigning Porsche Carrera Cup France champion and beat eight other international candidates at the junior selection shootout last year. In addition to receiving funding from Porsche to the value of 225,000 Euro towards their Supercup campaign, the talented youngsters are coached on and off the racetrack in preparation for a successful career in professional motor racing.

VIP involvement at selected rounds is a time-honoured practice in the history of the Supercup. Again in 2018, well-known personalities from international motor racing as well as local motorsport greats will pilot the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup run by Porsche Motorsport. The VIP car with the starting number 911 will compete at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, the Silverstone Circuit, and prospectively at the Hungaroring (Budapest) and the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

All competitors will drive the latest version of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The four-litre flat six engine develops a peak performance of 357 kW (485 hp), making it the most powerful race car in the history of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. All vehicles are technically identical, as are the tyres from Michelin and the fuel – guaranteeing equal chances for all drivers.

In 2018, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup again enjoys a high media presence. The stations Eurosport, Sky UK and Sky Italia broadcast all rounds of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup live or delayed-to-live. Moreover, highlights and background reports are televised. After each race, Formula One World Championship Limited (FOWC) makes footage available to TV stations around the world, allowing viewers on five continents to witness the race action. From this season on, all sessions of the weekend – free practice, qualifying and championship races – can be watched via the official Formula 1 stream on computers or mobile devices.

The Twitter channel @PorscheRaces and the Instagram account @porsche_newsroom provide a glimpse behind the scenes with news about drivers, teams and racing cars. Moreover, new for this season is a social media stream on www.porsche.de/supercup. Posts published with the hashtag #PorscheMobil1Supercup appear in this module.

Race calendar Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup
11.05-13.05.2018, Barcelona/Spain (Race 1)
24.05-27.05.2018, Monte Carlo/Monaco (Race 2)
29.06-01.07.2018, Spielberg/Austria (Race 3)
06.07-08.07.2018, Silverstone/Great Britain (Race 4)
20.07-22.07.2018, Hockenheim/Germany (Race 5)
27.07-29.07.2018, Budapest/Hungary (Race 6)
24.08-26.08.2018, Spa-Francorchamps/Belgium (Race 7)
31.08-02.09.2018, Monza/Italy (Race 8)
26.10-28.10.2018, Mexico City/Mexico (Races 9+10)



All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.