On the Italian race track of Monza, Porsche Junior Sven Müller (Team Lechner Racing Middle East) clinched his third win of the season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. At the eighth of eleven races, the 23-year-old German took the flag ahead of Porsche Junior Matteo Cairoli (I/Market Leader Team by Project 1) and Michael Ammermüller (D/Lechner Racing Middle East) on positions two and three respectively. “What a wonderful feeling! I won last year’s Monza race too and now I’ve notched up my third Supercup win this season here,” said a beaming Müller. A 39-strong fleet of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup lined up on the grid for today’s race – a record field in the 23-year history of the series.

The sun was already low over the 5.793 kilometre high-speed “Autodromo Nazionale di Monza” circuit when the race got underway. Ammermüller took off from pole position but had to relinquish the lead spot to local hero Cairoli after just a few metres. Several collisions in the backfield during the first lap saw the safety car deployed. After the restart, Cairoli maintained his commanding lead until the tenth lap. Then came Müller. Running a flat wing, the German swept past Cairoli. “That was really a terrific race. It’s of course fantastic to climb the podium at my home race. I’m starting Sunday’s race from pole and I’m looking forward to that,” said Cairoli.

Every lap of the race was packed with action: High-speed battles at 270 kilometres per hour between Ammermüller and Müller, non-stop overtaking, and a closing-up of the gap in the overall standings. Trailing Müller, Cairoli and Ammermüller over the finish line was rookie Côme Ledogar (Martinet by Almeras) from France. Supercup specialist from Poland Robert Lukas (Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport) scored fifth ahead of championship leader Philipp Eng (Market Leader Team by Project 1) from Austria. Spaniard Alex Riberas (The Heart of Racing by Lechner) earned himself all-important championship points for seventh place. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing, 82 points) finished eighth.

In the overall classification, Eng still leads with 128 points with Engelhart in position two (106 points). Holding 92 points, Riberas can now feel his pursuer breathing down his neck: after clinching his third win, Müller has now moved into fourth place, and is tied for points with Ammermüller (90).

A troupe of ten Italian drivers flew the national colours at Monza. Cairoli, who lives just 25 minutes from the race track, contested the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia last year. As defending champion, he came up against this year’s leader of the Italian series, Riccardo Agostini (Antonelli Motorsport), who secured a commendable tenth place today as a guest driver. “With a 39-strong, we had the biggest grid lineup with drivers from 18 countries and incredible support from the Italian Carrera Cup. I’m pleased that the spectators got to witness plenty of race action,” concluded Uwe Brettel, General Manager Porsche Motorsport Sales.

As part of the Formula 1 race weekend, round nine of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will be broadcast live by Sky Deutschland with a preliminary report from 11.30 hours. Eurosport airs highlights of both Saturday’s and Sunday’s race at Monza from 11.30 hours, with live coverage starting at 11.45 hours.

Results
Race 8 Monza
1. Sven Müller (D/Team Lechner Racing Middle East)
2. Matteo Cairoli (I/Market Leader Team by Project 1)
3. Michael Ammermüller (D/Lechner Racing Middle East)
4. Côme Ledogar (F/Martinet by Almeras)
5. Robert Lukas (PL/Förch Racing by Lukas Motorsport)
6. Philipp Eng (A/Market Leader Team by Project 1)
7. Alex Riberas (E/The Heart of Racing by Lechner)
8. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing)

Points’ standings after 6 of 11 races
Drivers
1. Philipp Eng (A/Market Leader Team by Project 1), 128 points
2. Christian Engelhart (D/MRS GT-Racing), 106
3. Alex Riberas (E/The Heart of Racing by Lechner), 92

*Results and points standings preliminary