Porsche Mobil1 Supercup 2010, Round 6 British Grand Prix

Holding a clear points' lead, René Rast from Germany takes off into the second half of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup season on 11 July on the time-honoured Silverstone Circuit. Driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Al Faisal Lechner Racing, Rast has scored four wins so far this season. His trip to the British Isles brings back the very best memories: In Silverstone last year, he celebrated his first ever victory in the world's fastest international brand trophy series.

'With four wins so far we are really in a very good position for the title," says the reigning vice-champion, who was only beaten at Barcelona this year. 'But we can't yet say the title is in the bag, our points' advantage is simply not yet large enough."

This could easily change in Silverstone. On the 5.898 kilometre race track, where the history of the Formula 1 World Championship began 60 years ago, Rast's arch rival Jeroen Bleekemolen will not be competing. Instead, the title defender from the Netherlands and Rast's team mate at Al Faisal Lechner Racing will contest the American Le Mans Series round at Salt Lake City in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. 'This won't make my job much easier," says René Rast. 'There are enough drivers capable of winning."

One of them is Austria's Norbert Siedler from the VELTINS MRS Racing squad, who enjoys his best season so far in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. In Barcelona he claimed the first Supercup win of his career and underlined his good form recently with second place in Valencia. Slovakia's Stefan Rosina (Lechner Racing), who has a very special relationship with Great Britian since studying Marketing Management in Oxford, is regarded as another potential winner after his strong performance during the first half of the season and his second place at the season-opener in Bahrain.

Nicholas Tandy has big plans for Silverstone. As local hero and Supercup newcomer the Konrad Motorsport pilot is always good for a surprise: he finished second in Monaco. Still, in Valencia he didn't find his rhythm and lost second overall in the championship. At his home race Tandy is determined to make amends. 'I'm not about to make it as easy for René as it was in Valencia," says the Briton, who had to settle for eighth place in Spain despite his spirited charge through the field. 'Racing in Silverstone has always been something very special. It would be absolutely awesome to win my first Supercup race here."

Making their debut in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup in front of home crowds are Michael Meadows and Euan Hankey, two young hopefuls from the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.

Television stations Eurosport 2 (11.45 hrs) and Sky Sport 2 (11.40 hrs) broadcast the race in Silverstone live on 11 July. In addition, Eurosport televises highlights on Sunday evening in its 'Motorsports Weekend" programme.

Drivers' classification after 5 of 10 races
1. René Rast (D), 88 points
2. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 74
3. Nicholas Tandy (GB), 68
4. Stefan Rosina (SK), 64
5. Norbert Siedler (A), 54
6. Jaap van Lagen (NL), 44

BBS Rookie classification after 5 of 10 races
1. Nicholas Tandy (GB), 68 points

Team classification after 5 of 10 races
1. Al Faisal Lechner Racing, 152 points
2. Konrad Motorsport, 109
3. Lechner Racing, 93

Home sweet home - Local Hero and 911uk Driver Trainer Sean Edwards back on top

Fastest of the free practice session for the 6th round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Silverstone was Sean Edwards. The Abu-Dhabi-tolimit-pilot needed exactly 2:07.084 minutes for his lap on the new layout of the Silverstone circuit. Second fastest, with a gap of 0.041 Seconds, was championship leader René Rast, in front of the surprising Alessandro Zampedri, who finished the session on third rank.



Perfect start into the weekend - Sean Edwards
"žThat's a quite good start into the weekend, isn't it", Sean Edwards shown after his best time. 'We are exactly there where we wanted to be – at the top of the list", he makes clear, that he would like be on this position after the qualifying on Saturday as well. 'The car is superb and the team has made a terrific job." In 2:07.084 minutes the tolimit-pilot lapped the 5.890 kilometres long redesigned Silverstone-Circuit. With that he was 41/1000 second quicker than championship leader Rast. The four-fold race winner of this season, who clinched his first victory a year ago in Silverstone, had to settle with second rank after the 45 minutes.

The different car - Rast ranks second
'I have worried with my first set of tyres, dropped down the list even to eighteenth position", Rast looks back to his difficult phase of the free practice. "With the second set I then had a completely different car that worked as good as I had expected. The fact that Sean (Edwards) is at the top doesn't really surprise me. As an Englishman he knows the Silverstone Circuit like the back of his hand." Up to now, Rast has obtained ten victories since his first win in Silverstone one year ago. With an advantage of 14 points he leads the driver standings of the championship. 'Despite a retirement in one of the rounds I am on top, but I am not only after victories, primarily it's the championship title that's on my mind", he defines his big goal.

Indian summer? - Alex Zampedri
"žI wonder why everyone is surprised about this third position", Zampedri laughs at the interview. 'I like Silverstone, I have got a superb car and I know what I am doing", the 2005 champion enjoys the third rank, which is even one position in front of Nick Tandy. 'Nevertheless, I feel confident with fourth position", says the Brit, who lives only 40 kilometres away from Silverstone, what enables him to sleep in his own bed this weekend. 'I am really satisfied, because it was easy to do my lap times – I am looking forwards to the qualifying", the Konrad pilot makes clear, that it matters all in the qualifying on Saturday here in Silverstone.

Close midfield - good representation
Sebastian Bleekmolen proved to be a splendid representation of his younger brother Jeroen. The Netherlander easily managed to be in the top-5. "I had a little understeer, but I think a lot drivers had trouble with that today. At least it all went fine so far and I hope I will do everything to be a worthy representation for Jeroen", he addresses to his brother, who is at the start in the ALMS in the USA this weekend. Behind Sebastiaan Bleekemolen the TOP-10 completes with Jan Seyffarth, Patrick Huisman, Jaap van Lagen, Kuba Giermaziak, who celebrates birthday today, and Norbert Siedler. 'It went a little better today", says Jan Seyffarth, while his team mate Norbert Siedler promises 'attack" on Saturday.

Results 1. free practice Silverstone 09.07.2010
Pos. Car no. Driver / Team Training time Gap
1 19 Edwards, Sean Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit 2:07.084 + 0:00.000
2 16 Rast, René Al Faisal Lechner Racing 2:07.125 + 0:00.041
3 3 Zampedri, Alessandro Lechner Racing 2:07.256 + 0:00.172
4 1 Tandy, Nick Konrad Motorsport 2:07.400 + 0:00.316
5 11 Bleekemolen, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen Harders Plaza 2:07.469 + 0:00.385
6 14 Seyffarth, Jan VELTINS MRS Racing 2:07.567 + 0:00.483
7 21 Huisman, Patrick Konrad Motorsport 2:07.574 + 0:00.490
8 23 van Lagen, Jaap Bleekemolen Harders Plaza 2:07.653 + 0:00.569
9 10 Giermaziak, Kuba VERVA Racing 2:07.712 + 0:00.628
10 15 Siedler, Norbert VELTINS MRS Racing 2:07.811 + 0:00.727
11 4 Rosina, Stefan Lechner Racing 2:07.828 + 0:00.744
12 17 Faulkner, Damien Al Faisal Lechner Racing 2:08.001 + 0:00.917
13 6 Bridgman, Tim Schnabl Engineering Parker Racing 2:08.032 + 0:00.948
14 91 Hankey, Euan Porsche AG 2:08.207 + 0:01.123
15 18 Maassen, Sascha Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit 2:08.224 + 0:01.140
16 9 Lukas, Robert VERVA Racing 2:08.613 + 0:01.529
17 8 Halliday, Matt SANITEC / GILTRAP Racing 2:08.657 + 0:01.573
18 90 Meadows, Michael Porsche AG 2:08.826 + 0:01.742
19 7 Langhorne, William SANITEC / GILTRAP Racing 2:09.035 + 0:01.951
20 12 van den Berg, Robert Bleekemolen Harders Plaza 2:09.640 + 0:02.556
21 22 Castellacci, Francesco SANITEC / GILTRAP Racing 2:11.137 + 0:04.053
22 24 Messer, Thomas Schnabl Engineering Parker Racing 2:12.606 + 0:05.522
23 20 Al Qubaisi, Khaled Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit 2:15.369 + 0:08.285

First Supercup-Pole for Brit Nick Tandy

Nick Tandy fetched the Pole for the 6th round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Silverstone. With a lap time of 2:04.787 minutes and an advantage of 0.167 second, the local hero from the team Konrad Motorsport defeated René Rast and Sean Edwards to second and third rank. Jaap van Lagen, being fouth, will start from the second row into the race on Sunday.



Results qualifying Silverstone 10.07.2010
Pos. Car no. Driver / Team Qualifying time Gap
1 1 Tandy, Nick Konrad Motorsport 2:04.787 + 0:00.000
2 16 Rast, René Al Faisal Lechner Racing 2:04.954 + 0:00.167
3 19 Edwards, Sean Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit 2:05.075 + 0:00.288
4 23 van Lagen, Jaap Bleekemolen Harders Plaza 2:05.231 + 0:00.444
5 15 Siedler, Norbert VELTINS MRS Racing 2:05.385 + 0:00.598
6 4 Rosina, Stefan Lechner Racing 2:05.605 + 0:00.818
7 10 Giermaziak, Kuba VERVA Racing 2:05.645 + 0:00.858
8 21 Huisman, Patrick Konrad Motorsport 2:05.654 + 0:00.867
9 91 Hankey, Euan Porsche AG 2:05.655 + 0:00.868
10 14 Seyffarth, Jan VELTINS MRS Racing 2:05.719 + 0:00.932
11 8 Halliday, Matt SANITEC / GILTRAP Racing 2:05.879 + 0:01.092
12 11 Bleekemolen, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen Harders Plaza 2:05.955 + 0:01.168
13 9 Lukas, Robert VERVA Racing 2:06.041 + 0:01.254
14 17 Faulkner, Damien Al Faisal Lechner Racing 2:06.149 + 0:01.362
15 7 Langhorne, William SANITEC / GILTRAP Racing 2:06.266 + 0:01.479
16 6 Bridgman, Tim Schnabl Engineering Parker Racing 2:06.373 + 0:01.586
17 18 Maassen, SaschaTeam Abu Dhabi by tolimit 2:06.440 + 0:01.653
18 3 Zampedri, Alessandro Lechner Racing 2:06.687 + 0:01.900
19 90 Meadows, Michael Porsche AG 2:06.922 + 0:02.135
20 22 Castellacci, Francesco SANITEC / GILTRAP Racing 2:07.205 + 0:02.418
21 12 van den Berg, Robert Bleekemolen Harders Plaza 2:08.076 + 0:03.289
22 24 Messer, Thomas Schnabl Engineering Parker Racing 2:09.912 + 0:05.125
23 20 Al Qubaisi, Khaled Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit 2:10.496 + 0:05.709

...I hope it rains as nobody will be able to live with Sean in the wet around there :worship:

Backwards – Sean Edwards Fastest Lap time cancelled!

About two hours after the qualifying session third on the grid Sean Edwards is banished to the end of the starting grid. The fastest lap of the tolimit-pilot was cancelled because he left the track limits. The Brit will start from the last row of the grid on Sunday. The fastest lap of Euan Hankey was also cancelled because of failing to comply with yellow flags.



"žFailed to comply with the track limits", is the official reason of the race control to cancel Sean Edwards lap time from of the qualifying session. The tolimit-pilot left the track during his fastest lap with all four wheels. Exactly this offence was mentioned in the drivers meeting and threatened with a cancellation of the lap time by FIA-Observer Herbie Blash. Edwards, winner of 2008 race in Silverstone, now has to start into the 12 laps of the race alongside his team mate Khaled Al Qubaisi from the last row of the starting grid. "We will not lodge any appeal against this decision", says tolimit team manager Michael Seifert. "In addition, such an appeal would not cause any change, because an objection with this kind of decisions is not permitted." Sean Edwards feels not delighted with the punishment. "In principle, I understand the decision", he says, 'despite I slid only a few centimetres to far at the exit of Stowe corner – to much is to much. However, I would wish that they would do this decision consistently as today in my case."

For Euan Hankey the cancellation of his fastest qualifying time after disrespecting the yellow flags did not have any direct consequences since his second fastest lap was also good enough for eighth place in the starting grid. Edwards however is only allowed to take part in the 6th round of the Supercup by mercy, because his second fastest lap was outside the 107% regulation and with that not quick enough to participate. After this decision all other pilots move up on position in the starting grid.

Nicholas Tandy celebrates first Supercup victory at home race

In front of home crowds on the traditional Silverstone race track, Nicholas Tandy fulfilled the dream of his first victory in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. At the wheel of Konrad Motorsport's Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, the local hero and Supercup rookie won the sixth round of the season of the world's fastest international brand trophy series with a 5.572 second advantage over René Rast (Germany). Behind the points' leader who races for Al Faisal Lechner Racing, Supercup record winner Patrick Huisman (Konrad Motorsport) from the Netherlands finished in third.



The decisive moment on the 5.898 kilometre Grand Prix track came already at the start. Nicholas Tandy made the most of his pole position and beat a hard-charging René Rast to the first corner. Setting one fastest race lap after the other, the local hero pulled away from the rest of the field. For the rest of the race René Rast concentrated on fending off Austria's Norbert Siedler (VELTINS MRS Racing). The Barcelona winner didn't find a way past his teammate from last year and lost an almost safe podium spot in the penultimate lap to four-time Supercup champion Patrick Huisman.

Kuba Giermaziak (Verva Racing Team) turned out to be the big surprise during the 12-lap race in Britain's classical motorsport venue. Two days after his 20th birthday, the Supercup rookie from Poland put in his best performance of the season, drove a faultless race and was rewarded with fifth place. Dutchman Jaap van Lagen (Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza), third place-getter in Monaco, saw the flag in sixth, ahead of Slovakia's Stefan Rosina (Lechner Racing) and New Zealander Matt Halliday (SANITEC/GILTRAP Racing). Jan Seyffarth (Germany) from VELTINS MRS Racing brought home ninth place, with Supercup returnee Damien Faulkner from Ireland (Al Faisal Lechner Racing) rounding off the top ten.

Nicholas Tandy (winner): 'What a race. The opening phase was tough but became easier towards the end. The start was quite tight and I had to pull out all stops to keep René behind me. Over the first two laps he kept up the pressure, but afterwards I was able to pull away somewhat and in the last laps I saw on the huge screens lining the circuit how my teammate Patrick secured third place. What a day for Konrd Motorsport!"

René Rast (second): 'Apart from the start and the first laps it was quite a relaxed race. Obviously I tried to get past at the start, but didn't take too many risks. I then attempted to keep Nick under pressure and force him to make a mistake. He didn't do me the favour. I knew he'd be really quick on this circuit and he was on fresh tyres which is a huge advantage. Still, I'm not too concerned when I think about the next race. We take home good points from second place and that was the maximum that we were able to achieve here."

Patrick Huisman (third): 'We made a big step from the practice to qualifying so that's why I told my team don't change a thing with the car before the race, just clean it. My start was good and I made up a couple of places in the first laps. Then I had a minor collision which luckily had no consequences. Towards the end my lap times improved and all of a sudden third place was within reach. Of course it's great for the team that I made it to the podium in the end."

Sean Edwards turned heads with his spectacular charge from the last grid spot. Driving for Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, the Briton had turned the third fastest lap in qualifying, but left the track with all four wheels, crossed a sideline and was relegated to the back of the field by the Stewards of the Meeting. With twelfth, he still managed to yield championship points.

Race result
1. Nicholas Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 25:36.352 minutes
2. René Rast (D), Al Faisal Lechner Racing, + 5.572 seconds
3. Patrick Huisman (NL), Konrad Motorsport, + 8.648
4. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS MRS Racing, + 9.332
5. Kuba Giermaziak (PL), Verva Racing Team, + 11.700
6. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza, + 12.016

Drivers' classification after 6 of 10 races
1. René Rast (D), 106 points
2. Nicholas Tandy (GB), 90
3. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 74
4. Stefan Rosina (SK), 73
5. Norbert Siedler (A), 68
6. Patrick Huisman (NL), 56

Round 7 of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup takes place on 25 July as support to the German Grand Prix.

Good race today

Excellent recovery drive from Edwards, would probably have made 6th/7th but for some dumb driving by Tim Bridgeman (twice) which meant he couldnt get past 12th

+ 1 to that - a superb race. Every time I go to the British GP, I always find the support races better. For sure the GP3 races this year were more entertaining than the F1, and the GT3 Cup race was great.
I had the benefit of been on the startline for the grid, and watched the race from the pit wall.

Thanks all, it was certainly an interesting race from the back..! Shame, as we had the pace to fight it out with Nick for the win.

Yes, my progress was halted by Tim near the end and it actually broke the left rear damper, making the car tricky to drive...