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Top drivers back for more!
Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, rounds 1 and 2 in Bahrain, preview: Top drivers back for more
Stuttgart. The Porsche Mobil1 Supercup has never been as powerful as this: At the season-opener in Bahrain, pilots contesting the world’s fastest one-make cup compete for the first time with the latest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Delivering 420 hp, this sports car is the most powerful Cup-911 in the 16-year history of the championship. On the 5.4 kilometre Grand Prix circuit in the kingdom, 26 drivers from 15 countries come face to face to fight for the first victory of the 2008 season. A total of twelve championship rounds make up the calendar, each run as support to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. In Bahrain, competitors have the chance to claim points from two 12-lap races.
With the exception of reigning champion Richard Westbrook (Great Britain), all top drivers from last year are back. This year, 32-year-old Westbrook competes for Porsche in international GT sport as a factory driver. With this, the fight for the Supercup championship title is more fierce than ever before. Leading the field of favourites is 2007 vice-champion Damien Faulkner. The 31-year-old Irishman contested his first season of the Porsche brand series last year. With his first victory in Bahrain, another win in Monza as well as four podium results, he celebrated an impressive debut. This season, Faulkner is back with the intention of taking home the coveted title: “If you want to be champion, you have to get past us first,” said Faulkner. “We did well last year. My team and I gained a lot of experience. Now we’ll go one step forward.”
Also holding title aspirations is Uwe Alzen (Germany). In 2007 the 40-year-old won the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland series and finished the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup as third overall. The former DTM pilot is a seasoned Porsche specialist and has already celebrated many successes with racing sports cars from Zuffenhausen: In 1992 he won the Carrera Cup for the first time, two years later Alzen secured overall victory in the Porsche Supercup and in 1999 he won his class at the legendary Le Mans 24 hour race with a Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Another competitor with excellent chances to take the title is Jeroen Bleekemolen from the Netherlands. The 26-year-old Dutchman, who also has DTM experience, only contested several Supercup races last year, but still managed to secure pole position five times and claim three victories. Bleekemolen contests his first complete Supercup season in 2008. Also belonging to the circle of ex-DTM pilots are Patrick Huisman (Netherlands) and David Saelens (Belgium). The pair contest the current season as team mates with Irwin Racing and are also amongst the title favourites. The 41-year-old Huisman holds an undisputed record in the international one-make series: by now he has claimed 24 victories and four championship titles (1997 to 2000).
Racing exclusively in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup is the 911 GT3 Cup featuring the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake PCCB. The racing sports car with an increased power output of 420 hp and a weight of only 1,130 kilograms marks a top performance in the history of the Porsche brand series. For the current season, the vehicle underwent aerodynamic improvements to the rear, which resulted in generating considerably more downforce. Like last year, Porsche also enters two VIP-vehicles for prominent guest drivers. The unique look of the 911s with starting numbers 88 and 89 was created by Porsche Design.
For the first time in 2008, the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup races in Valencia. On 24th August in the Spanish port city where the 32nd America’s Cup was held last year, the tenth of twelve rounds takes place.
Television coverage of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup has again been increased. “Eurosport” airs a live broadcast of the championship races in Bahrain (Saturday’s race), Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Budapest and Monza. “Eurosport 2” broadcasts the races in Istanbul, Silverstone, Valencia and Spa live. “Eurosport” also shows the entire Sunday race in Bahrain as well as the Hockenheim round but with a time delay. Additionally, “Eurosport” broadcasts highlights of all races on Sunday evening in its “Motorsports Weekend” programme. The television station “Premiere” also telecasts all Porsche Mobil1 Supercup races. On Saturday, 5th April, the live broadcast of the first round in Bahrain begins at 11.30am (CEST).
Porsche Mobil1 Supercup – 2008 Calendar
4 / 5 April: Sakhir, Bahrain
27 April: Barcelona, Spain
11 May: Istanbul, Turkey
25 May: Monte-Carlo, Monaco
22 June: Magny-Cours, France
6 July: Silverstone, Great Britain
20 July: Hockenheim, Germany
3 August: Budapest, Hungary
24 August: Valencia, Spain
7 September: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
14 September: Monza, Italy
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