Brits in the Spotlight: Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup
In the run up to this weekends Formula 1 Lenovo British Grand Prix at Silverstone, we’re shining a light on some of Britain’s brightest stars set to battle it out on a packed support race schedule at the ‘Home of British Motorsport’.
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is the premier tier of competition organised by the famous German manufacturer worldwide, and features identical, seventh-generation 911 GT3 Cup cars, each capable of producing 485 BHP. It also features a number of the world’s brightest emerging sportscar talents, among them three Brits.
The first is Harry King. After a silverware-laden karting career, King chose the tin-top route for his graduation to car racing, and after two seasons in the Ginetta Junior Championship he made the switch to the GT4 Supercup.
He won the title at his second attempt in 2019 and switched to another of the BTCC-supporting categories, the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, having won a shootout for Porsche Junior status for 2020 and 2021.
King, part of Motorsport UK Academy’s Team UK squad, dominated the series at the first attempt, winning 12 of the 16 races, before moving on to the international stage, and the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
Next up is Lorcan Hanafin. After a formative career split between the Renault UK Clio Cup Junior and Ginetta Junior Championships, Hanafin rose to prominence in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2020 and 2021, finishing the latter as runner-up to star name Dan Cammish.
The logical next step for the Brit was a move to take on an international grid, and Hanafin scored points first time out at Imola in April. After a midfield showing at Monte-Carlo, he will journey to Silverstone keen for a return to form in front of his home crowd. Similarly to King, Hanafin is a member of the Motorsport UK Academy, as part of the Team UK Futures setup and a new addition to the programme for 2022.
Last, but certainly not least, is Aaron Mason. A stalwart and two-time champion of the VW Racing Cup in the UK, Mason’s early successes in motorsport also included podium finishes in Dubai and Bathurst, racing GTX and GT4 machinery respectively.
The 42-year-old finish third in the Pro-Am category of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2020, joining fellow Brit Harry King in graduating to the Mobil 1 Supercup the following year.
The trio will have three opportunities to impress across the Grand Prix weekend, the first being a 45-minute practice session at 19:20 (BST) on Friday. Qualifying, 30 minutes in duration, follows at 18:15 on Saturday, with the race held in the run up to Formula 1 at 12:05 on Sunday. The race will be shown live on Sky Sports F1 for those unable to make it trackside.
Points are assigned to the first 15 finishers of each race on a sliding scale of 25-20-17-14-12-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. and all races count. To receive points a driver must compete in multiple races per season. Since 2008, there have been two bonus points awarded for the driver who secures pole position in qualifying.