Supercup speeds into Silverstone
With more than 30 years of crowd-pleasing action, the high-profile Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup sits at the top of the Porsche one-make series pyramid and runs at eight Formula 1 events staged at all the premier European Grand Prix circuits including Monte Carlo, Monza, Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone.
Providing a level playing field, the entire grid is equipped with identical 510bhp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, now based on the German sportscar company’s latest 992 model and racing on fully synthetic fuel. In total, Porsche Motorsport has produced more than 4,250 Cup cars since 1990 making it the world’s best-selling racecar.
And while talking numbers, the Supercup is one of the few motor racing series which awards prize money, with €7,000 presented to the winner of each round from a total annual prize fund of more than €600,000.
Almost incredibly, taking into account the unrivalled success of British drivers in most motorsport disciplines, only one driver from this country has ever lifted the Supercup crown since the series was introduced in 1993.
Richard Westbrook won outright in both 2006 and 2007. He was then promoted by Porsche to become an official factory driver before joining Corvette and thereafter Ford. During a long career, Westbrook has scored numerous podium results, notably at both blue ribband 24 hour races at Daytona and Le Mans.
Now Harry King is seeking a similar springboard by winning this year’s Supercup. The 23-year-old is one of the rising stars in the 911 world. He won the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain in 2020 before stepping up to the Supercup, finishing a fine fifth in 2022 and an even more impressive third last season.
This year has begun strongly, too, with a trio of second places in the opening three rounds, finishing behind double champion Larry ten Voorde on all three occasions. King, a member of Motorsport UK’s elite Team UK squad of elite athletes, will be hoping to turn the tables on his Dutch adversary this Sunday on home ground at Silverstone.
The Supercup also embraces national Carrera Cups, offering invitational grid places to local competitors. No fewer than six drivers from the Carrera Cup Great Britain have accepted the challenge, most notable among them are BTCC race winners Ollie Jackson and George Gamble. They are joined at the British Grand Prix by Gus Burton, Josh Stanton, James Wallis and Angus Whiteside.