Porsche Cup: Title to the old master

The duel of youth versus experience in this year's Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge (GT3CC) was won by the more experienced driver. Jean-Paul von Burg converted the first match point at the World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Misano. With an unchallenged victory in the first sprint race, the Geneva native secured the title for the ninth time.

First the master...
Von Burg started from pole position and crossed the finish line 3.423 seconds ahead of Dominik Fischli. Antonio Teixeira, who still had a chance of winning the title before the sixth and final weekend of the GT3CC, only finished fourth behind Andreas Corradina. The 18-year-old - sponsored by the Association of Swiss Porsche Clubs (VSPC) and Porsche Schweiz AG - had disregarded the track limits in qualifying, whereupon his fastest lap time was cancelled.

... then the challenger
The second race was much livelier. Von Burg, who had been leading at the start, spun on lap 6 and then clashed with Andreas Corradina in the battle for fourth place. While Corradina retired, the new champion dropped back again and received a 30-second time penalty to boot.

Teixeira had two new slicks fitted and accepted a drop to seventh on the grid. From there, the talented youngster quickly made up positions and was already back behind leader Dominik Fischli by the halfway point of the race. The attack on the very last lap was successful and Teixeira crowned his debut year in the GT3CC with his fifth race win. Fischli rounded off his third place in the drivers' standings with second place.

Rolf Reding also made it onto the overall winners' podium in the second race with the first-generation 991 GT3. The Swiss Bergmeister Junior from 2017 won his class 5d superiorly both times.

Grand Slam for Misbach, but title for Diener
Even with a true Grand Slam weekend, Laurent Misbach was unable to shake Linus Diener's title win in the Cayman GT4 Clubsport class. With his Porsche 718 GT4, he secured the fastest time in practice, took two unchallenged start-finish victories, and set the fastest race lap in each case. This added up to 79 championship points - nothing more is possible.

Linus Diener, however, cleverly managed his 30-point lead, deliberately staying out of all the skirmishes, contenting himself with second places and thus bringing the title safely home. A great success for the previous motorcycle racer in his very first year.

Winner and champion of constancy
Despite a strong final spurt in the second half of the season, Andreas Ritzi had to settle for second place in the championship behind Massimo Salamanca in the Porsche Driver's Challenge (PDC). As fastest in qualifying, Ritzi again delivered the most consistent performance in Misano, as he had done previously in Mugello and Dijon: On his ten laps he allowed himself a cumulative deviation from his own average time of just 2.13 seconds.

However, the title went to Salamanca (both on 911 GT3 RS) with a second-place finish and eight additional points for the second-best lap time in qualifying and in the evenness competition respectively.

Victory with the help of the professional
The two-hour endurance race at night, in which points were no longer at stake, was tackled by 34 Porsches from all classes. The overall victory and thus also first place in the GT3CC went to the duo Paul Kasper/Martin Ragginger after 63 laps. The Swiss from Central Switzerland and the professional from Austria prevailed with their 911 GT3 Cup against the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport of Benno Oertig and Vincent Capillaire.

The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 league fell prey to Francesco Fenici/Max Busnelli, who beat the newly crowned champion Linus Diener in last year's model. Diener was supported in the cockpit by Mauro Calamia. For the 718 Cayman GT4 of Laurent Misbach, Emmanuel Bello and last year's GT4 champion Léonard Rendulic, which also had a top field, the two-hour race was over shortly after the start.

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