Supercup: Anticipation in Alex Fach's team
SEASON START Alex Fach's team will start the 2018 Porsche Supercup this weekend with three new drivers and a slightly different car design. Only the goal is the same as before - to win the second title after 2014. Alex Fach knows one of the three new drivers very well. With Jaap van Lagen, the [...]
Alex Fach knows one of the three new drivers very well. The team from Schwyz won in Monaco in 2015 with Jaap van Lagen. The 41-year-old Dutchman stepped in at short notice for Simon Trummer, who had pulled out, and proved to be the perfect choice.
Now the two parties have come together again and naturally want to build on this sensational result. At the team presentation at the Porsche Center Winterthur, they showered each other with praise.
Alex Fach: "Four days before Monaco, I was standing there without a driver and money. I was in misery and called him. Then Jaap agreed within two hours, came to Monaco and won. It was unbelievable. Since then, further missions have always failed because of money. Now it's finally working out. So we're looking forward to this season enormously."
The anticipation is also all on the driver's side.
Jaap van Lagen: "I've been racing in the Supercup since 2007. I know a lot of cars and teams, but not many are as good as Alex Fach's. They do a very good job. I know that together we can race at the front."
Chicken skin and sweating
Much can also be expected from the second driver, Nick Yelloly (27). The Briton has already won races in Formula Renault 3.5 and GP3, also in the Carrera Cup (runner-up in 2017), and is also a Force-India F1 simulator driver.
Alex Fach: "Jaap and Nick are driving at such a high level that I get chicken skin. And I'm almost a little afraid that they'll be fighting for the top spots all too often. That can make you feel warm on the pit wall..."
If they fight the battles efficiently and fairly, Fach Auto Tech could win the title twice, which would be a first. But the primary goal is to win the title, which was won by New Zealander Earl Bamber in 2014.
With Matteo Cairoli, the title he was aiming for in 2016 was only missed with a lot of technical bad luck at the finale in the USA. In 2017, Matt Campbell had to settle for third place despite four race wins (as many as champion Michael Ammermüller).
New basic design in same colors
The third driver is the German Christoph Langer. The good-natured privateer driver primarily wants to have fun all weekend long and do well in the Gentleman classification. "For me it's about nothing else, for the other two it's about the job," emphasizes the Swabian.
The basic design of the three Porsche 991 GT3 Cup cars from Sattel SZ is also new. However, the typical red and white colors remain in the new look.
Ten races in the context of Formula 1 - again with a happy ending?
28 drivers are registered for the 26th Supercup season. All Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup races are held as part of Formula 1 and are broadcast live by free-to-air TV station Eurosport. Eight at the European Grands Prix, starting next weekend in Barcelona, rounds 9 and 10 at the end of October in Mexico City.
There, the Swiss team concluded the 2017 season with two victories for Matt Campbell, who joined the factory squad as a Porsche Young Professional. There's no question that Alex Fach would like nothing more than for things to continue in the same vein right after the long preparation phase...
