Dutch 17-year-old racer Robert de Haan made his debut in the Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup last weekend during the British GP at Silverstone. Competing as a guest driver in this prestigious race, where the best drivers compete for the Porsche Supercup title, De Haan delivered an outstanding performance, driving to the podium at Silverstone and securing second place in his very first Porsche Supercup race.
 

Normally, De Haan competes in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux and Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. Both for De Haan and his team, Richardson Racing, this was their first participation in the Porsche Supercup. Additionally, it was only the second time De Haan raced at the Silverstone circuit in his young racing career, and his first time in a Porsche. Unlike many other Porsche Supercup drivers who had the opportunity to participate in test days for preparation, De Haan did not have that chance.
 

The free practice sessions were focused on getting familiar with the circuit and gathering as much information as possible about the car's performance for potential setup adjustments.

Improvements in qualifying led to an excellent tenth position for De Haan. The circuit kept getting faster throughout the qualifying session. Early on, De Haan managed to set a good time within the top 5. Unfortunately, during the second part of the qualifying, communication issues prevented him from attempting an even faster lap. Despite that, being tenth as a debutant and Rookie was a remarkable achievement.
 

On Sunday, De Haan started from the tenth position. His start was remarkable, and he took advantage of an incident involving the top three drivers – Harry King, Larry ter Voorde, and Dorian Boccolacci – to move up to sixth position. With skillful maneuvers, De Haan managed to secure the second position. However, he couldn't pass race leader Alexander Fach and finished on the podium at Silverstone during his debut in the Porsche Supercup. It was a dream debut for De Haan.
 

Reflecting on his first Porsche Supercup race, Robert said, "After the dust settled from the start, I quickly moved up to second position. Alessandro Ghiretti in third and I were running at the same pace. I tried to put pressure on the leader, Alexander Fach, to force him into a mistake, but I couldn't manage it. I'm super happy with this performance," said the 17-year-old Dutchman.

De Haan can rightfully be proud of his achievement in the Porsche Supercup and looks forward to the next challenges in his racing career. From August 11th to 13th, Robert de Haan will be back in action in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, where he is currently leading the championship.

De Haan's success wouldn't have been possible without his sponsors: BINK, Rijvaardigheid Centrum Lelystad, Octane Finance (UK), Proceed (UK), and Richardson Racing (UK). Their support has been crucial in enabling De Haan to pursue his racing ambitions.

Samenvatting Porsche Supercup Silverstone via Ziggosport: https://www.ziggosport.nl/video/1010742-samenvatting-porsche-supercup-silverstone-debutant-de-haan-knap-tweede/