An ecstatic Christopher Zöchling from Austria won his first ever Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race at Spielberg, while Australians Sam Power and Spike Goddard finished 14th and 15th.

The 27-year-old Zöchling won Sunday’s round after being signed on at short notice to contest the race as a substitute for the squad’s regular driver. “I’m absolutely thrilled with my first place, especially since it was a last minute deal. It’s incredible for the team and me,” remarked Zöchling with a huge grin. An Austrian also clinched position two: With his result, Philipp Eng (A/Market Leader Team by Project 1) from Salzburg has now moved to the top of the points’ table of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Third place went to Spaniard Alex Riberas (E/The Heart of Racing by Lechner).

Porsche Carrera Cup Australia graduates Power and Goddard both drove an impressive race further down the field. Power charged from 21th on the grid to finish 14th while Goddard met the chequered flag in 15th after starting 27th.

Power, who was disappointed with his qualifying performance, was pleased with his race recovery. “I had some great battles and made some great passes today. It was a decent recovery from qualifying and I’m happy to bag some points and move onto the next round. Austria is nothing short of gorgeous; such a phenomenal, green countryside. I had a blast. Bring on the UK,” said Power.

The third of eleven rounds treated spectators in the packed grandstands to thrills and spills at the Red Bull Ring. Many overtaking manoeuvres and bumper-to-bumper duels amongst the 28-strong field from 14 countries got the motorsport fans’ hearts racing. Directly after the start, the race was thrown into a turmoil by the front pack around pole-sitter Connor de Phillippi (USA/VERVA Lechner Racing Team). De Philippi managed to get away cleanly off the line to settle in at the front. Coming from second, Eng became sandwiched between Porsche Junior Sven Müller (D/Lechner Racing Middle East) and Michael Ammermüller (D/Lechner Racing Middle East) which threw him down the field to fifth. The eventual winner Zöchling gained two positions to slip into third place. Spectators were treated to gripping duels over the 16 laps. Zöchling gradually closed the gap to the front runner and finally overtook de Phillippi in the sixth lap. Eng also battled his way up the order and from lap seven the two Austrians were running in first and second. “I can’t recall ever having such a terrible start to a race,” said Eng. “It wasn’t easy working my way to the front. It’s great that my second place today has put me at the top of the championship.”

Former Porsche Carrera Cup Australia driver Ben Barker finished 19th after a mid-race spin while battling for sixth place and now sits seventh in the standings.

The next race weekend of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is contested from 3rd to 5th July at Silverstone in Great Britain. Barker (MOMO-Megatron Team Partrax) comes from the nearby city of Oxford. Barker’s teammate Cameron Twynham lives in Harborough about 45 minutes from the Silverstone circuit. Joining the two registered Supercup pilots from Britain for the Silverstone round are a number of drivers from the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. As guest starters in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, they get the chance to gain some initial experience in the higher class of the international one-make race series.

Results
Round 3 Spielberg
1. Christopher Zöchling
2. Philipp Eng
3. Alex Riberas
4. Connor de Phillippi
5. Christian Engelhart
6. Robert Lukas
7. Matteo Cairoli
8. Philipp Frommenwiler
9. Michael Ammermüller
10. Sven Müller
14. Sam Power
15. Spike Goddard
19. Ben Barker

Points standings after 3 of 11 races
Drivers
1. Philipp Eng, 50 points
2. Christian Engelhart, 42
3. Michael Ammermüller, 39
4. Alex Riberas, 38
5. Kuba Giermaziak, 29
6. Connor de Phillippi, 28
7. Ben Barker, 23
8. Jaap van Lagen, 20
15. Sam Power, 12
18. Spike Goddard, 4