Season Final in Monza Martin Ragginger stuck at the start as if he were glued to the tarmac. “Waiting for such a long time in the grid was more an advantage for the cars with dry tyres mounted, than for my car with wet ones”, the Austrian said after the race. Like a bullet Jög Hard started from the second row and took over the lead. 'My start was so good, I really thought it must be a jump start, because all other cars around me didn’t get away – it was a dream of a start.” With pole setter René Rast behind, the Schnabl Engineering pilot pulls away from the rest of the field and was able to lay a gap to the pursuers. Porsche-Junior Martin Ragginger on wet tyres didn’t have a chance on the drying track. His tyres melt like ice in the sun as well as the ones of Sealens, Danielsson und Holzer, who also decided for the wet rubber. “We had no chance with the wet's' , said David Saelens. Instead it was the day for the pilots on the dry tyres, who delivered the best race of the season. It was pure action everywhere around. The lead changed almost every minute and the border between hero and zero was a very small one today. “Coming from eighth position, I managed to be second in the first corner already, than I dropped back to seventh and finally I finished third. It was unbelievable”, Supercup champion Jeroen Bleekemolen describes an eventful Sunday morning in the royal park of Monza. “One thing is clear”, he says, “Monza was a rather dignified season final of the Porsche Supercup.” Polesitter René Rast and Jörg Hardt could lay a gap to the pursuers only in the first laps, but than got under pressure massively. Stefan Rosina, Lance David Arnold and Jeroen Bleekemolen were the first drivers who closed the gap and when Supercup repatriate Nicolas Armindo, driving the Konrad Motorsport Porsche, appeared in the leading group, the race became a battle of about a dozen of drivers. One time it’s Armindo who takes over the lead, than it’s Hardt and Rast again and later it even looked as if Stefan Rosina could clinch the first victory of an east European driver. At the end it was the Frenchman Nicolas Armindo, who with a courageous performance gained control over the action and at his return clinched his first Supercup success in the 2008 championship. 'I know I am not Jesus and I know I cannot go over the water', he jokes, 'However, I had a terrific car which enabled me to chase trough the field today. On Thursday evening at 18.00pm I didn’t even know that I will compete in the final race of the season. I was prepared to watch the action on TV and now, all of a sudden, I am sitting in the car and take the victory here in Monza. It’s really unbelievable!' The race was characterized by numerous incidents on the damp road. About one third of the 30-cars of the grid were affected. Primarily Damien Faulkner, Jan Seyffarth, Patrick Huisman and Chris Mamerow dropped out of the leading group and with that the fight for the runner-up in the driver standings of the championship became a duel in the midfield. After 14 laps on the fastest circuit in the schedule of the Supercup it was Damien Faulkner who secured second rank in the championship with an advantage of 21 points on Patrick Huisman. 'This was a real thriller today, I rarely experienced such a thrilling race', says his team manager Walter Lechner. “Of course we are pleased about the success of Damien, but we also would have enjoyed the title in the team standings. Unfortunately our friend Franz Konrad had a better end and scraped the title with a little luck”, Lechner bows in front of his compatriot Franz Konrad, who’s team fetched the championship with an advantage of only two points.
