Joey Mawson has claimed a maiden Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup podium in a dramatic race at Monza.
Crossing the finish line in fourth place, the Team Australia representative started the race well and enjoyed an entertaining battle with two-time category champion Michael Ammermüller for two thirds of the 15 lap race.
Unfortunately for Mawson, he eventually lost the position to the German and looked set to finish fourth outright after Ayhancan Güven from Turkey had taken out the win ahead of Dutchman Larry ten Voorde.
However after causing a collision with polesitter and 2018 Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia champion Jaxon Evans, forcing the New Zealander out of the race, Güven was handed a five second penalty – dropping him to fifth outright below Denmark’s Mikkel Pedersen.
The penalty subsequently moved ten Voorde onto the top step for the first time in 2019, while Mawson was able to celebrate his first ever podium finish in the one-make category.
It was the 23-year-old’s best result so far in his debut season and just the third time he finished in the top 10 after switching from the FIA GP3 series.
“That was a fantastic race with an excellent result for me,” Mawson said.
“Unfortunately a minor error cost me second place, however I am still delighted to make it to the podium.”
Starting the race in 30th and 31st after a difficult qualifying session, Mawson’s Team Australia teammates Stephen Grove and Marc Cini were able to make some progress during the race to cross the line in 25th and 27th respectively.
The result also saw Mawson leapfrog Al Faisal Al Zubair in the outright championship standings into 11th place with just two more rounds to go.
The international one-make cup now heads to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City for the remaining two rounds as a support category for the Mexican Grand Prix on 25-27 October.
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