Halfway through the season, the title race is exceptionally close and exciting on all fronts
Joep Muller is making his mark on the Rookie Championship with a one-two victory
Imola, Sunday 5 July 2026. The third round of the season took the drivers and teams of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux to the legendary Imola circuit in Italy, and it proved to be a very strong sporting weekend, with high-calibre races full of spectacle. The overall victories went to the young talent Milan Marczak (Ajith-RedAnt Racing) and the lightning-fast veteran Jaap van Lagen (Team RaceArt), who are neck and neck in the championship standings halfway through the season. Also noteworthy was the very strong performance of the fastest rookie, Joep Muller, who secured two victories whilst racing for PG Motorsport. The Italian leg of the season has thus come to a close and the championship is now gearing up for a new highlight: the Jack’s Casino Racing Day on 1 and 2 August in Assen.
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola exudes motorsport, and this clearly inspired the drivers of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. Saturday morning began with a fiercely contested qualifying session in which Milan Marczak secured pole position for both races, a feat Joep Muller also achieved in the rookies’ class. Jani Käkelä (39 Racing), meanwhile, took pole position in the PRO-AM class.
Race 1 of the weekend, held as part of the Italian round of the European Le Mans Series, kept spectators on the edge of their seats for thirty minutes and one lap. At the front, Jaap van Lagen once again tried to close the gap on leader Marczak, but a puncture for the reigning champion, with just a few minutes to go, not only changed the course of the race but also the provisional championship standings.
Milan Marczak, last year’s Rookie Champion, thus won his first race in the series and immediately took the lead in the points standings. He finished six tenths of a second ahead of Joep Muller and a good two seconds ahead of Jan Seyffert (MDM Motorsport), resulting in an entirely unprecedented podium in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux.
Muller naturally also won the battle among the rookies, and with two other rookies in fourth and fifth place overall – namely David Dziwok (Team GP Elite) and Arthur Peters (Team RaceArt) – the debutants certainly made their mark. Jani Käkelä won the PRO-AM class ahead of Makoto Haga (Team GP Elite).
‘The Move of the Race’
On Sunday, the fans were once again treated to a superb race, and the star of the show was undoubtedly Jaap van Lagen. The Dutchman put in a phenomenally strong performance on the fast, technical Imola circuit, punctuated by some superb overtaking manoeuvres, one of which was rightly described by the TV commentator as ‘The Move of the Race’. The Team RaceArt rider went on to win the race, ahead of Milan Marczak and Alexander Reimann (Quanloop EST1 Racing) – not entirely coincidentally, the top three in the standings at the halfway point of the season.
Joep Muller finished fourth, securing a hat-trick in the Rookie championship with a pole position and two victories – in short, a perfect points tally of 51.
Jan Seyffert rounded off a fine weekend in Italy in fifth place, ahead of Hjelte Hoffner (MDM Motorsport) and Karol Kret (JW Raceservice).
In the Rookies class, second place went to Arthur Peters, who can also look back on a satisfying trip to Imola, ahead of his team-mate Joep Breedveld. Jani Käkelä won again in PRO-AM ahead of Makoto Haga (Team GP Elite).
Thrilling title battle on all fronts
In the overall points standings, Van Lagen and Marczak lead with 111 points each, ahead of Alexander Reimann on 99, whilst Frank Porté Ruiz (NGT Racing) has 72. It looks as though they will be battling it out amongst themselves in the second half of the season to see who will be crowned the 2026 champion.
In the rookies’ standings, Breedveld has 106 points after a very consistent first half of the season, four more than Dziwok and eleven more than Peters. Following his superb weekend at Imola, Joep Muller has moved up to fourth place with 88 points, two more than Henry Wheeler (a-workx by KATANA Tools). Thrills guaranteed right up to the finale at Zolder!
In PRO-AM, Jani Käkelä is leading the way, whilst in the team standings, a-workx by KATANA Tools and Team RaceArt are perfectly level on 149 points each.
Mark your calendars now for Racing Day on 1 and 2 August in Assen!
