2013 Porsche Supercup

The 2013 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season was the 21st Porsche Supercup season. It began on 12 May on Circuit de Catalunya and finished on 3 November at Yas Marina Circuit, after nine races, all of which were support events for the 2013 Formula One season. A new car was introduced for the season as the Porsche 991 – the internal designation for the seventh-generation Porsche 911 – replaced the Porsche 997.

Three-time champion René Rast did not return to defend his title, opting to focus on the ADAC GT Masters, the FIA GT Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series, where he would compete for Belgian Audi Club WRT. BTCC champion and former WTCC driver Alain Menu joined the series with his own team, FACH Auto Tech.

Ahead of the final round of the series in Abu Dhabi, Monégasque-based British driver Sean Edwards held a championship lead of eighteen points over Denmark's Nicki Thiim, with Michael Ammermüller of Germany the only other driver to remain within contention for winning the title. Edwards was killed on 15 October 2013 at Queensland Raceway in Willowbank, Australia, while instructing a member of the public at a private test session. Thiim ultimately won the championship, after he won both races in Abu Dhabi; Edwards ended up second overall, finishing three points ahead of Ammermüller.

Changes for 2013

Technical

After twenty consecutive seasons, the manual gearbox stick shifters were replaced by newly-mandatory sequential semi-automatic paddle-shifters respectively for all Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup cars to allow drivers shifting gears with only their fingers. The paddle shift reduces shift errors and improves safety since the driver can shift gears without taking a hand off the steering wheel even when cornering, which requires gear shifting.