Jason Kremer wins third race in Spa-Francorchamps

• ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Kremer: “Great win on this legendary track”
• Two rookies on podium for first time this season
• Local driver Picariello maintains championship lead despite not finishing

Spa-Francorchamps – Race 3

Date: 12th May 2013
Race: 06/24
Weather: Overcast, 10°C
Circuit length: 7.004 km
Pole: Callan O'Keeffe
Laps: 10
Winner: Jason Kremer
Fastest lap: Jason Kremer (2:31.463)

Spa-Francorchamps – Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) was unable to translate his pole positions in the first two races at Spa-Francorchamps into victories but successfully worked his way up from fifth on the grid in the third race on Sunday afternoon to finish first: The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé secured his maiden win of the 2013 season. “I’m very happy with my win on this legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit”, said the Schiller Motorsport driver.

Two rookies finished behind Kremer to take their places on the podium for the first time in the 2013 Formel ADAC season: Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus) in second place achieved his best result so far in the ADAC’s high-speed academy. Whilst the Dane took a comfortable second place, Ralph Boschung (15, Switzerland, KUG Motorsport) had to fight hard for his first top-three position. The 15-year-old began the final race on to the Ardennes rollercoaster in 13th place, moving up ten positions in the course of ten laps.

Boschung wins five-way fight for podium

Boschung emerged the winner of an exciting five-way fight for the final podium place. The Swiss driver had to defend his position against his opponents right into the very last turn but finally gained the upper hand. Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing), who achieved a podium in the second race, had to settle for fourth place this time. In close-fought scraps, the Neuhauser Racing driver successfully saw off competition from Florian Herzog (19, Germany, KUG Motorsport), who was subsequently relegated to P13 after receiving a 30-second penalty for causing an avoidable collision.

Stewards disqualified Stefan Riener (17, Austria, Neuhauser Racing) after the race for a double infringement of the yellow flag rule that prohibits overtaking and lost his sixth place. Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus) benefited from the two changes in position and moved up into P5. The Lotus driver had been in the running for a podium, but dropped back down the field during the last few laps in tricky weather conditions. ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Maximilian Günther (15, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) who finished on the podium in the first two races, was placed sixth ahead of Hendrik Grapp (19, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) and Beitske Visser (18, Netherlands, Lotus). The Red Bull junior fought her way up from 16th position on the grid to win the women's needle match against newcomer Stéphane Kox (19, Netherlands, KUG Motorsport). Placed ninth, the daughter of ADAC GT Masters driver Peter Kox secured her best result to date in the junior series.

Picariello still leads championship despite not finishing

Alessio Picariello (19, Belgium, Mücke Motorsport) experienced an unfortunate end to an otherwise successful weekend: The local driver and winner of the first two races was forced to retire after a contact with pole-setter Callan O’Keeffe (16, South Africa, Lotus).

Having achieved four wins in the first six races of the season, Picariello still heads the championship standings in the run-up to the third race weekend of the season at the Sachsenring (7th to 9th June 2013). The Belgian tops the table with 107 points. Beer is second (74 points) and Kremer third (68 points).

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport), Winner:
“I’m very happy with my win on this legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. I was missing some speed on the straights at the beginning of the race but things improved with every lap. After I overtook Mikkel Jensen, we then both tried to pull away from the field. The rain towards the end of the race made things all the more exciting because the track was wet in some places and dry in others.”

Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus), Second:
“I’m very pleased about my first podium in the Formel ADAC – especially after this difficult weekend. We struggled with our car’s speed and I want to thank my mechanics for their hard work and for making this success possible. When I saw Jason Kremer cruising in my slipstream, I decided to let him pass and use his slipstream to draw away from the field. The rain during the last few laps made things difficult once again, but Jason showed me the line to take to some extent and so I was able to follow him.”

Ralph Boschung (15, Switzerland, KUG Motorsport), Third:
“This podium makes me incredibly happy – that was the toughest race of my career to date. The track was dry at the start of the race, but then the rain made the race very difficult, especially since my car was set up for dry conditions only. There was no time to relax in the fight for third place, and not until I was running through the final turn did I finally believe I would achieve third position. I built up a small lead after Eau Rouge, but drivers in hot pursuit used slipstreaming to hunt me down on the final sector. I’m very happy with my result.”