Double pole for Alessio Picariello at Sachsenring

• Third and fourth pole of season for championship leader Alessio Picariello
• Three Mücke drivers finish on top in qualifying
• Picariello: “I want to translate my pole positions into victories once again.”

Sachsenring – Qualifying

Date: 7 June 2013
Weather: Sunny, 25°C.
Track length: 3.645 km
Pole Race 1: Alessio Picariello
Pole Race 2: Alessio Picariello

Hohenstein-Ernstthal – It’s full steam ahead for the third race weekend of the 2013 Formel ADAC season. After racing at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the Sachsenring is the next challenging track on the ‘curriculum’ for the youngsters of the ADAC’s high-speed academy. Alessio Picariello came up trumps in qualifying, securing pole position for the first two races at the historic circuit in Eastern Germany. The championship leader achieved the fastest time of 1:23.065 minutes, setting himself up for success during the rest of the weekend.

Picariello will also be in pole position for Sunday’s second race in which start positions are determined by the second fastest lap times in qualifying. “I achieved similar fast lap times several times in succession in today’s qualifying, which is proof of my consistent driving style and the car’s great speed,” said the 19-year-old, pleased with his successful beginning to the weekend. Picariello secured double poles at the season-opener in Oschersleben and then subsequently converted them into race wins.

Thrilling scrap with team-mate

Team-mate Hendrik Grapp (19, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) came home just behind the Belgian driver to finish second on the time sheet. Grapp covered the circuit in 1:23.166 minutes on his fastest lap and was only a tenth of a second off the pace. The two Mücke team-mates fought tooth and nail for the top spot right until the final minutes of qualifying.

Maximilian Günther (15, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) was placed third, achieving a super result for the Berlin-based team. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé had a deficit of 0.250 seconds on pole-setter Picariello. Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) was fourth fastest. However, Beer, who is second in the championship standings, was handed a five-place grid penalty for the first race after driving too fast under the yellow flag during Friday morning practice.

Neuhauser team-mate Marvin Dienst (16, Germany, Neuhauser Racing) moves up to fourth position on the grid as a result of Beer’s penalty. Newcomer Dienst posted a personal best time of 1:23.509 minutes shortly before the end of the session to win through against Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus). The Dutch driver came home in fifth position, making him the best placed driver of current team champions Lotus.

Close battle for top grid positions

The third-placed driver in the championship standings, ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) was sixth. The two rookies Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus) and Ralph Boschung (15, Switzerland, KUG Motorsport) secured positions seven and eight on the grid respectively. The third qualifying of the season was very close with just 1.2 seconds separating pole-sitter Picariello and local driver Florian Herzog (19, Germany, KUG Motorsport) in P14.

The ADAC is once again providing a live stream for fans unable to watch all three races live at the Sachsenring this weekend. The free service is available from the ADAC’s official website at Motorsport www.adac.de/motorsport.

Alessio Picariello (19, Belgium, Mücke Motorsport), Pole Race 1 and Race 2: “My second double pole of the season – a great result. I’m particularly pleased about it because it showed that I can also be fast in the dry. I achieved similar fast lap times several times in succession in today’s qualifying, which is proof of my consistent driving style and the car’s great speed. My goal for the rest of the weekend? Of course, I would again like to translate the two pole positions into victories and extend my lead in the championship.”