First win of season for Hendrik Grapp at Sachsenring

• Double victory for Berlin-based Mücke Motorsport
• Local favourite Florian Herzog achieves his best result of the season
• Hendrik Grapp: “This win is a great experience for me.”

Sachsenring - Race 1

Date: 08 June 2013
Race: 07/24
Weather: Sunny, 23°C
Circuit length: 3.645 km
Pole Position: Alessio Picariello
Laps: 18
Winner: Hendrik Grapp
Fastest lap: Hendrik Grapp (1:23.118)

Hohenstein-Ernstthal – The third Formel ADAC race weekend of the season got off to a great start for Berlin-based Mücke Motorsport. Right away in qualifying, three drivers from the team secured the top three grid positions for Race 1, which Hendrik Grapp (19, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) won on Saturday. It was the first victory of the season for the 19-year-old. “I couldn't have given myself a better present for passing my school leaving exams – my first win of the season. This victory is great, especially since I didn't fare very well last year here at the Sachsenring,” said Grapp.

Coming home immediately behind Grapp, rookie driver Maximilian Günther (15, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) made it a one-two Mücke victory at the historic Sachsenring circuit. ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Günther, racing for the seventh time in the Formel ADAC, achieved his fourth podium, making him this year’s most successful new driver.

Championship leader Picariello in sixth place

Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus) was the third member of the podium party in Race 1. The Dutch driver benefited from drive-through penalties for Alessio Picariello (19, Belgium, Mücke Motorsport) and Marvin Dienst (16, Germany, Neuhauser Racing). Championship leader Picariello was in P1 until the twelfth lap and was ahead of the next two drivers, Grapp and Günther, but then drove too quickly while the yellow flags were out and had to drive through the pits. That cost the pole-setter a possible podium and he fell back to P6. Dienst, who for a long time had looked like securing P4, also received a drive-through penalty for the same offence and had to be content with P9 in the end.

ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) came home in fourth place behind the top three drivers. Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) moved up four positions over the course of 18 laps to cross the finish line in fifth position.

Local driver Herzog produces his best performance of the season

Local driver Florian Herzog (19, Germany, KUG Motorsport) came home in P7 behind Picariello who was sixth. He had been in P14 on the grid after a tough qualifying session but fought his way steadily up the field during the race. He overtook Fabian Schiller (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) on the last lap and finished in the points for the first time this season.

Kim Alexander Giersiepen (19, Germany, KSW Motorsport), who had been in P16 on the grid, made also a big charge in the race. The KSW Motorsport driver took the chequered flag in tenth place, securing his first Formel ADAC championship point.

After the seventh race of the season, Picariello leads the championship standings with 115 points. The battle for position behind the young Belgian driver, who has already won four races, is being closely fought between Günther and Beer, who are each on 84 points.

Picariello is again on pole in the second race on Sunday morning at 9:30am (live stream available at www.adac.de/motorsport). He shares the front row with team-mate Grapp. Günther is third on the grid and Beer fourth.

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Hendrik Grapp (19, Germany, Mücke Motorsport), Winner:
“I couldn't have given myself a better present for passing my school leaving exams – my first win of the season. This victory is great, especially since I didn't fare very well last year here at the Sachsenring. Alessio Picariello was very fast in today’s race, and I'm sure that a thrilling duel between us would have been on the cards had it not been for his penalty. I kept closing on him, particularly during the last few laps and it would have been incredibly close. Now I'm hoping I can repeat this success on Sunday.”

Maximilian Günther (15, Germany, Mücke Motorsport), Second:
“Another podium – I’m very happy. So far, my season has gone fantastically well. My two team-mates out in front were a bit faster at the start of the race, but I stayed in touch with them and posted the same lap times as the race progressed. I was even able to put pressure on Hendrik Grapp once more during the last few laps and fight for the win. However, he didn’t make the mistake that would have enabled me to overtake him. On the whole, I’m very satisfied, though, and will be back on the offensive on Sunday.”

Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus), Third:
“This podium is a bit like déjà vu for me, since I was on the podium here at the Sachsenring last year. I was very quick during the whole race, but overtaking on this track is very tricky. I closed on Marvin Dienst, but ended up being so near to him that I got slight understeer. I was a little bit surprised when the yellow flags came out but was able to reduce my speed in time. I would have preferred to have won my third place out on the track, but I’m still very happy in the end. This result is just reward for the team’s hard work.”