Alessio Picariello secures start/finish victory at Sachsenring

• Fifth win of season for Alessio Picariello – championship lead extended
• Second success for Mücke Motorsport at Sachsenring
• Rookies Marvin Dienst and Mikkel Jensen on podium
• Picariello: “I knew that I'm very quick.”

Sachsenring – Race 2
Date: 09 June 2013
Race: 08/24
Weather: Overcast, 19°C
Circuit length: 3.645 km
Pole: Alessio Picariello
Laps: 16
Winner: Alessio Picariello
Fastest lap: Alessio Picariello (1:25.319)

Hohenstein-Ernstthal – Alessio Picariello (19, Belgium, Mücke Motorsport) won the second Formel ADAC race at the Sachsenring. The Mücke driver secured a comfortable start/finish victory and further extended his lead in the championship. Picariello got the drop on Mücke team-mate Hendrik Grapp (19, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) at the start and then went on to build up a comfortable lead. The championship leader defended his P1 on both re-starts after two safety car periods, crossing the finish line in the lead, almost five seconds up on Marvin Dienst (16, Germany, Neuhauser Racing).

“The two safety car periods cost me my lead, but I stayed focused, knowing that I’m very quick,” said the delighted young Belgian, pleased with his fifth success of the 2013 season. On Saturday, Picariello had also been on pole position in the opening race of this third race weekend of the high-speed ADAC academy, but a drive-through penalty cost him a potential podium finish and he had to settle for sixth place.

Action-packed final few laps

Neuhauser driver Dienst benefited from the second safety car period on Lap 12, which was triggered by an accident caused by Kim Alexander Giersiepen (19, Germany, KSW Motorsport). On the re-start, Dienst moved up from fourth to second place during the last two laps, finishing on the podium for the second time in his maiden season.

Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus) also used the second safety car period to improve his position. The Lotus driver overtook team-mate Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus) on Lap 15 and Beitske Visser (18, Netherlands, Lotus) as well on the final lap after Visser made a mistake in the scrap for third place. Red Bull junior Visser was the big loser during an action-packed end to the race. The Lotus driver had made a perfect start and was in third place for a long time, but her slip-up on the last lap consigned her to seventh place.

Dontje, who, like Visser, was running wet tyres on a semi-wet track, just missed his second podium finish this weekend in fourth place. Behind him, winner of the first race at the historic Sachsenring circuit Hendrik Grapp (19, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) had be content with fifth place. The young Berliner had begun the race from second on the grid but was overtaken by fellow competitors in hot pursuit shortly after the start.

Spectacular race by Kremer

Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) had an odd race. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé started from seventh place, moving up the field straightaway but was handed a drive-through penalty after a collision on the second lap with Maximilian Günther (15, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) and dropped back to the rear of the field. He then went on a stupendous charge, crossing the finish line in seventh position. However, after the race, Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing), who finished sixth, received a 30-second time penalty for impeding the progress of another driver, and so Kremer was promoted to P6.

Local driver Florian Herzog (19, Germany, KUG Motorsport) from Dresden improved six positions from 14th place, securing P8 and championship points for the second time this season. The two rookies Luis Kim Schramm (15, Germany, Mücke Motorsport) and Fabian Schiller (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) also finished in the points.

Picariello continues to lead by a good margin

After the eighth of 24 races this season, Picariello still leads overall. The 19-year-old has amassed 140 points, whereas Kremer and Beer are on 88 and 84 points respectively.

In the final race at the Sachsenring (Sunday, 3:35pm, live stream available at www.adac.de/motorsport), Herzog is on pole in front of his home crowd. Visser shares the front row, Kremer third on the grid, Grapp fourth.

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Alessio Picariello (19, Belgium, Mücke Motorsport), Winner:
“My fifth win of the season – incredible. I love driving on dry tyres in the wet, so my choice of rubber was obvious. I built up a lead immediately after the start and only those cars that were running rain tyres could follow me. The two safety car periods cost me my lead, but I stayed focused, knowing that I’m very quick. I aim to win again in the third race, and should be in with a chance if conditions remain the same.”

Marvin Dienst (16, Germany, Neuhauser Racing), Second:
“I'm really happy about my podium finish. It’s a great relief after having such a tough time on Saturday. I didn’t hold out much hope in view of my ninth place on the grid, but the conditions played into our hands. We decided to go for dry tyres just before the start and that proved ultimately to be the right choice. However, it was only when I was asked to make my way to the podium that I realised what I’d accomplished – a terrific feeling. My grid position this afternoon is even better, and I would really love to be back on the podium.”

Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus), Third:
“That was just a crazy race. I was not quite sure what position I was in on the last lap, but when I realised I was third, well, I thought, that’s great. We weren’t too sure about tyre choice before the start, but the weather forecast suggested that dry tyres were the order of the day. That was certainly the right choice in the end but it wasn’t easy to start with. Finding the right braking points was tricky and I had to catch a spin a couple of times.”