Nicolas Beer wins final race of 2013 season

• Nicolas Beer signs off with a win at the Hockenheimring
• P2 enough to secure championship third spot for Jason Kremer
• Indy Dontje rounds off historic series of points-scoring finishes with a podium
• Beer: “The most amazing race of my career”

Hockenheim – The final race of the 2013 Formel ADAC series ended with an almighty tussle for victory on the last lap, as Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) pulled off a brave overtaking manoeuvre on the hairpin bend against Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) to claim his second win in the ADAC ‘High Speed Academy’.

“I’m absolutely elated to have won this last race of the season and would describe it as the most amazing of my whole career,” said Beer, who had already enjoyed a podium appearance on Sunday morning. He also had the satisfaction of posting the fastest lap in all three races staged over the Hockenheim weekend (Number of spectators aggregated: 21,200), the first time that any driver has done this all season.

The Danish youngster set off on a charge from P7 on the grid and quickly worked his way up to the top-three. He then laid the foundations for his subsequent victory on Lap 4, first overtaking fellow Dane Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus) to move up into third position and immediately go one better by taking P2 ahead of yet another Lotus junior, Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus). Beer then steadily closed in on race leader Jason Kremer and snatched victory from him after several wheel-to-wheel duels.

Podium finish secures third place in championship for Kremer

Even though ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Kremer had to settle for second place, he still had cause to celebrate: his ninth podium finish of the season was enough to secure third place overall in the championship ahead of race winner Beer. Starting from P5 on the grid, Kremer benefited greatly from the tumultuous start, demonstrating the best reactions on the hairpin bend to pinch the lead from pole-setter Benedikt Gentgen (15, Germany, JBR Motorsport & Engineering), and then building up a respectable gap on the pursuing bunch.

Joining Beer and Kremer on the podium was Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus). The Dutch junior pulled off a historic feat in this final race on the iconic circuit in Baden-Württemberg, having scored points in each of the 24 races of the 2013 season. Dontje is only the second driver to have done so in the six-year history of the Formel ADAC series; Patrick Schranner set the original record in 2010.

Boschung stages most dramatic pursuit of race

Alessio Picariello (20, Belgium, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) finished fourth, narrowly missing out on a podium. The winner of Races 1 and 2 at Hockenheim worked his way up from eighth to fourth over the course of the first six laps but was then unable to make any further progress up the field.

Meanwhile, Ralph Boschung (16, Switzerland, KUG Motorsport) was putting in a magnificent performance in the chasing pack. After a retirement in the previous race, the KUG Motorsport youngster started from 16th on the grid and by the end of Lap 3 had steadily worked his way up to eighth. Over the final laps of the race, he also managed to get past the Lotus duo of Beitske Visser (18, Netherlands, Lotus) and Jensen to finish fifth – a gain of eleven places over 14 laps. Jensen and Red Bull junior Visser crossed the line in sixth and seventh place respectively.

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing), winner:
“I’m absolutely elated to have won this last race of the season. I’ve come to the end of my first full year in Formel ADAC as fourth overall – and I even managed a win in the grand finale. I would describe this race as the most amazing of my whole career. Lap after lap, I could see myself closing the gap on Jason Kremer, and eventually, there was an opening. I seized the chance, he braked a little too late, and I passed him. A few moments later, I saw him coming up on the right. I braked normally, and there was some contact. But luckily, we were both able to finish the race. This result brings the season to a perfect close.”

Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport), second:
“After three years of contesting Formel ADAC, it’s a bit disappointing to lose the lead on the last lap of the final race. Still, I’m happy with second place. My start was pretty much perfect – I moved up from fifth to first place within the space of three corners. I was ahead for almost the whole time, having to defend against Nicolas for lap after lap. Eventually, though, he managed to get into just the right position, and I couldn’t stop him from overtaking. There was minor contact and my wing was slightly damaged, but we had only half a lap left to go. I regard this race as a decent end to the season. I gave it my best as always and secured third place overall in the championship.”

Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus), third:
“This podium is the perfect way to round off a season that has often been difficult. We finally figured out the problem we were having here, and my race pace immediately improved. My start wasn’t bad at all, but there was some contact with another car in the confusion on the hairpin bend. My rear wing took some damage, and Jason Kremer was able to get past. Shortly afterwards, there was some more contact which completely bent my wing out of shape. I thought that I was going to lose ground at this point, but Nicolas Beer was the only one to overtake me. At first, I tried to slog it out with him, but decided instead to let him pass to make sure I didn’t mess up my chance of a podium finish. I’ve scored points in every race this season, and I’m very proud of this record.”