Malja wins very last race at Nürburgring

• Gustav Malja wins third race in the Eifel
• Kremer finishes on podium for third time at his home race
• Three different winners at the Nürburgring: Picariello, Kremer, Malja
• Marvin Kirchhöfer leads championship at half-way point in season

Nürburgring (Sprint track) - Race 3

Date: 15 July 2012 Race: 12/24
Weather: Rain, 14°C
Circuit length: 3.618 kilometres
Pole position: Roy Nissany
Laps: 15
Winner: Gustav Malja
Fastest lap: Jason Kremer (1:40.229)

Nürburgring - Gustav Malja (16, SWE, Neuhauser Racing) won the final race of the Formel ADAC this weekend at the Nürburgring. The Swedish driver moved up from fifth place on the grid and made the podium for the sixth time this season, securing a fourth victory for his team Neuhauser Racing. "That was a perfect finish to a difficult weekend, so I'm happy," said Malja, who won his first two races in the Formel ADAC 'school' during the recent race weekend at the Sachsenring.

Marvin Kirchhöfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus), starting from seventh position, went on a charge to secure second place on the podium. The young ADAC Sports Foundation protégée finished in the Top Three for the eighth time in his debut year in open-wheel racing and leads the championship with 162 points after 12 out of 24 races. Malja is in second place overall in the standings, 20 points behind Kirchhöfer, who has won three races so far.

Jason Kremer (17, Bonn, Mücke Motorsport) claimed the third place on the podium at the 3.618km Nürburgring sprint circuit. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégée had previously won the second race in his home event and finished on the podium three times in total this weekend. Kremer benefited from a 30-second penalty given to Thomas Jäger (17, AUT, Neuhauser Racing) that was handed out after the race. Jäger was relegated to seventh place from third place; he had achieved a sector best time while the yellow flag was out.

Jeffrey Schmidt (18, SUI, Lotus) was ranked fourth, ahead of pole-sitter Roy Nissany (17, ISR, Mücke Motorsport). The Israeli driver lost his lead on a wet track during the second lap to Neuhauser pair, Malja and Jäger. Indy Dontje (19, NED, Lotus), Jäger and Formel ADAC first-timer Nicolas Beer (16, DK, HS Engineering) took the remaining points by securing positions six to eight respectively in the very last race of the junior series during the ADAC Truck Grand Prix weekend.

Kuba Dalewski (16, POL, Lotus) did not finish. The Polish driver, who was in second place on the grid, collided with Picariello on lap seven. Dalewski subsequently exited the race with a puncture. Picariello was given a drive-through penalty, which he did not serve and so was disqualified. Nicolas Pohler (16, Starnberg, Team KUG Motorsport) also failed to finish after a spin.

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Gustav Malja, Winner:
"That was a perfect finish to a difficult weekend, so I'm happy. The start was not brilliant. Unfortunately, I did not get away well in the wet track conditions, and I've lost some points in the championship this weekend. But if we continue like this, then we are bound to catch up during the next few weekends."

Marvin Kirchhöfer, Second:
"My start was very good and I moved up from seventh place to third. Two cars in front of me made contact and I could not avoid one of them. My steering wheel was bent as a result and the front wing worked loose. I tried to ignore the problems and focus on the race, which worked out very well, and I clawed my way back into second place by the end of the race."

Jason Kremer, Third:
"That was a great home race at the Nürburgring for me. I was able to bag the most points, having secured three podium finishes. I came out of the pits on slicks for the third race but went onto wets on the grid, so my rubber was not as warm as the other drivers' which cost me position. I posted the fastest lap times towards the end of the race, though, and moved up the field several places."