Double pole for Kirchhöfer at finale in Hockenheim

• Championship contender Marvin Kirchhöfer on pole position in first and second race
• Championship leader Gustav Malja in third place in first two races
• Kirchhöfer: „That was just the first step in the battle for the title.“

Hockenheimring - Qualifying

Date: 29 September 2012
Weather: sunny, 15°C
Circuit length: 4.574 km
Pole Race 1: Marvin Kirchhöfer
Pole Race 2: Marvin Kirchhöfer

Hockenheimring – Everything is set fair for the most exciting season finale in the history of the Formel ADAC. The championship will be decided at the final race weekend in Hockenheim, and Marvin Kirchhöfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus) has put himself in a superb position in the fight for the title. Placed second in the championship, he secured pole position in qualifying for the first two races at the historic Hockenheimring circuit.

„The title race could be resolved today, but I’m not going to let that thought drive me crazy and intend focusing on the task in hand,“ said Kirchhöfer. These two poles constitute the sixth and seventh of the season for the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé. He has translated four of his previous five pole positions into race wins. Kirchhöfer has just a two-point deficit on championship leader Gustav Malja (16, SWE, Neuhauser Racing) in the standings. The Swedish driver will be in third position on the grid in both of the first two of the three races at the Hockenheimring.

Kirchhöfer set the fastest lap in qualifying – 1:44.517 minutes – and was 0.290 seconds faster than Thomas Jäger (18, Austria, Neuhauser Racing) in second place. Jeffrey Schmidt (18, Switzerland, Lotus) will be next to Malja in fourth place on the second row. Jason Kremer (17, Bonn, Mücke Motorsport) heads up the third row. Nicolas Beer (16, DK, HS Engineering) was sixth.

Beitske Visser (17, Netherlands, Lotus), the only woman in the line-up, qualified in seventh place on her return to the Formel ADAC. The Dutch teenager had to miss the previous weekend at the Nürburgring because of an injury. Sebastian Balthasar (16, Cologne, G & J / Schiller Motorsport) crossed the Motodrom finish line in eighth position.

The results of the session also decide positions on the starting grid for the second race. Grid positions are allocated according to the second fastest lap times. Kirchhöfer was again fastest in 1:44.589 minutes. It is the fifth double-pole for any driver this season, Kirchhöfer has achieved this feat for the third time after success at Zandvoort and at the Nürburgring last time out. Jäger will again be next to him on the front row for the start of the second race.

Marvin Kirchhöfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus), Pole Position Race 1 and 2:
„Double pole at the Hockenheim finale – what a perfect start to my weekend. However, that was only the first step and in the races this afternoon, we'll see have to see how much pole is worth. I have a good feeling about today, and the car is running superbly well here. I have found this track to be wonderful right from the first tests. Hopefully, we can maintain this performance in the races and then we will see what is possible this weekend. The title race could be resolved today, but I’m not going to let that thought drive me crazy and intend focusing on the task in hand.“