Schmidt takes first two pole positions of new season

• Jeffrey Schmidt starts from pole position in the first two races of the 2012 Formel ADAC season
• Schmidt: “Two poles in the season opener – a fabulous result for the team.”
• Top 3 made up of drivers from three different countries

Motorsport Arena Oschersleben - Qualifying
Date: 31 March 2012
Weather: Showers, 7°C
Circuit length: 3.696 km
Pole position Race 1: Jeffrey Schmidt
Pole position Race 2: Jeffrey Schmidt

Oschersleben – Jeffrey Schmidt secured the first two pole positions of the year in the Formel ADAC season opener at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The 18-year-old Swiss driver from Team Lotus will be on pole for the first and second race. A beaming Schmidt: "In the end, I bagged two pole positions for the first two races. What a great result for our team!"

In the home fixture for his Lotus outfit, Schmidt posted a best lap time of 1:48.218 minutes, 0.222 seconds faster than Austrian driver Thomas Jäger (17, Neuhauser Racing) who will join him on the front row for Race 1.

The miserable weather didn’t make things easy for the 17 promising young drivers from seven different countries. A strong wind was blowing for the first 25 minutes of timed practice, and the rain only eased up half way through the session. Clemente Picariello (18, BEL, G&J / Schiller-Motorsport) driving a 145bhp Formel ADAC car powered by Volkswagen posted the third-fastest lap time of 1:48.591 minutes. Next to him in Row 2 is Marvin Kirchhöfer (17, Leipzig, Lotus).

Beitske Visser (17, NL, Lotus), the only woman in the current starting field, secured fifth fastest time and shares the third row with Sebastian von Balthasar (16, from Cologne, G & J / Schiller Motorsport). Gustav Malya (16, SWE, Mücke Motorsport), Indy Dontje (19, NL, Lotus), Jason Kremer (17, Bonn, Mücke Motorsport) and Roy Nissany (17, ISR, Mücke Motorsport) complete the Top Ten.

The results from qualifying are also used to determine grid positions for the second race at the Motorsport Arena in Oschersleben on Sunday. The line-up is decided by second-fastest laps of the session. Here too, Schmidt was the quickest man on the track with a time of 1:48.621 minutes. He will be joined on the front row in Sunday’s race by Austrian driver Thomas Jäger.

Jeffrey Schmidt, Pole position in Races 1 & 2:
“Conditions in practice were tough. Nevertheless, I felt very comfortable in the car and posted fast lap times right from the start. I focused on not running wide because the track is well-known for the speed with which you can end up in the gravel. I’m not bothered if it rains in the two races, because I feel more comfortable in the wet and it suits me. My goal is to be among the front-runners – whether conditions are dry or wet.”