Maiden win for Beitske Visser in home race at Zandvoort

• Visser wins third race in Zandvoort premiere
• Visser: „My first win - what an incredible feeling!“
• Malja moves up eleven positions to finish second
• Kirchhöfer on podium again after two earlier wins

Circuit Park Zandvoort (NL) – Race 3
Date: 6 May 2012
Race: 6/24
Weather: cloudy, 10°C
Circuit length: 4.307 km
Pole position: Beitske Visser
Laps: 15
Winner: Beitske Visser
Fastest Lap: Gustav Malja (1:43.280)

Zandvoort – The third of three Formel ADAC races at Circuit Park Zandvoort had all the ingredients of a thrilling climax to the junior series weekend as it made its first ever visit to the legendary Dutch venue. In a spectacular race featuring plenty of overtaking, Beitske Visser put in an impressive performance to claim her first win in the ADAC ‘academy’ for the single-seater stars of tomorrow.

The only woman driver in the current Formel ADAC line-up started from pole position which she promptly but only temporarily yielded to Hendrik Grapp. On the fourth lap, she retook the lead and never looked back, steering her Formel ADAC powered by Volkswagen to the finish in sovereign style. "It’s just an incredible feeling to get this first win in Formel ADAC in front of the home crowd", said a delighted Visser.

Following Visser across the line was Gustav Malja (16, SWE, Neuhauser Racing) who climbed the podium for the second time this weekend. The Swedish driver battled his way through from 13th on the grid, benefiting on the way from various collisions involving the drivers ahead of him. Winner of the first two races Marvin Kirchhöfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus) had a similar success story, progressing from P8 on the grid to complete a trio of different nationalities on the podium.

Next home was Jeffrey Schmidt (18, SUI, Lotus) who started from twelfth and also mounted a spirited chase to finish fourth. P5 went to Roy Nissany (17, ISR, Mücke Motorsport) who improved by six positions. Luca Caspari (16, Meerbusch, Mücke Motorsport) made good eight positions during the course of the race to finish sixth. Clemente Picariello (18, BEL, G&J / Schiller-Motorsport) who started from fourth on the grid could only manage seventh in the end, one place ahead of local favourite Indy Dontje (19, NED, Lotus).

The biggest losers in the third and final race on the ‘Dune Rollercoaster’ were Thomas Jäger (17, AUT, Neuhauser Racing) and Kuba Dalewski (16, POL, Lotus). Jäger started from third but was overtaken by Picariello on the first lap before losing control of his vehicle on the next and having to retire from the race. Dalewski was in P3 for much of the race but collided with Grapp on Lap 12 and then spun off track two laps later.

Comments from the Top 3 drivers

Beitske Visser, Winner:
„It’s just an incredible feeling to get this first win in Formel ADAC in front of the home crowd. My start wasn’t all that great, which is why Hendrik Grapp was able to overtake me. But I fought back to retake the position and then I was able to build on my lead. I tried to stay calm the whole time and not to put myself under too much pressure. My back still hurts from that accident in qualifying, but it's funny how a race win can make you forget all about it.“

Gustav Malja, Second:
„I had the feeling I was flying past the others in the field. If the race had lasted a few more laps, I might have even snatched the win. We fitted new tyres on the left-hand wheels for this race, which gave us an advantage over the competition. I would say it has been a mixed weekend. Finishing second and third was a very good result, but the P13 this morning wasn’t all that great.“

Marvin Kirchhöfer, Third:
„That was a perfect weekend with two pole positions, two wins and a third-place finish. I’m completely satisfied with this outcome. After the fantastic results in the first two races, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks in the third. I was lucky enough to benefit from mistakes made by others. I hope we can repeat our good performance at the Sachsenring. But as for the championship, let’s see how the situation is towards the end of the season. “