Formel ADAC 2012, season review: Interesting facts and figures, plus anecdotes from the paddock

• Most exciting title battle in Formel ADAC history
• Races characterised by evenly matched competition
• International TV coverage throughout the season
• Top sports personalities at Formel ADAC academy races

The 2012 Formel ADAC season was extremely successful and spectators at race tracks in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands were treated to 24 exciting, first-class races. Marvin Kirchhöfer was crowned the Formel ADAC academy’s fifth new champion in a thrilling championship finale.

Head-to-head racing: The battle for the championship title this season was the most exciting in the annals of the junior series, since, not until the penultimate race at Hockenheim, was Marvin Kirchhöfer able to win through against Gustav Malja. The two title contenders fought a head-to-head battle throughout the season, as the statistics show; both ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Kirchhöfer and Malja achieved 16 podium finishes, but Kirchhöfer was in the lead as regards outright victories, achieving nine wins, as opposed to his Swedish rival’s three. Kirchhöfer also secured the most pole positions, starting seven races from pole position. Malja was a bit better at posting fastest lap time, though. The Neuhauser Racing driver set a total of nine fastest race lap times, whereas Kirchhöfer achieved that feat eight times.

Promising future: Marvin Kirchhöfer could potentially have a bright future ahead of him; his championship predecessors Richie Stanaway and Daniel Abt were both promoted to the GP3 Series. Abt was in with a good chance of lifting this season’s championship until the last race, in the end he finished runner-up in his debut year. Pascal Wehrlein has enjoyed great success in the Formula 3 Euro Series. In his first year, the young German driver has achieved eight podium finishes, won one race and now has a good chance of winning the title.

Good luck talisman on board: Superstition is widespread in sport, and junior Formel ADAC drivers resorted to a variety of different good luck charms during the season. A small furry pig given to him by his girlfriend has graced Nici Pohler’s cockpit since the start of the season. After the first race weekend at Oschersleben, pink piggy was replaced with a fire-proof version. Marvin Kirchhöfer began putting a bullet hole sticker on his car after each win – there were nine in the end. Title rival Gustav Malja received some support from his family. His younger brother Ville painted a picture for him after his double victory at the Sachsenring, featuring a podium and a large number ‘one’ on the Swedish flag. Jason Kremer wrote his favourite saying on his car’s steering wheel: “Winning begins in the mind.”

Comfortable team championship winners: Lotus secured the team championship before season end at the penultimate race weekend of the year at the Nürburgring. With a total of 13 wins (Kirchhöfer 9, Visser 2, Schmidt 1 and Dalewski 1), the team achieved more victories than any other team. Neuhauser Racing (Malja 3, Jäger 1) took four wins in total, as did Mücke Motorsport (Grapp 2, Kremer 1, Nissany 1). G & J / Schiller Motorsport headed the party on the podium twice with Alessio Picariello.

Most successful female driver: Beitske Visser achieved the first victory of a female driver in the Formel ADAC at Zandvoort, her home race. In all, the Dutch youngster took the top spot in two races (in Zandvoort and at the Lausitzring), becoming the most successful female driver in the Formel ADAC. “It does not bother me one bit to be up against the guys,” said Visser acting all cool. “I already know the score from my time in karting.” Before Visser arrived on the scene, Finnish teenager Emma Kimiläinen and Andrina Gugger from Switzerland were the most successful female drivers in the Formel ADAC; Kimiläinen achieved second place in Assen, 2008, and Gugger finished fifth in the first race of the 2010 season at Oschersleben. During 2012, the Swiss lady driver has been contesting the ADAC GT Masters at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Big meets little: Two worlds collided when the Nürburgring played host to the Formel ADAC and the ADAC Truck-Grand-Prix. The monster race trucks weighing 5.5 tons and endowed with 1,200 horses, propelling them to a limited top speed of 160km/h in five seconds, made the Formel ADAC racing cars powered by Volkswagen look quite small with their 570kg, 145bhp and acceleration time of 0 to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds. 180,000 spectators watched the racing spectacle in the Eifel, and some 290,300 fans came to see Formel ADAC races in the course of the season.

From podium to television: Jeffrey Schmidt celebrated his maiden win in the Formel ADAC at the Lausitzring. During the following week, the Swiss TV station SF2 broadcast a comprehensive report on the Lotus driver’s racing career as part of a programme for the younger generation called Wild@7. Swiss TV broadcaster Telebasel was also interested in the junior driver. A camera followed Schmidt’s every move at the season finale in Hockenheim, collecting material for a TV show about sport entitled Heimspiel (Home Game). After each race weekend, kabel eins featured race highlights in ADAC Masters Weekend Magazine, and SPORT1 provided additional Formel ADAC TV coverage in its offering, ADAC Masters Magazine.

Sports stars in the flesh: Ralf Schumacher, ex-Formula 1 ace Gerhard Berger, MotoGP rider Max Neukirchner and world boxing champion Arthur Abraham were just some of the many VIPs to be found in the paddock at the ADAC Masters Weekend. “It’s always interesting to watch the youngsters – it reminds me so much of my time in the junior series,” said ex-Formula 1 and current DTM driver Ralf Schumacher. He then went on to praise them, saying: “These drivers are now so well trained that I don’t need to give them any more tips.”

International TV coverage: “This is the greatest day in Israeli motor racing history,” said a delighted Boaz Korpel, an Israeli TV journalist of many years standing. He was there at the Red Bull Ring in Austria as Roy Nissany celebrated his maiden victory in the Formel ADAC. On behalf of Israeli TV’s Sports Channel, Korpel beamed live pictures of the Mücke driver’s successes at the Red Bull Ring to a potential audience of some five million households.

Celebrity support: Indy Dontje used the services of an experienced teacher in his debut year in the Formel ADAC. The Dutch teenager has been picking up useful tips from former DTM driver Renger van der Zande. Dontje: “Renger is my coach. He’s been helping me during race weekends with preparations for qualifying and races and has been of enormous help to me in the course of the season. I’ve learned a lot about racing from him.”