Mikkel Jensen secures first victory of 2014 season

• Mikkel Jensen wins first of three races in Oschersleben
• Formel ADAC championship runner-up Maximilian Günther finishes on podium
• Rookie Tim Zimmermann crowns single-seater racing debut with podium

Oschersleben – The 2014 Formel ADAC season has produced its first winner: Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) won the first race in the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, finishing 3.648 seconds up on second-placed Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.). Series rookie Tim Zimmermann (17, Germany, Neuhauser Racing) achieved a podium at his first attempt, resulting in a very successful start for Team Neuhauser Racing.

“It feels great to post my first win in Formel ADAC, but it was by no means an easy race,” said Jensen, who is contesting his second year in the ADAC junior series. The opening victory might yet prove to be a good omen for the Danish driver, since in the past three years, the winner of the first race at the traditional season opener in Oschersleben has subsequently gone on to clinch the championship at the end of the season.

Hard-fought battle for the lead

Jensen’s victory in the first of three races in Oschersleben was never in any danger except right at the start. The 19-year-old got off the line well from pole position, but Günther piled on the pressure running through the first few turns. However, Jensen defended P1 after a brilliant scrap, building up a comfortable lead on the subsequent laps.

Reigning Formel ADAC vice-champion Günther chose not to mount an attack in the dying minutes of the race, finishing a comfortable second. ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Tim Zimmermann crossed the line behind the lead pair with a deficit of some six seconds to achieve the best result among the eight rookies in the starting field.

Zimmermann had started from fifth place but benefited from drive-through penalties handed to both Marvin Dienst (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) and Kim Luis Schramm (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) for false starts.

Lotus rookie in the points

Dennis Marschall (17, Germany, Lotus) secured a respectable result in his first race in the ADAC high-speed academy with fourth place. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé was also the most successful driver at Team Lotus, who are contesting their home fixture at Oschersleben. With just three laps to go, Marschall moved up into fourth position when Fabian Schiller (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) ran wide, dropping back down into fifth.

Joel Eriksson (16, Sweden, Lotus) also sniffed the chance of moving up a position but was unable to launch a decisive attack on Schiller during the final few laps. And so, the young Swede, making his debut in open-wheel racing, secured sixth place for Lotus.

Two other rookies – Philip Hamprecht (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) and Igor Walilko (16, Poland, JBR Motorsport & Engineering) – finished in the top eight in a race free of incident. Five series newcomers achieved a place in the top eight, which speaks volumes for the high level of competition in Formel ADAC.

Günther starts from pole position in the second race on Sunday morning (visit www.adac.de/motorsport for live stream beginning at 9:15 am). Jensen, who won the opening race, will be in second place on the grid for the second of 24 races.

Comments from the Top Three

Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing), Winner:
“It feels great to have achieved my maiden win in Formel ADAC, but it was by no means an easy race. I could see Maximilian Günther all the time in my rear view mirror and had to defend my position. I realised after a while that my car was considerably faster, piled on the pressure for three laps and then tried to keep the gap under control. But I knew that I couldn’t ease off because anything might happen. In fact, I made a small mistake when I ran wide a little bit – you must never count your chickens before they are hatched. It sounds good to me that in recent years, the winner of the opening race has later gone on to become champion – I intend to do just that this season.”

Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), Second: “Second place in the opening race means 18 vital points and a good start to the new season. I was able to follow Mikkel Jensen and attack him to start with, but overall, he was a little faster today. We must analyse the data to find out why before the second race. Downforce always makes driving behind another car quite difficult, but I never gave up. Only towards the end did I decide to secure second place at the finish line and save my tyres. Now I hope that I can win the second race from pole position tomorrow.”

Tim Zimmermann (17, Germany, Neuhauser Racing), Third:
“I never expected to finish on the podium in my first Formel ADAC race – I’m lost for words. I had a certain amount of space both to the front and to my rear after my two immediate competitors were handed drive-through penalties, so I decided to secure third place at the finish line and not take any further unnecessary risks. Now I just want to savour the moment and am looking forward to the next two races.”