Marvin Dienst wins rain-hit race at Zandvoort

• First win of season for Marvin Dienst in closing race of Zandvoort weekend
• Yet another podium for rookie Tim Zimmermann
• Changing fortunes, with three different race winners in the Netherlands

Zandvoort – Three races and three different winners: Marvin Dienst (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) claimed the third winner’s trophy to round off an interesting foreign excursion for Formel ADAC to Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Rookie Tim Zimmermann (17, Germany, Neuhauser Racing) had a thoroughly successful weekend, finishing as runner-up in Race 3 and thus making his second podium appearance. The third podium spot went to Kim Luis Schramm (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.).

“I’m delighted with this first win of the season,” said Dienst. “It’s been a while coming.” The sixth race of the 2014 Formel ADAC championship confronted the talented young drivers with atrocious weather and treacherous track conditions.

Decisive move early on

Dienst laid the groundwork for victory in the early laps. From fourth on the grid, he got off to a magnificent start, gaining two positions on the first few corners. At the start of Lap 4, Dienst snatched the lead from Zimmermann who had himself earlier passed pole-setter Philip Hamprecht (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.).

Shortly after Dienst’s decisive overtaking manoeuvre, Fabian Schiller (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) and Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) skidded into the gravel bed on Turn 1, bringing out the safety car. When the race restarted on Lap 6, Dienst kept his nerve and began to widen the gap.

But before even this lap was complete, the race was interrupted by yet another safety car deployment. This was in response to a collision between Günther, Igor Walilko (16, Poland, JBR Motorsport & Engineering) and Ralph Boschung (16, Switzerland, Lotus). Günther, who finished last year’s championship as runner-up, was able to resume his race and score a solitary point with a tenth-place finish.

Dienst supreme on restart

When the race restarted on Lap 10, Dienst again retained the upper hand over closest pursuer Zimmermann, clinging on doggedly to his lead on a rain-sodden surface. Having skilfully avoided getting caught up in all the bumps and scrapes, Schramm was rewarded with third place and a second podium appearance of the weekend.

Championship leader Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) took the flag in fourth place ahead of series newcomer Nico Menzel (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) for whom fifth place represents his best Formel ADAC result to date. The three rookies Joel Eriksson (16, Sweden, Lotus), Hamprecht and David Kolkmann (17, Germany, JBR Motorsport & Engineering) rounded off the Top Eight.

Jensen increases championship lead

Following this second of eight weekends on the 2014 race calendar, Jensen continues to lead the championship. The Neuhauser Racing youngster has accumulated 93 points from six races. Günther follows on 72 points with Zimmermann in third on 67. The third race weekend of the 2014 Formel ADAC campaign takes place on the weekend of 23rd to 25th May at the Lausitzring.

Comments from the Top Three

Marvin Dienst (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), winner:
“I’m delighted with this first win of the season - it’s taken a while to come. Following a difficult qualifying session, I was initially disappointed and didn’t rate my chances for the rest of the weekend. So I’m all the more delighted with this race win. My wheels were spinning at the start, but I was able to get away surprisingly fast and even managed to gain a few positions. That was decisive. The scrap between me and Tim for the lead was a tricky business, as my vision was severely limited by the spray. Luckily for me, he made a slight error which enabled me to pass him on the straight.”

Tim Zimmermann (16, Germany, Neuhauser Racing), second:
“My fourth podium finish in six races – incredible. I was a little sceptical before the weekend at Zandvoort, as rain was forecast and I didn’t know how I would cope in the wet. My two podium successes have put an end to any worries on that score, and I know that we are fast in all conditions. My start was very good and immediately gave me the lead. On the first lap, though, I touched the crash barriers with a wheel and at first thought my car would be damaged. Fortunately, the car is quite resilient and I continued without any problems. A little later, I realised that Marvin behind me was faster. Since there was quite a large gap to third place, I decided to let him through and make sure I at least finished second.”

Kim Luis Schramm (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), third:
“This second podium brings the weekend at Zandvoort to a successful conclusion for me. It was a very tough race because rain limited visibility. I got off to a bad start, as my wheels were spinning. I lost some positions but won them back again during the race. Fortunately, I was able to stay out of all the various incidents and even overtook Mikkel Jensen after the safety car period. Overall, a really satisfying weekend for me.”