Mikkel Jensen kicks off second half of season with a win

• Mikkel Jensen extends championship lead at Slovakia Ring
• Tim Zimmermann and Dennis Marschall: Two rookies on the Podium
• Jensen: “A big step in the right direction towards winning the championship.”

Slovakia Ring: Neuhauser Racing secured a one-two victory to kick off the second half of the 2014 Formel ADAC season. Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) won the first race at the Slovakia Ring ahead of team-mate Tim Zimmermann (17, Germany, Neuhauser Racing). It was the second one-two victory this year for the Austrian team. Lotus rookie Dennis Marschall (17, Germany, Lotus) completed the party on the podium in third place.

“Now I’m going to get a good night’s sleep and aim to win in tomorrow’s race”, said a delighted championship leader Jensen after his fifth win of the season. The Dane had previously secured pole position in qualifying but had to start the race from fourth position after being handed a grid penalty.

Battle for victory between team-mates

Jensen laid the foundations for success on the sixth lap when Zimmermann overtook Marschall in P1, as he himself did not long afterwards. One lap later, Jensen won through against his team-mate and took the lead. The 19-year-old driver crossed the finish line 0.8 seconds up on ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Zimmermann. The rookie driver secured his fifth podium finish in the 13th race of the season.

Lotus driver Marschall finished on the podium for the second time in his first season in single-seater racing. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé made a strong start from third place on the grid and took the lead from pole-setter Zimmermann in Turn One. Marschall retained the top spot after a safety car period on the second lap. The safety car deployment was triggered by a collision between Maximilian Günther (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) and Kim Luis Schramm (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.). Luis-Enrique Breuer (17, Germany, Lotus) was also involved. All three drivers had to retire from the race.

Schiller just misses podium finish

Fabian Schiller (17, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) and Joel Eriksson (16, Sweden, Lotus) made contact during the restart on the fifth lap while fighting for fourth place. Although Schiller came through the scrap unscathed, heading off in pursuit of the top three, Swedish driver Eriksson dropped back to tenth position. Schiller crossed the finish line in fourth position, 0.4 seconds behind Marschall in P3.

Igor Walilko (16, Poland, JBR Motorsport & Engineering) in fifth place achieved his best result so far in the ADAC high-speed academy. The JBR Motorsport & Engineering driver battled with Swiss driver Ralph Boschung (16, Switzerland, Lotus) over many laps, finally winning through on the seventh lap. Philip Hamprecht (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) and Lotus rookie driver Eriksson rounded off the top eight.

Jensen extends overall lead

Jensen on 208 points continues to lead the championship after 13 of 24 races this season. The Danish driver benefited from Günther’s retirement, extending his lead to 52 points. Jensen starts from pole position in the second race on Sunday (livestream available, starting at 10:40 am: adac.de/formel-adac). Schiller will share the front row in the second of three races in Slovakia.

Comments from the top three

Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing), Winner:
“I’m really happy with my victory. These 25 points are a big step in the right direction towards winning the championship, but not quite the way I wanted. I would have liked a fair scrap with Maximilian out on the track and didn’t want to win the points without a fight. I tried to stay out of battles at the start to avoid any incidents. When I finally overtook Tim, I knew that no one could take the win from me. It was a really fair scrap. I was faster and he left me enough space, meaning we were able to prevent the competition attacking from behind again and keep out of the gravel. Ultimately, it was an easy win and I was even able to nurse my tyres for tomorrow on the final laps. Now I’m going to get a good night’s sleep and aim to win in tomorrow’s race.”

Tim Zimmermann (17, Germany, Neuhauser Racing), Second:
“Neuhauser Racing in first and second place – what a super day. I knew that Mikkel was a bit faster, which is why I left him enough room. It’s really great to have another podium finish. Unfortunately, I couldn’t defend my lead at the start, but that was almost to be expected, since the first row does not benefit from slipstream from the cars in front. Still, I fought my way back well and even led the race for a while. The scrap with Dennis Marschall was great fun. I saw that he had shut the door after the long straight before turn three, so I knew that he now had to brake earlier and take less speed through the turn. I used this to my advantage by moving from the outside to the inside – it worked beautifully.”

Dennis Marschall (17, Germany, Lotus), Third:
“Great. Finally, a place on the podium. Although I couldn’t stay ahead of the two Neuhauser drivers, I’m still really happy with the result. I got off to a good start and saw a gap in front of me and used the extra speed to take the lead. Unfortunately, my lead had now disappeared as a result of the early safety car period. Anyway, I would probably have found it hard to stop the progress of the Neuhauser drivers because of my inferior level of grip.”