Tales from the Nürburgring paddock

• Mikkel Jensen on way to early championship win
• Change of roles: Nico Menzel at the wheel for his home race, papa Christian looks on
• Tatuus shareholder Gianfranco De Bellis comes to the Eifel

Nürburgring. Formel ADAC contested the sixth race weekend of the 2014 season from the 29th to the 31st of August at the Nürburgring. More than 15,000 spectators watched the three races of the ADAC High-Speed Academy that were staged during the ADAC GT Masters weekend.

On his way to the title: With his two victories at the Nürburgring, Mikkel Jensen has taken another important step towards winning the title. The Neuhauser Racing driver leads the overall standings on 272 points. Title rival Maximilian Günther is in second place on 201 points. At the next race weekend at the Sachsenring (19th-21st September 2014), Jensen could successfully lift the championship title after the second race. Jensen commented: “Things are looking good, but we won’t begin the celebrations until everything is in the bag.”

At home with the Menzels: This is real teamwork. Nico Menzel is contesting his home race at the Nürburgring. He lives in Kelberg, just a few kilometres from the legendary Formula 1 circuit. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé provided accommodation at his home for some members of his team, Schiller Motorsport, during the sixth race weekend of the 2014 season in the Eifel. Among them was Fabian Schiller, who lives about an hour’s drive away in Troisdorf and has a similarly short trip to the Nürburgring.

The future arrives in the paddock: ADAC Formula 4, successor to Formel ADAC will be using Tatuus chassis as of 2015. After intensive tests, the ADAC decided to utilise chassis produced by the Italian company for the new ADAC Formula 4. Gianfranco de Bellis, one of the two shareholders at Tatuus, paid a visit to the Nürburgring at the weekend to watch the racing action. De Bellis said: “It is a great honour for us to have this opportunity for partnership and collaboration with the ADAC. Germany has a long and prestigious tradition of famous drivers and competitive success and is a country that has a central place in world motorsport.”

Meeting of the generations: For years, Nico Menzel has watched on as his father, Christian, an ex-DTM driver, achieved sporting success at the Nürburgring. This weekend, the roles were reversed when Menzel Sr followed son Nico’s single-seater racing debut from the stands. Nürburgring specialist Christian Menzel commented: “But I keep out of the way for the most part. Nico needs to go his own way and gain experience.”

ADAC Sports Foundation on trip to Eifel: Sports Foundation protégés from the 2014 cohort were invited to the Nürburgring by the ADAC Sports Foundation. ADAC Sports Foundation CEO Dr Erhard Oehm and board members Rupert Mayer and Dieter Seibert welcomed the protégés from various spheres of motor racing. Four protégés of the ADAC Sports Foundation currently line up in the Formel ADAC – Maximilian Günther, Dennis Marschall, Nico Menzel and Tim Zimmermann.

Champion pays a visit: An old friend visited the Formel ADAC race weekend at the Nürburgring: 2012 champion Marvin Kirchhöfer. The graduate of the ADAC High Speed Academy has been a competitor in GP3 since the beginning of this year. Kirchhöfer took his maiden GP3 win during the German Formula 1 grand prix weekend at the Hockenheimring. Two years ago, Kirchhöfer achieved a triple win and lifted the championship title in the Formel ADAC at that venue. The 20-year-old said: “I had the best possible education for my future career in single-seater motor racing at the Formel ADAC. It was great to be back here at the Nürburgring and meet up with some former colleagues.”

Busy trainee: Tim Zimmermann is not only a racing driver but also a young entrepreneur. Next week, the Neuhauser Racing driver will set up a special event in Friedrichshafen for around 200 business partners that he has invited. Zimmermann has come up with some bright ideas, including, amongst other things, demo drives in a Formel ADAC powered by Volkswagen racing car and in a Formula 1 single-seater.