Champion Mikkel Jensen wins after going on a charge

• Mikkel Jensen wins Race 2 at Hockenheimring finale
• Race winner decided on final lap
• Lotus rookies Dennis Marschall and Joel Eriksson complete podium party

Hockenheim. The young Formel ADAC drivers showed their pace once again during the season finale at the Hockenheimring. Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) won the second race at the spectacular and historic track in south-west Germany. The newly crowned champion took over the lead from Dennis Marschall (18, Germany, Lotus) on the final lap to secure his tenth win of the season. Marschall’s team-mate Joel Eriksson (16, Sweden, Lotus) came home behind him to complete the party on the podium in the penultimate race of the season.

“I could jump for joy. I had not expected this win,” said Jensen, who secured the championship last weekend ahead of time at the Sachsenring. The Neuhauser Racing driver had driven to third place in the first race at the Hockenheimring, contributing to his team’s early victory in the team standings. This time, the Dane won through against the winner of the opening race, Marschall, after going on a remarkable charge on the 14th and final lap.

Race winner decided in the hairpin

In Saturday morning’s first race, ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Marschall secured the win with an overtaking manoeuvre on the last lap. This time, though, he was the one to suffer and had to admit defeat to Jensen on the final lap. The scene that decided the race was played out in the hairpin, after Marschall and Jensen had scrapped wheel-to-wheel along the entire Parabolica section of track. Jensen came out on top in the ensuing 180-degree turn, driving home to victory.

And yet, Marschall had looked a certain winner for a long time. He quickly surged forward from fourth on the grid, taking over the lead on the second lap from pole-setter Maximilian Günther (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.). Marschall built up a lead of nearly five seconds on the rest of the field over the subsequent laps, but Jensen in hot pursuit kept gaining on him. Marschall could not maintain his speed and towards the end of the race was losing several tenths of a second per lap to Jensen until the Dane finally seized his chance.

Front-runners in close finish

Marschall almost lost second place to team-mate Eriksson. His lead at the finish was just two tenths of a second, but the 18-year-old held his nerve. Former and now newly crowned championship runner-up Günther crossed the finish line in fourth place with a deficit of 16 seconds on the top three. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé was bumped down into fourth place on the fifth lap and thus missed his second podium this weekend.

The battle for fifth place was hard-fought. At times, four drivers were fighting it out in the tightest of spaces, which was very entertaining for those watching the track action. Tim Zimmermann (18, Germany, Neuhauser Racing) got the better of the others in the end, repeating his result from the opening race.

After a tough weekend so far, local driver Marvin Dienst (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) returned to the fray with sixth place, thus maintaining his chances of taking third place overall in the standings. In the run-up to the final race at Hockenheim on Sunday (live stream available at: www.adac.de/formel-adac, from 15:05 onwards), he is 13 points behind Zimmermann in third place.

Final race in the annals of Formel ADAC

Kim Luis Schramm (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg eV) starts from pole position on Sunday. The third race of the ADAC High-Speed Academy at the Hockenheimring is the last in the seven-year success story that is the Formel ADAC. The new ADAC Formula 4 debuts next season as the successor to the series which has spawned talents such as Formula 1 test driver Pascal Wehrlein.

Comments from the Top Three

Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing), Winner:
“I could jump for joy. This is a win I wasn’t necessarily expecting. My wheels locked going into Turn 2. From that moment on, the car was very difficult to drive and the wheels kept locking up. I had to adjust my braking more to the rear and apply the brakes very gingerly to stop the wheels locking up. I especially enjoyed the overtaking manoeuvre on Maximilian Günther going round the last corner. He hadn’t reckoned on coming under attack there, and I took my chance. At some point, I saw on my pit board that I was closing on the race leader by half a second per lap. I realised that the win was still there for the taking and did everything I could to get past Dennis Marschall. Successfully, as it happened.”

Dennis Marschall (18, Germany, Lotus), Second:

“I have mixed feelings. Second place is a very good result, but it’s a pity to lose victory on the last lap. Mikkel was much faster than me today and deserved to win, so congratulations to him. I had the good fortune at the start of the race that all the cars I was up against were scrapping with each other, which allowed me to get clear. However, my setup was again less than perfect in the warmer conditions. Once Mikkel had got clear of the others behind me, I asked the team on the radio about his lap times. At first, he was closing quite slowly, but as soon as he was in my slipstream, the gap was rapidly reduced. I had to let him pass in the end.”

Joel Eriksson (16, Sweden, Lotus), Third:

“After such a crazy race, I’m relieved to have finished third. Unfortunately, I got stuck behind another car right from the off. I saw Mikkel Jensen and Dennis Marschall both sailing away into the distance. When I finally got past the car ahead, I was able to drive at my own speed and catch up on the two race leaders. When Mikkel eventually overtook Dennis, I saw my chance. On the last lap, unfortunately, I thought that there was one more to go. I eased off, thinking that I could use slipstream to overtake Dennis on the Parabolica, but then the chequered flag came down.”