Pressekontakt
ADAC e.V.
Oliver Runschke
Motorsport- und Klassik-Kommunikation
Tel.: +49 89 7676 6965
Mobil: +49 171 555 6236
E-Mail: oliver.runschke@adac.de
Kay-Oliver Langendorff
Leiter Partnerschaften, Kooperationen & Sponsoring
Leiter Kommunikation Motorsport & Klassik
Tel.: +49 (0)89-7676 6936
Mobil: +49 (0)171-555 5936
E-Mail: kay.langendorff@adac.de
20.09.2014 - ADAC Formel Masters
Mikkel Jensen: 2014 champion in profile
- Mikkel Jensen succeeds Alessio Picariello: Seventh and last champion ever in Formel ADAC history
- Nine wins and 14 podiums: Danish driver clinches title before season’s end
- Late starter Jensen: “Not many people fancied my chances.”
Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) has arrived at last. The Danish driver secured the Formel ADAC title before season’s end during the penultimate race weekend at the Sachsenring. The 19-year-old succeeds Alessio Picariello and enters the history books as the seventh champion in the ADAC high-speed academy. At the same time, the Neuhauser Racing driver also becomes the last champion in the successful junior series, as ADAC Formula 4 is set to replace the Formel ADAC series next season, 2015.
Jensen made clear his intention to win the championship at an early stage. After securing a victory at the season opener in the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, he subsequently travelled to all of the seven race weekends that followed as overall leader. Jensen clinched the title win early at the Sachsenring with a total of nine victories and 14 podiums. A testament to the young Danish driver’s speed: Jensen posted fastest race lap ten times this season, the most of any driver in the history of Formel ADAC, converting six of his eigth pole positions into wins.
Not seen in the role of favourite initially
Before the season started, few people thought that the speedy young driver had a chance of lifting the title. However, after experiencing a tough debut season in the Formel ADAC, Jensen flourished in his second motor racing season. He positively blossomed with his new team, Neuhauser Racing, experiencing a real quantum leap in performance. “I didn’t have the right material to regularly fight for victories or even for the championship back in 2013,” said Jensen, with reference to his training year in the fiercely competitive junior series. “That’s probably why not many people fancied my chances, but I’m still the same person that I was a year ago.”Jensen immediately felt at home with Neuhauser Racing. The team is like a second family to him, as he said, describing the way the well established Austrian team stick together: “I speak a lot off track with my mechanic and my team manager Hannes Neuhauser. I’m good friends with my team-mate Tim Zimmermann and we even maintain contact when it’s not a race weekend. It’s nice that we get on so well.”
Late starter in motor racing
Unlike many other young drivers, Jensen began his motor racing career relatively late. Not until he was 15 did he post his first few laps in a kart back home in Denmark. Football was his greatest passion to begin with until he got the racing bug. “Although I’d played almost every kind of driving game on the console and had always been interested in cars, it was only when I turned 15 that I realised that I definitely wanted to be a racing car driver,” said Jensen, remembering how he got started, just four years ago.Jensen earned his racing spurs in the Danish Karting Championship. Always there to provide support and guidance was his father. Per Jensen is thrilled by his son's chosen career. He not only accompanies him to race weekends but also to test sessions. Mikkel's mother Joan also attends every race event and cheers for her son from the sidelines. “My dad obviously studies the race and the result, but my mum is just watching out for me,” says Mikkel.
After a tricky first year and tenth place overall in the Formel ADAC, Jensen feared that his dreams of a motor racing career were already over. However, an offer from Neuhauser Racing early this year brought about a turn in events. An appreciative Jensen said: “Success is there now and the future is also looking bright. 2014 means an awful lot to me and represents my greatest success so far in motor racing, for sure.” He is keen to move up into the FIA Formula 3 European championship next season.
Formula 1, long-term goal
This championship win has brought Jensen a major step closer to his big goal: “Over the long term, all drivers want to move into Formula 1 at some point, but you have to be realistic and take the opportunities that present themselves. My main aim is to make a living from racing one day.” Ex-Formel ADAC champions like GP2 driver Daniel Abt and GP3 rookie Marvin Kirchhöfer have both now found a home within the context of Formula 1. 2011 champion Pascal Wehrlein, who recently became the youngest winner of a DTM race ever, successfully found a cockpit this year as a reserve driver with the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team.The ADAC single-seater training programme is well established and has for many years been a springboard for future motor racing stars. In the past, Formula 1 drivers such as four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Nico Hülkenberg and Nico Rosberg, plus DTM stars including Martin Tomczyk and Timo Glock all started their successful careers in various ADAC junior open-wheel racing series.
