Dutch female driver Beitske Visser achieves start/finish victory at the Lausitzring

• Beitske Visser wins second of three races at the Lausitzring
• Second victory for a woman in the Formel ADAC
• Gustav Malja leads championship ahead of final race at the Lausitzring

Lausitzring – Race 2

Date: 26 August 2012
Race: 17/24
Weather: sunny, 23°C
Circuit length: 4.534 km
Pole position: Beitske Visser
Laps: 13
Winner: Beitske Visser
Fastest Lap: Gustav Malja (1:48.599)

Lausitzring – Beitske Visser (17, Netherlands, Lotus) drove to her second victory in the junior series in the second race of the Formel ADAC at the Lausitzring. The Dutch teenager first tasted success at her home race in Zandvoort during the second weekend of the season in what is her debut year in the Formel ADAC academy. Visser is consequently the only female driver in the history of Formel ADAC to secure wins. This was the seventh success of the season for her team Lotus.

Gustav Malja (16, Sweden, Neuhauser Racing) crossed the finish line in second place in the 17th out of 24 races. The championship leader was 0.899 seconds down on Visser and finished on the podium for the second time this weekend and for the tenth time this season. Jeffrey Schmidt (18, Switzerland, Lotus) completed the international line-up in third place. The Swiss driver moved up two positions after the race because Alessio Picariello (18, BEL, G & J / Schiller-Motorsport) and Marvin Kirchhöfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus) were hit with a 30-second time penalty. They had both posted sector best times while the yellow flag was out, and so dropped down the field from third and fourth to ninth and tenth respectively.

Championship still being hotly contested

The battle for the championship could not be more exciting: Malja placed second and so extends the lead in the overall standings which he had first taken during the previous weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The Swedish driver is on 221 points ahead of the final race at the Lausitzring. His main rival, Marvin Kirchhöfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus), is 22 points behind him.

Local youngster Grapp retires whilst lying in fourth place

As a result of time penalties handed to Picariello and Kirchhöfer, young Sebastian Balthasar (15, Cologne, G & J / Schiller Motorsport) was placed fourth, his best ever result in the Formel ADAC. Fifth place went to Dutch driver Indy Dontje (19, Netherlands, Lotus). Roy Nissany (17, Israel, Mücke Motorsport) enjoyed the most successful charge of the race: the winner of the first race from the previous weekend in Spielberg moved eight places up the field from 14th position on the grid to be finally rewarded with a P6. Felix Wieland (15, Rosenheim, Engineering HS), placed seventh, achieved his best result to date in the Formel ADAC. Jason Kremer (17, Bonn, Mücke Motorsport), who is in third position in the fight for the championship, came home in eighth place and secured further points in the overall standings.

After 13 laps, eleven drivers out of 16 took the chequered flag. Luca Caspari (16, Meerbusch, Mücke Motorsport) and Nicolas Pohler (16, Starnberg, Team KUG Motorsport) collided with one another during Lap 4, slid into the gravel bed and had to retire. On lap ten, Hendrik Grapp (18, Berlin, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg) made contact with Picariello whilst lying in fourth position and subsequently had to pull out. Thomas Jäger (18, Austria, Neuhauser Racing) and Florian Herzog (18, Dresden, Mücke Motorsport) also had to exit the race during that same lap after a collision.

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Beitske Visser, Winner:
„This is my second win in the Formel ADAC – a brilliant feeling. I was in pole position and got the jump on the others at the very start and drew away. I was a little bit nervous when the safety car came out because Gustav Malja was hot on my heels. My re-start was good though, so I finally managed to win. I’m in eighth position on the grid in the third race. It won’t be easy, but I’ll try my best to move up the field as many places as possible.“

Gustav Malja, Second:
„Of course, I wanted to win, but Beitske Visser was just too fast today. I might have been able to snatch a victory had it not been for the safety car, but I had to defend my position against Alessio Picariello, so Beitske was able to draw away. I'm not too down, however, because I was again able to secure plenty of points towards the championship. Hopefully, I can achieve my third consecutive podium finish in the final race.“

Jeffrey Schmidt, Third:
„It's nice when, after the race has finished, you move up two places and get the trophy for third place, but as a racing driver, I would prefer to win out on the track. To actually stand on the podium is a much better feeling than being bumped up the leader board as a result of mistakes by fellow drivers – but it’s nevertheless great to be a cup winner. Now in the final race at the Lausitzring I aim to finish on the podium through my own efforts.“