Two wins at the Red Bull Ring: Mikkel Jensen becomes ‘half-time champion’

• Second success for Neuhauser Racing at their home fixture in Austria
• Thrills galore to the very end: Top three reach finish line within a second of one another
• Local driver Corinna Kamper in the points after superb charge

Spielberg – It could not have gone better for Mikkel Jensen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) in his team’s home fixture at the Red Bull Ring. After the double pole and win in Saturday’s opening event, the championship leader also won the second Formel ADAC race on Sunday morning. Title rival Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) and Ralph Boschung (16, Switzerland, Lotus) completed the party on the podium, so drivers from three different teams took the top honours.

“We need to keep on doing that in the future in order to increase the gap in the championship and win the title in the end,” said a happy Jensen, pleased with his fifth win of the season that also earned him the accolade of ‘half-time champion’. The Neuhauser Racing driver leads the overall standings ahead of the third race in Austria (live stream available from 3:20 pm, at www.adac.de/formel-adac) with a 24-point lead on ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Günther. This could be a good omen for 19-year-old Jensen: Since the 2009 season, the ‘half-time champion’ has always gone on to subsequently clinch the title win in the ADAC High Speed Academy.

Günther big winner during the initial start phase

Jensen had to defend against Boschung, pushing hard in the initial phases, but managed to hold on to his lead. The big winner on the first lap was Günther, who improved from fifth to third place. The current championship runner-up overtook the two drivers in front of him in Turn Four: Tim Zimmermann (17, Germany, Neuhauser Racing) and Fabian Schiller (17, Germany, Schiller Motorsport), who lost time in the scrap for third place. Günther then went in pursuit of Boschung and won through against the Lotus driver on the sixth lap. Boschung secured his second podium finish at the Red Bull Ring, to which the Formula 1 returns at the end of June after an eleven-year break.

Race winner Jensen, Günther and Boschung were bunched close together right up to the finish line on the 16th lap. In the end, the leading trio was separated by only a second. Schiller crossed the finish line behind the top three, finishing in fourth position for the second time this weekend. The Schiller Motorsport youngster had to defend his position against Zimmermann in the second stint of the race. The Neuhauser Racing driver produced a strong result for the team from Zell am Ziller with a P5. In the team standings, Neuhauser Racing moved to within three points of leaders Mücke Motorsport, who compete under the aegis of ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.

Local favourite Kamper impresses

Corinna Kamper (19, Austria, HS Engineering) added extra interest for the attending home crowd. The local Austrian driver, competing in her Formel ADAC fifth race came home in ninth place to finish in the points for the first time. The only lady driver in the field, who competes for Austrian team HS Engineering moved up five positions during the sixteen-lap race.

Comments from the top three

Mikkel Jensen (19, DEN, Neuhauser Racing), winner:
“It’s a great feeling, securing the ‘half-time championship’ with my second win at the Red Bull Ring. I really had to fight hard in the race today. I saw Maximilian approaching fast but managed to maintain a constant half-second gap, which was quite difficult, especially on the first sector, because pursuing drivers can catch up by slipstreaming. I was still fast enough on the second sector, though, to give Maximilian no room to attack and so secured the win. We need to keep on doing that in the future in order to increase the gap in the championship and ultimately win the title.”

Maximilian Günther (16, Rettenberg, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), second:
“I’m pleased with second place – the race was great. I got off to a good start and was able to overtake some of the other competitors straightaway at the start. The scrap with Ralph for second place was a lot of fun. I watched his driving closely and worked out where he was a bit slower. When I saw an opportunity, I went for it and overtook him on the brakes. Then I kept Mikkel directly in my sights and was following him really well, but an attacking manoeuvre wasn’t possible. Although I’ve lost some ground in the championship, there’s still a long season ahead of us, so I’m still confident that I can win the title this year.”

Ralph Boschung (16, SUI, Lotus), third:
“I’m very pleased with my podium finish – finally, a very positive and trouble-free weekend. At first, it looked like an even better result might be possible. My start was great and I immediately tried to overtake Mikkel. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage it in the first turn, or in the second one, even with the help of slipstreaming. After that, my car lost some speed and I struggled with oversteer, so I also had to let Maximilian Günther go through. Still, the car’s performance felt better towards the end, so I’m very confident about the third race.”