ADAC Northern Europe Cup: Georgi and Jespersen win at Hockenheimring

• Eighth race of the 2016 ADAC NEC season in Hockenheim
• Standard Class: Simon Jespersen wins after tough fight
• Tim Georgi takes comfortable victory in GP Class

Hockenheim: The weather was excellent early this Sunday morning for the eighth of ten races in the ADAC Northern Europe Cup at the Hockenheimring. After 16 thrilling laps, Simon Jespersen (15, DEN) emerged triumphant in the Standard class, and Tim Georgi (16, GER) secured the win in the GP category after a tricky weekend.

Standard Class: Jespersen wins from König and Geiger

Jespersen had secured the best position on the grid in the Standard class and went directly into the lead after the start. Although he was put under intense pressure once again, particularly over the final laps, the Dane did not allow that to upset him and finally won with a lead of just 0.050 seconds on Oliver König (14, CZE). The speedy Czech rider had dropped back behind some of his fellow competitors after making a mistake just before the middle of the race but was able to make up for lost time and finish second.

Dirk Geiger (14, GER) was feeling extremely motivated as he tackled his home race and was initially third but dropped down the field into fifth place after a few laps. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé pulled out all the stops again over the last two laps and finally secured the last place on the podium with P3. Sasha De Vits (14, BEL) was beaten by only 0.154 seconds and placed fourth. Philipp Freitag (19, GER) was heading for a podium for quite a long time but dropped back into fifth with two laps to go, which is where he finished.

Geiger still has a lead of 133 points in the overall standings. With his win, however, Jespersen overtook the Kiefer Racing rider and is currently in second place on 129 points. König climbs up into third place overall with a total of 104 points. Freitag is next in fourth place with 99 points, while Kevin Orgis (16, GER) is fifth on 96 points.

Georgi draws away from the rest of the field in GP category

Georgi was back on top form again for the race on Sunday after struggling on Friday and Saturday. The ADAC Sports Foundation rider achieved a clean start-finish victory. He won by a lead of 27.194 seconds on his closest rival, Jason Dupasquier (15, SUI). The Swiss rider had secured pole position but could not keep up with Georgi in the lead after a mistake on the initial laps. Johanna Innerfors (21, SWE) secured third place to finish on the podium again.

Ernst Dubbink (27, NED) on 103 points still heads the overall standings of the GP class, but personal reasons prevented him from lining up this race weekend. Georgi reclaimed second place with a total of 100 points while Dupasquier is in third place with 97 points. Innerfors is fourth with 90 points and Maximilian Kofler (16, AUT) fifth with 60.

The grand finale of the ADAC NEC will be held in just one week's time. Riders will contest two races under the banner of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, in which the respective champions in the Standard and GP classes will be decided.

Comments from the Top Three

Simon Jespersen (15, DEN), Winner, ADAC NEC Standard:
“I made a perfect start, took the lead and tried to stay with the GP riders, but I could feel the pain in my right hand increasing with every lap after my fall yesterday. I could no longer concentrate fully as a result. I saw on the pit board that Oliver was drawing ever closer, which made me anxious, because I really wanted this win. I'm now only nine points off Dirk in the overall standings. When Oliver overtook me, I thought that all the strength had gone out of my arm, but I then thought only of the win and passed him again in the third-last turn. I was really pleased about that.“

Oliver König (14, CZE), second, ADAC NEC Standard:
“I lost some time at the start, but Jason overtook me on his GP bike later in the race, and I was able to use his slipstream to catch up again. On the final lap, I overtook Simon under braking, but he past me again a few turns later and I was unable to find a reply. I'm happy to be back on the podium on the one hand but am still really annoyed to finish so close behind Simon at the chequered flag. I could have won. It's a bit annoying. We're now looking forward to Assen.”

Dirk Geiger (14, GER), third, ADAC NEC Standard:
“My start was good. I tried from the beginning to stay in contact with Simon, which didn't work out all that well, unfortunately. Then I made a mistake and almost ended up on the grass. Simon drew away in the lead as a result and I was caught in the middle of a group scrapping. I kept trying to push forwards, but the others were able to pass me again and again along the straights. Third place is okay, but that wasn't quite the home race I'd hoped for. My thanks go to the team who always do their work really well. Racing now continues back-to-back with Assen.”

Tim Georgi (16, GER), Winner, ADAC NEC GP:
“I got a pretty good start and pushed from the word go. It was only after five laps that I saw on the blackboard that I'd racked up a decent lead. Nevertheless, I continued to try to post good lap times, which I managed to do. The weekend was really tough. Things didn't go right on Friday and on Saturday, so I'm really pleased with this race. I posted consistent lap times, almost one second faster than in qualifying. I'm very satisfied.”

Jason Dupasquier (15, SUI), second, ADAC NEC GP:
“I got away well at the start and wanted to stay in contact with Tim, but he was much faster. I made a mistake on the second lap and dropped back behind some Standard riders as a result. I was gradually able to catch them again and slot into second place. I'm pleased with the result.”

Johanna Innerfors (21, SWE), third, ADAC NEC GP:
“The race was a lot of fun. There was another rider behind me who kept dropping back only to draw closer again. It was really exciting and spurred me on. I was waiting for him to overtake, but he didn't attack. I finally made it on to the podium. That was an excellent race, tremendous fun. It was really great. I'm looking forward to Assen next weekend. It's my favourite track.”