Young ADAC Formula 4 talents face Sachsenring challenge

• Second ADAC Formula 4 race weekend of the season at Sachsenring
• Last year’s winner Joey Mawson intends to repeat Oschersleben success
• Demanding track will ensure close, exciting racing

Munich: The ADAC high-speed academy is heading to its second highlight of the new season on the weekend of 29th April-1st May when the ADAC Formula 4 will stage races four, five and six at the Sachsenring. The junior drivers contesting the ADAC formula racing series produced spectacular races on the demanding circuit at Hohenstein-Ernstthal last season in 2015. The spotlight this year is on a young talent from down under: A double winner at the season opener and a race winner at the Sachsenring last year, Joey Mawson (20, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) is one of the favourites at the second race weekend along with Mick Schumacher (17, DEU, Prema Powerteam) and ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Jannes Fittje (16, DEU, US Racing) and his team-mate Kim Luis Schramm (18, DEU). Mawson, who got away to what he called a ‘perfect start’, aims to repeat his success from the season opener: “My goal is to win the championship, obviously.”

SPORT 1 and SPORT1+ will broadcast the races live

It’s not just spectators at the track who will be able to enjoy the ADAC Formula 4 races, since race fans who cannot be at the Sachsenring to follow the action in person can watch the fixtures on TV. SPORT1 will broadcast the first race on Saturday live at 4:45 pm, while rounds two and three can be seen live on Sunday at 11:15 am and 3:35 pm on SPORT1+. A live stream will also be available online at: www.SPORT1.de and www.adac.de/motorsport.

After the first weekend, Mawson on 68 points leads the overall standings from Schumacher (49), Schramm (44) and Fittje (31). The two Lechner Racing drivers, Thomas Preining, (17, Austria, 23 points) and Michael Waldherr (19, DEU, 18) follow the top three. However, the ADAC Formula 4 drivers must first learn to master the racetrack near Chemnitz before more points can be won in the first of three races at the Sachsenring. This circuit is really tricky. The 3.645-km circuit which has 14 turns and considerable changes in elevation demands the utmost concentration. This historic circuit in the heart of Saxony is one of the most challenging tracks of any that figure on the ADAC Formula 4 schedule.

“It takes courage to take the turns at top speed. I finished twelfth three times there in 2015, which was not bad for my first year,” said Jannes Fittje from Kerpen-based team, US Racing. His team-mate, Kim Luis Schramm, spoke of a “fairly narrow track” which is “akin to a roller-coaster”. Overtaking on this treacherous circuit is even more difficult than on most of the other circuits that the junior formula racing drivers race on.

Local driver Toni Wolf (16, DEU, KUG Motorsport), who was able to claw his way up into P14 in the third race at Oschersleben, has also set himself ambitious targets. “I had a tough start to the season,” said Toni Wolf, “it took quite a while to find my speed again after the winter break. We now know where we need to improve and are highly motivated for our home race at the Sachsenring. I’m certain that we’ll again be competitive there.”

Sophia Flörsch intends to go on scoring points

After two finishes in the Top Ten, Sophia Flörsch (15, DEU, Motopark), currently placed eighth overall, also intends to do well: “I’m satisfied with my results from Oschersleben, but I wouldn’t say that I’m happy. Unfortunately, we were hit by bad luck twice, but that’s just how motor racing is sometimes. Nevertheless, we showed that we’re very fast and can be contenders for top-five finishes, but there’s still a little bit of work to do to secure P1,” said Flörsch, who so far, only knows the Sachsenring from just two days of testing. “I really liked the track. It’s demanding and has a lot of fast white-knuckle turns. We’ve got nothing to lose, and I feel positive as the weekend approaches. Qualifying is very important, because there aren’t many opportunities to overtake.”

Qualifying is always quite crucial but gains even greater importance here in light of the fact that overtaking is so difficult and in view of the packed field of entrants. After two free practice sessions on Friday at 8:00 am and 11:30 am, the field will be split into two groups in the evening for a qualifying session to decide grid positions for the first two races. The top eleven drivers in each of these groups will qualify directly for the races, while the remaining drivers will compete for grid positions 23 to 35 in a 20-minute qualifying race on Saturday morning (10:45 am).