Tales from the Oschersleben paddock

• Joey Mawson is 'half-time' champion after two wins
• Maiden win for Kim-Luis Schramm - first win of season for US Racing
• Thrilling season set to continue in second half

Oschersleben: The ADAC Formula 4 returned to the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben from 17th to 19th June. The ADAC High-Speed Academy contested races ten, eleven and twelve under the banner of the 'ADAC TCR Race Weekend', and the 'half-time' championship winner was decided.

Joey Mawson (20, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) proved once again that the Oschersleben circuit really suits him. The Australian, who had previously finished on the top rung of the podium twice in the season opener, dominated this weekend's first two races and now starts the almost five-week long summer break as leader in the standings with 202 points to the 182 racked up by Mick Schumacher (17, Germany, Prema Powerteam). They were both hit by bad luck, though, in an action-packed third round. Mawson retired early, while Schumacher got a drive-through penalty and failed to finish in the points as a result. One thing is clear, however, the thrilling battle for the title is set to continue in the second half of the season which begins with the fifth race weekend of the season in Spielberg, Austria (22nd - 24th July).

Kim-Luis Schramm (18, Germany, US Racing) took his long-awaited maiden victory in the weekend's third race which also marked the first victory for the newly formed US Racing team headed by Gerhard Ungar and former Formula 1 and DTM driver Ralf Schumacher after Schramm had previously notched up three second places and Jannes Fittje (16, Germany) three third places. At the home fixture for Team Motopark ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Mike David Ortmann (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) moved up into third place in the second race.

Table tennis proves popular in paddock: The junior formula racing drivers had plenty of time for a bit of sporting action in between the three races on Saturday and Sunday. Table tennis is a permanent feature of the ADAC Formula 4 paddock, and apart from Joey Mawson, Carrie Schreiner, Jannes Fittje and many others, 'uncle' Ralf and 'nephew' Mick Schumacher were seen battling it out at the table.

Mike David Ortmann was also focused on ball games, but football in his case. He kicked a ball around with friends and helpers and was seen pedalling a mountain bike through the paddock. Fabio Scherer (17, Switzerland, Jenzer Motorsport) used a very original means of transportation, posting laps in the paddock on a unicycle and showing off his skill at balancing. The surprise winner at the Lausitzring celebrated his 17th birthday just one week ago on June 13th.

Canadian Kami Laliberté (16, Van Amersfoort Racing) skipped rope, and Swiss driver Marylin Niederhauser (20, Switzerland, Rennsport Rössler) practised improving her agility and reaction times by juggling tennis balls. Austrian Thomas Preining, though, had to cram for his final oral exams at school on June 21st. He heard that he had passed the written part of his exams before the race weekend at the Lausitzring.

ADAC Formula 4 in Red Bull look: ADAC Formula 4 rookie Richard Verschoor (15, Netherlands, Motopark) made a promising debut in the German series at Oschersleben by securing his first points in the final race on Sunday with sixth place. After racing at Oschersleben, the Red Bull junior, currently the youngest driver in the field of competitors in the ADAC High-Speed Academy, will now line up again for Team Motopark at the Red Bull Ring in Austria (22nd - 24th July) and in the season finale at Hockenheim (30th September - 2nd October).

Full-on weekend for Liqui Moly Team Engstler: The Allgäu-based outfit was involved in all three race series during the Oschersleben race weekend. Tim Zimmermann and Mike Halder secured two podiums for the team in the ADAC TCR Germany. Davit Kajaia, Niklas Mackschin and Gary Sheehan were in the line-up for the German premiere of TCR International, and Luca Engstler in eleventh place narrowly missed the points in the third ADAC Formula 4 race. Michelle Halder, who was not racing but was at the track, was delighted to see her brother, Mike, take second place in the fifth race of the ADAC TCR Germany on Saturday.

'After-work party': Barbecue parties were the order of the day in the paddock on Saturday night after the races. The last rain clouds over the Motorsport Arena disappeared, and drivers, teams, media representatives and officials from the ADAC Formula 4 and the ADAC TCR Germany were able to get together and enjoy a barbecue as the sun went down.