Double pole for Marvin Dienst at the Lausitzring

• Marvin Dienst well placed to take unofficial title of ‘halftime champion’
• Rival contenders Joey Mawson and Joel Eriksson in hot pursuit
• Dienst: “We're once again showing what the car and I are capable of.”

Klettwitz. By the end of the fourth race weekend of the 2015 season, the unofficial ‘halftime champion’ in the new ADAC Formula 4 series will have emerged. The main contenders all qualified towards the front of the grid. Currently lying fourth in the championship, Marvin Dienst (18, GER, HTP Juniorteam) claimed pole position for Saturday’s race, the first of three at the Lausitzring (live coverage on SPORT1 commences at 10:30 CEST). Alongside him on the grid will be Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing) who occupies the runner-up spot in the championship table. In the second race on Saturday (live coverage on SPORT1 from 15:00 CEST), Dienst starts from pole position ahead of Mawson and current leader, Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark).

Starting grid for Race 1

Due to the high number of contestants, qualifying was held in two groups. The starting grid for the first race is determined by the fastest lap times in qualifying. The driver with the fastest time outright starts from pole position. The fastest driver from the other group is allocated the second place on the grid. The remaining cars then line up behind the two fastest drivers according to their respective qualifying group.

In Group 2, Dienst was simply unbeatable. Following a temporary interruption to the proceedings, the 18-year-old turned up the revs in the final minutes, posting absolute best times on two consecutive laps. With a lap time of 1:21.310 minutes and two absolute best sector times, he finished the session almost four-tenths up on Eriksson. The Swede qualified in second place but was subsequently excluded from the first race for non-respect of the red flags. Also disqualified from the first race for the same offence are Glenn Rupp (16, GER, RS Competition) und Mick Schumacher (16, GER, Van Amersfoort Racing). Tim Zimmermann (18, GER, Neuhauser Racing) and local favourite Mike Ortmann (15, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) now move up to fourth and sixth position on the grid respectively.

Qualifying Group 1 was won by Mawson who is currently second in the championship. The Australian established himself at the top of the timesheet early on in the session and thereafter continued to improve steadily. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver ultimately posted a personal best of 1:21.803 minutes, which puts him into second position on the grid for the first race. In the same group, Janneau Esmeijer (18, NED, HTP Juniorteam) qualified second with a time of 1:21.885 minutes, which puts him in P3 for the race itself. Meanwhile, Robert Shwartzman (15, RUS, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and David Beckmann (15, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) take grid positions five and seven in the home race for their kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport outfit. In Group 1, Robin Brezina (16, GER, Robin Brezina) was subsequently excluded from Race 1 for having overtaken under red flags.

Starting grid for race 2

The starting grid for the second race is determined by the second-best lap times posted in the session. Here again, HTP Juniorteam’s Marvin Dienst came out on top with a lap time of 1:21.544 minutes, ahead of championship rivals Mawson (1:21.912) and Eriksson (1:21.810) who thus occupy grid positions two and three. Dienst’s team-mate Esmeijer on a time of 1:21.930 minutes completes the second row. Behind Tim Zimmermann (1:22.039) is a trio of kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport drivers occupying positions six to eight: Beckmann (1:21.997), Ortmann (1:22.328) and Shwartzman (1:22.136).

Starting grid for race 3

The Top Ten from the first race start the third race (live on SPORT1 at 10:30) in reverse order. So the race winner goes to P10 on the grid and the tenth-placed driver occupies the pole position for the third race. The cars that finished from eleventh place downwards in Race 1 line up in the same positions in the final race.

Marvin Dienst (18, GER, HTP Juniorteam), Pole Race 1 & 2:
“After two difficult race weekends, we're once again showing what the car and I are capable of. I’m especially happy for my team. The Lausitzring plays to the strengths of our car, but qualifying was by no means easy. Because of the hot weather, it was clear to me that the tyres would deliver a perfect performance for two laps, after which they would degrade very quickly. I was on my fastest lap and was already four tenths faster than the previous best time when the session was interrupted for red flags. I couldn’t believe it at first, and I was quite frustrated at having to abort the lap. Fortunately, I managed to get the tyres up to temperature again after the restart and went on to claim the double pole.”