Race Report

FIA ADAC FORMULA 4
GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 07/08/09

Circuit: Eurospeedway Lausitz (D), Length 3.442 km, 03^th/04^th/05^th June 2016
www.lausitzring.de

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2016:
Jan-Erik Meikup (EST), Fabio Scherer (CH), Kevin Kratz (D), Job van Uitert (NL) and Diego Ciantini (ARG)

Scherer wins at the Lausitzring!

The third of eight race events featuring the FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship took place at the demanding infield circuit at the Eurospeedway Lausitz (D). 38 drivers were entered for this event, which took place as a support act to the German Touring Car (DTM) championship program. Because of this there were plenty of spectators present. The races can be followed live on Sport1 tv and on the official website under Live Streaming.

Qualifying

Friday, 03/06/2016, 14.10 – 14.55, Weather: Overcast, 18°C

This year the series regulations allow for the splitting of the enormous field into two groups, with each group having a 20-minute qualifying session. The 11 fastest drivers from each group claim the first 11 rows of the grid between them while the remaining drivers have to survive a qualification race for the last available places on the grid for the official races. The number of drivers who qualify is based on the licensed capacity of each circuit.
The fastest lap time for each driver sets the grid for Race One and the second fastest lap time is used to set the starting positions for Race Two. The grid for Race Three is determined by the results of Race One, with the first ten finishers starting in reverse order.

Qualifying took place after one free practice session on a dry track in the morning, which enabled the drivers to prepare for the upcoming race. The sky was threateningly black, but the wind blew the rain clouds away and it stayed dry.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Qualifying Race (20 minutes)

Friday, 03/06/2016, 18.30, Weather: Cloudy, 24°C

Job made an excellent start and set a fast pace. He increased the gap steadily and never gave his pursuers any chance to win this race with a gap of more than 10 seconds. Diego started from 5^th position and was quickly up to 4^th place. He then got a bit over-optimistic and fell back to 7^th place. He was quickly able to improve his position again and eventually bettered Job’s pace to take the chequered flag in 5^th. Kevin first improved to 6^th but then left his braking too late and ended up running very wide. That cost him two places and he gained a lot of dirt on his tyres though he was able to improve his lap times towards the end and came home in 8^th place.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race One (30 minutes)

Saturday, 04/06/2016, 11.55, Weather: Sunny, 28°C

Our drivers started race 1 from the following grid positions: 14^th Fabio, 15^th Jan-Erik, 23^rd Job, 27^th Diego and 30^th Kevin.
A huge crowd were in attendance to watch the big motor racing Festival in the Lausitz, and the Formula 4 race started on time. However almost immediately there were a number of incidents in the midfield with several car out of control or stranded out on track pointing the wrong way. Fabio and Jan-Erik just made it through before the big traffic jam, and Diego luckily found a way through the chaos. Job and Kevin tried everything to avoid the crash, but were both hit by other cars and came to a halt off track with heavy damage to the cars. The race was red-flagged and stopped, and the remaining cars limped back to the grid. It took quite a while before the race could be restarted behind the Safety Car and the race ended up being just ten laps long. Fabio initially got into a fight with Floersch, but then slotted in in 16^th place. Shortly thereafter Diego appeared in his mirrors, and the both of them started a fight for positions. Diego ran a bit wide, which finally led to a spin. He was able to continue but he lost ground, dropping back to 22^nd. Jan-Erik made a good start, slotting in just behind Fabio, but then he bounced over the kerbs and bent a pushrod, which meant Jan-Erik had to pull into the pits and abandon the race. After the end of the race some drivers were handed time penalties which moved Fabio up to 14^th and Diego to 20^th.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race Two (30 minutes)

Saturday, 04/06/2016, 17.40, Weather: Sunny, 28°C

The second race was run at then end of a long, hot afternoon with the temperature pushing 28°C. Unfortunately once again there was a first lap accident that Kevin was sucked into, sustaining a lot of damage to his car, which meant the Safety Car had to be deployed. Fabio was in 10^th position at this point and soon found himself fighting with Vips and Correa for positions. Not long after the restart there was another accident, and the Safety Car took over anew. Job had made his way forward place by place and was now 13^th. Diego shot forward and was quickly up to 16^th place, but then his front wing was torn off when someone made contact. Diego came into the pitlane during the Safety Car phase and had the part replaced. He was able to continue, and had caught the field again at the restart, but he was of course a long way back now. And with just over a lap left the Safety Car had to be deployed a third time. Fabio had now managed to make 10^th place stick while Job had moved up tp 12^th. Diego managed to move forward to 24^th place from the rear, and Jan-Erik, who had been 17^th for some time, went off track and was only able to rejoin once the rest of the field had passed. Because time was now running out the race director decided not to restart the race but to stop it with the red flag. That gave Fabio his first points as a rookie this year, and Job was close to the top ten with 12^th place. Diego was 24^th and Jan-Erick was classified in 27^th.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race Three (30 minutes)

Sunday, 05/06/2016, 17.55, Weather: Cloudy, 25°C

Shortly before the start of the last race of the day a heavy thunderstorm rolled over the circuit. However when the Formula 4s formed up on the pre-grid, the sun was out and shining again! Which tyres should one choose? Some were courageous and went for slicks, but most chose rain tyres. When everyone came back from the green flag lap, of our drivers only Fabio changed to slicks. After the start, which was run behind the Safety Car, Fabio initially dropped all the way back to 26^th. Was it the right decision? Diego first made up some places and was up to 12^th before long. Job had also improved steadily, and was in 17^th when the Safety Car had to be deployed. The team were able to repair Kevin’s car after his accident in yesterday’s race, but Kevin came in to the pits to have the car checked after the green flag lap and then started from the pitlane. It wasn’t long before he came back in again as he was not certain if all really was well after the big repair job. Jan-Erik drove well and made up some positions but when the track started to dry after the Safety Car phase he fell back again. Towards the end of the race he found his rhythm again and took the chequered flag in 21^st place. Diego drove courageously as ever, and made up places but then also lost them again. He crossed the finish line in 18^th. Job drove very well and moved up the order steadily, coming home in an excellent 9^th position, and collecting first points of the season. Fabio, though, was not to be denied when it finally started to dry. He drove a strong race and made no mistakes and overtook more than one car per lap several times. He was soon up to 12^th, and then 8^th, after that 5^th, then 3^rd, and on the penultimate lap he easily overtook the leader, Fittje. Fabio took an impressive first race win in a single seater car, putting in a courageous and faultless show! A superb effort!

The next race meeting in the ADAC Formula 4 series takes place in 2 weeks’ time, on the week end of 19^th June 2016 in Oschersleben (D).

Championship Standings

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German 2016 after 9 races out of 24:
1^st Joey Mawson (AUS), 152 points; 2^nd Mick Schumacher, 149 points; 3^rd Mike Ortmann (D), 100 points; 4^th Jannes Fittje (D), 98 points; 5^th Kim Luis Schramm (D), 95 points; 6^th Thomas Preining (A), 48 points; 11^th Fabio Scherer (CH), 26 points, 18^th Job van Uitert (NL), 2 points

2016 FIA ADAC FORMEL 4 GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIP - AGENDA

More info:

• www.adac-motorsport.de/adac-formel-4/de/