Race Report

FIA ADAC FORMULA 4
GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 10/11/12

Circuit: Eurospeedway Lausitz (D), Length 3.442 km, 03^th/04^th/05^th July 2015
www.lausitzring.de

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2015:
Moritz Müller-Crepon (CH), David Kolkmann (D), Marek Böckmann (D) and Arlind Hoti (D)

Points for Böckmann at the Lausitzring

The fourth of eight race events featuring the German FIA ADAC Formula 4 Championship was held at the demanding infield circuit at the Eurospeedway Lausitz (D). There were 34 drivers signed on to start so there were plenty of expectations. The races can be followed live on Sport1 tv and on the official website under Live Streaming.

Qualifying

Friday, 03/07/2015, 15.20 – 16.05, Weather: Sunny, 35°C

The series regulations stipulate that the enormous field must be split into two groups, each of which has a 20 minute qualifying session. The fastest lap time per driver is used to set 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 from the results of Race One, with the first ten finishers starting in reverse order so the winner of Race One starts from 10^th, the 2^nd placed driver starts 9^th, and so on.
We found the temperatures unusually hot and humid at Lausitz. After two free practice sessions qualifying was run in the afternoon. Arlind was in the first group, while Moritz, David and Marek were all in the second group.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race One (30 minutes)

Saturday, 04/07/2015, 10.35, Weather: Sunny, 36°C

The temperature had risen to 36°C by the time the race was to start. The large field managed to get cleanly through the first corners, and Marek held his place and was now battling with Newey. The pair tangled and Marek went off. He bumped his way across the grass and shot back onto the track, something that was deemed to be a dangerous action which earned him a Drive Through penalty. That dropped him to 26^th, from where he was able to work his way forward again to 18^th. David got away well too and didn’t lose any ground, until later on when he ended up off the racing line and several drivers got past him. He managed to regain some ground and finished the race in 20^th. Moritz actually gained places at the start and was soon up to 17^th. Then he left his braking too late and lost several of the places he’d gained which meant he had a lot to do in the remainder of the race. Arlind leaped from 23^rd to 18^th during the course of the first lap, but he had damaged his front wing. However, he kept going for several more laps. The team wanted to bring him in, to replace the part but before we could he tangled with Moritz, and was left with no choice but to abandon the race in the pit lane with rather more damage to the car. Moritz was able to continue and still managed to improve as well, finishing a tough race in a good 16^th place.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race Two (30 minutes)

Saturday, 04/07/2015, 15.10, Weather: Sunny, 39°C

The temperature was even higher by mid-afternoon with the thermometer reading 39°C. An extra green flag lap had to be run when one driver failed to get away and when the start finally happened the resulting battle was very heated. There were drivers going off all over the place, including Marek who did some grass tracking before regaining the track. His car was now damaged so he limped to the pits and into retirement. Moritz made contact with someone at the start and lost a handful of places as a result. He began to move up the order again and was back up to 22^nd when he was pushed off the track, leaping over the kerbs and damaging his suspension. That brought his race to a premature end too. David had more than one off track moment during the first lap but once he’d scrubbed the dirt off his tyres he was able to put in a good recovery drive and took the chequered flag in a respectable 18^th place. Arlind drove a strong race, climbing up the order from 17^th to 11^th. A top ten result might have been on the cards if not for a Safety Car period shortly before the end of the race. As the race then finished behind the Safety Car no more progress was possible.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race Three (30 minutes)

Sunday, 05/07/2015, 10.40, Weather: Sunny, 35°C

40 minutes before the start of the third race it was clear that the engine in Arlind’s car had a technical problem. The officials were informed, and the engine change was announced, and the team managed to get the car ready again in the time available so that Arlind could start the race from the pit lane. Temperatures were again well above 30°C so it wasn’t surprising that there were several incidents as the enormous field got under way. The Safety Car was again deployed. By this stage Moritz was 10^th, Marek 11^th, David 13^th and Arlind was already 26^th. At the restart Moritz left it late to get on the brakes and ended up spinning. He was able to get gong but was a long way back now in 27^th place. He was eventually able to recover as far as 21^st. Marek got away well and stuck close to the driver in front of him at the restart and found himself battling first with Newey, then with Piro and Waldherr. Shortly before the end of the race the Safety Car had to be deployed once again, but Marek also managed the restart then and came home in 8^th for a good points haul. David had a super first start and was already up to 12^th place. At the restart Wolf and Shlom shot ahead of him. David then managed to defend 15^th place until the chequered flag to claim his best result of the season so far. Arlind, who had started from the pit lane caught up with the pack before the first restart, then worked his way forward steadily and was already up in 20^th. Over the final few laps he tried to go on the attack again. In didn’t quite work every time and he ended up damaging his front wing and had to pit for a new one. He returned to the track and finished a tough race in 26^th.

The next race meeting in the ADAC Formula 4 series takes place in 6 weeks’ time, on the weekend of 16^th August 2015 at the Nürburgring (D).

Championship Standings

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German 2015 after 12 races out of 24:
1^st Joel Eriksson (SWE), 163 points; 2^nd Joseph Mawson (AUS), 159 points; 3^rd Marvin Dienst (D), 129 points; 4^th Robert Shwarzman (RUS), 102 points; 5^th Ralf Aron (EST), 83 points; 6^th Janneau Esmeijer (NL), 66 points; 21^st Marek Böckmann (D), 7 points; 22^nd Lucas Mauron (CH), 4 points

2015 FIA ADAC FORMEL 4 GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIP - AGENDA

More info:

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