Race Report

FIA ADAC FORMULA 4
GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 13/14/15

Circuit: Nürburgring (D), Length 3.629 km, 14^th/15^th/16^th August 2015
www.nuerburgring.de

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2015:
Moritz Müller-Crepon (CH), Marek Böckmann (D) and Nico Rindlisbacher (CH)

Böckmann collects points at the Nürburgring

The fifth of eight race events featuring the German FIA ADAC Formula 4 Championship was held om the short version of the Nürburgring (D). There were 36 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, 14/08/2015, 17.15 – 18.00, Weather: Cloudy, 23°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.
Marek and Nico were out in the first group and the session proved incident free. Marek managed to secure 4^th place and Nico was in 10^th place for a long time, but someone else set a faster time just before the end of the session, pushing Nico down to 11^th. Moritz went out with the second group. Conditions remained much the same and Moritz gave it his best shot, ending the session in 14^th.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race One (30 minutes)

Saturday, 15/08/2015, 12.00, Weather: Overcast, 17°C

Marek started in a very determined fashion, but unfortunately the officials decided it was a jump start so it was followed by an immediate Drive Through penalty. Marek crossed the finish line in 9^th at the end of lap one, and then served his penalty which meant he rejoined in 33^rd place. From there he started a dogged chase for positions and moved up the order steadily while setting some very good lap times. He was up to 24^th place by the third to last lap and went for another attack but it didn’t work out as planned. Marek spun off and hit the tyre wall. Because it happened close to the end of the race he was listed in the results in 33^rd. Moritz made a very good start and had already made up some places. Nico on the other hand got sandwiched at the start and lost a few places as a result. That put the pair of them in line astern. There followed a consistent battle for positions, with Nico going across the grass on one occasion. They still finished the race one behind the other, with Moritz in 20^th and Nico in 21^st.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race Two (30 minutes)

Saturday, 15/08/2015, 16.45, Weather: Cloudy, 19°C

There was a brief rain shower in the afternoon, but the track was soon dry again for the start of the race. The morning’s race was run without any need for the Safety Car, but now it was necessary. Four car were involved in accidents after the start, and the Safety Car had to be deployed to lead the field for several laps. Marek was in 11th and managed to surprise Zimmermann at the restart, overtaking him for 10^th from where he shadowed the battling pair of Mawson and Eriksson closely. Shortly before the end the Safety Car had to be redeployed. Marek came under pressure from Ortmann at the restart, but he managed to break loose and then went to overtake Eriksson. Marek finished the race in an excellent 9th place. Nico started well and held 20^th place for several laps. He then overtook Jonck on the outside, which further built his self confidence. Later he managed to overtake Cecotto and crossed the finishing line in a very good 14^th place behind Newey. Moritz made contact with another driver at the start but luckily was able to continue. He was 25^th after the restart but quickly despatched Engstler and – having avoided the all incidents – finished the race in a respectable 19^th place.

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German Championship

Race Three (30 minutes)

Sunday, 16/08/2015, 15.35, Weather: Rain, 12°C

Today the real Nürburgring weather returned! There was constant drizzle and temperatures dropped considerably. The third race started behind the Safety Car and three laps later the Safety Car had to be deployed yet again to rescue a lone car. Marek started back in 33^rd based on the results of race one. He set about rolling up the field from behind, overtaking at least one car each lap. He drove very determinedly and managed to move up to a very good 12^th place by the end. It was such a pity that his starting position wasn’t better. Moritz and Nico had started one behind the other and they battled it out for lap after lap. Sometimes Nico was in front, sometimes Moritz was. Their fight was hard but fair and they were also gaining places, having moved up to 17^th and 18^th. Finally Nico was ahead and he set about Raucci, which unfortunately ended in contact and a spin for Nico. Nico was able to continue, but he’d lost momentum and several places. Nico crossed the finish line very disappointed to end up 28^th, and Moritz came home in 23^rd place.

The next race meeting in the ADAC Formula 4 series takes place in 2 weeks’ time, on the weekend of 30^th August 2015 at the Sachsenring (D).

Championship Standings

FIA ADAC Formula 4 German 2015 after 15 races out of 24:
1^st Marvin Dienst (D), 194 points; 2^nd Joel Eriksson (SWE), 184 points; 3^rd Joseph Mawson (AUS), 173 points; 4^th Robert Shwarzman (RUS), 135 points; 5^th Ralf Aron (EST), 120 points; 6^th Janneau Esmeijer (NL), 114 points; 20^th Marek Böckmann (D), 9 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/