Macau Grand Prix 2017

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ADAC Formel Masters Slovakia Ring 2013

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Euroformula Monza 2016

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Euroformula Pau Grand Prix 2019

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Italian F4 Hungaroring 2019

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Formula Renault Eurocup Red Bull Ring 2016

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Toyota Racing Series New Zealand Grand Prix 2019

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Indy Lights Portland 2018

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FIA European F3 Norisring 2015

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FIA European F3 Silverstone 2018

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The post Classic junior single-seater races to watch in lockdown appeared first on Formula Scout.

2010

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

The year that kicked off the 2010s was the last in the junior tiers for many drivers, with 15 departing for professional drives in Formula 1, IndyCar and Super Formula, and another two picked up by DTM teams.

Pastor Maldonado broke records on the way to the GP2 title for Rapax, while rival series Formula Renault 3.5 recorded its closest ever title conclusion – just two points separated Carlin’s Mikhail Aleshin and Tech 1 Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.

It was another FRenault series that provided the best title battle of the year though.

FR2.0 UK, which would end the following year, had 10 race winners and four drivers spread across three teams with a title shot at the Brands Hatch Indy season finale.

Fortec Motorsports’ Tom Blomqvist led the points, and got lucky after crashing in the first qualifying session. Manor’s Ollie Millroy, team-mate of Blomqvist’s main title rival Lewis Williamson, then had his own off and the resulting red flag enabled Blomqvist to get his car repaired and outqualify his rival. Williamson beat Blomqvist in race one to put them equal on points (with dropped scores) going into the title decider. Blomqvist qualified ahead once again, and by staying there won the title.

He went on to race for BMW in DTM and Formula E, while Williamson has led Strakka Racing’s exploits in various categories. Tamas Pal Kiss – the early title leader – became a rallycross star, and Will Stevens raced for Manor in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship after missing out on the FR2.0 title with the team. Other top talents in the 2010 field include BMW’s Nick Yelloly, Aston Martin’s Alex Lynn and Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Andre Negrao.

Another British series provided the best junior single-seater driver, with F3 champion and Red Bull junior Jean-Eric Vergne being awarded the #1 slot after winning 13 races as a category and circuit rookie with Carlin. He then made several appearances in FR3.5 with Tech 1, winning in his third race and having a better scoring average than champion Aleshin.

He beat fellow FR3.5 drivers Esteban Guerrieri, who missed four races and was disqualified from another but was in title contention until the penultimate race, and Ricciardo. F3 Euro Series dominator Edoardo Mortara was fourth.

The?best race of the year was awarded to GP3’s first trip to Spa-Francorchamps, where rain led to split strategies and Status Grand Prix’s Robert Wickens taking a canny win despite crashing into the pitwall in the wet. He stuck with slick tyres in conditions ill-suited for them, then deliberately ran down the race timer after a safety car period to avoid being overtaken.

Victory in the 2009 Macau Grand Prix prompted Mortara to return to F3 full-time after a tricky time in GP2, and he ended his story with Signature-Volkswagen by becoming the first two-time Macau winner since 1980.

FIA F3 Championship predecessor GP3’s debut season, won by Sauber junior Esteban Gutierrez, squeezed F3 Euro Series’ grids, as did MotorSport Vision’s FIA Formula Two series. F2 champion Dean Stoneman only joined the series after founder Jonathan Palmer pitched successfully on the phone to him, although the Brit’s year sadly ended with a cancer diagnosis.

Stoneman got to be part of the second ever F1 young driver test for Williams, which included some forgotten entrants such as Superleague Formula driver Yelmer Buurman at Force India and Bulgarian GP2 backmarker Vladimir Arabadzhiev at Lotus.

2011

Photo: GEPA pictures/Mario Kneisl

Full-time returns to FR3.5 for Vergne and Wickens the next year resulted in a stunning intra-team title battle that pushed the pair to new heights at Carlin – winning 10 races and taking 11 poles of the 17 available.

After a near-double win for Fortec’s rookie Alexander Rossi at Motorland Aragon, the season became a two-horse race. At Spa, Carlin’s duo took a first and a second each; Vergne?s win earned after he closed down on Wickens and passed him at Les Combes in a move that required Wickens to lock up to avoid contact. There was no bad blood afterwards.

Both had issues at Monza, but Vergne still left with a win and the points lead after a thrilling battle with Ricciardo that left him with a semi-detached front wing for much of the race. Wickens had built up a 34-point lead by the penultimate round at Paul Ricard through a double win at Silverstone, and a win at the Nurburgring. That was down to two points when he left France.

He finished second to Vergne in race one, but the restless Canadian qualified seventh for race two and finished 19th after getting a puncture from contact. The Barcelona finale was full of drama, but the title fell safely into Wickens?s hands.

Vergne qualified ninth for race one using the mandated low drag setup. He finished second, but 21 seconds behind Wickens.

A fast-starting Anton Nebylitskiy led to a cautious Wickens braking early into turn one on the first lap of the title decider, which helped Vergne slip down the inside. Vergne?s front-left wheel slammed into Wicken?s sidepod, but more damage was inflicted on his own trackrod. A second impact did the same to Wickens, and his out-of-control car knocked another car into a roll. Both Carlin drivers retired, although Vergne made it further into the race before spinning out, and Wickens was champion.

Roberto Merhi ended a lengthy F3 career by dominating the Euro Series and winning the FIA International Trophy.

For the third year in a row he had changed teams, and few predicted pre-season he’d beat Signature’s Marco Wittmann and Laurens Vanthoor. He won 11 races in Europe, as well as two non-scoring but dominant successes in British F3’s visit to Spa, and had several sublime drives in the reversed grid second races that included wins at the Red Bull Ring and Nurburgring.

Considering he screwed up at the start of the two biggest races of the year ? the Masters of F3 at Zandvoort and the Macau GP ? it was a sign of his dominance that he was still Formula Scout’s best driver, and won the International Trophy.

The one-off championship was the story of the year. It combined the Masters and Macau with the Pau Grand Prix, the Euro Series’ first Hockenheim round and British F3’s Spa trip, and planned to revive the Korea Superprix. Merhi won the Int. Trophy title two races early at the Masters, despite a first lap clash with Prema team-mate Daniel Juncadella getting him disqualified.

Merhi’s next move was the DTM with Mercedes-Benz, and after two seasons he returned to junior single-seaters in FR3.5. His three wins with underdog team Zeta Corse propelled him to F1 and then WEC with Manor, before leaving for Formula 2.

F2 predecessor GP2 provided the most thrilling race of the year, as Ferrari junior Jules Bianchi and DTM driver Christian Vietoris battled for victory in the Silverstone feature race. After the pitstops, Vietoris eradicated Bianchi’s 7s lead, and passed him at the exit of Luffield. Bianchi got back past at Copse, so Vietoris went around the outside of Stowe to reclaim the lead. The fourth pass of the lap was a late braking move by Bianchi at Stowe. Bianchi eventually got the upper hand to win.

2012

Photo: GEPA pictures/Dutch Photo Agency

Antonio Felix da Costa only joined the Red Bull Junior Team midway through 2012, but that was the motivational boost needed for him to become the best driver of the year. After being signed, he was thrown into the fired Williamson‘s Arden FR3.5 seat, while continuing his GP3 campaign with Carlin. Like magic, he instantly became a winner in the latter series.

At the Hungaroring he took his first FR3.5 win, and became the only ever driver in GP3 to win both races in a weekend. Two second places at Spa kept him in the GP3 title race until the penultimate race, while he won three of the final four FR3.5 races. To make sure he could race in Macau, da Costa entered a round of MotorSport Vision’s F3 Cup with Carlin and won both races, then successfully turned his third Macau appearance into an assured victory. It was the kind of year that drivers dream of.

While the title battles?in FR3.5 (Robin Frijns/Bianchi/Sam Bird) and GP3 (Mitch Evans/Daniel Abt/da Costa/Aaro Vainio) were tense and concluded in memorable style, it was Stoffel Vandoorne and Daniil Kvyat’s FR2.0 Eurocup fight that stood out. Bar one race, they exclusively traded wins from the season opener to the dramatic Barcelona finale.

Vandoorne extended his points lead in race one at Barcelona, but qualified 16th for the title decider as Kvyat took pole. A slick tyre gamble in the wet resulted in a 10-place gain on lap one, but Vandoorne then crashed and retired. Watching from the pits, he won the title when Kvyat was penalised for picking his race tyres too late and was overtaken by the slick tyre runners.

FR3.5’s title fight and dramatic conclusion was a highlight of the introduction of the Dallara T12 car, which provided great racing and set up the story of FR3.5 becoming F1’s primary feeder series over GP2 for the next few years. GP2 did have 2012’s best race: James Calado and Rio Haryanto fought for Valencia sprint victory until clashing, which damaged Calado and ended Haryanto’s race. A slowed Calado led until the last lap, when he clashed with Fabio Leimer just as Luiz Razia passed both to win.

2013

The trend of switching from gaming to racing professionally – or combining both – has changed a lot in the last seven years, and arguably what lit the public’s imagination on the topic was the story of Nissan’s GT Academy and Jann Mardenborough.

Mardenborough was the third winner of the GT Academy, and in his first ever season of racing he lost the British GT title in a final race showdown. His potential was so big that Nissan decided to switch him to single-seaters in F3 for year two.

He made his single-seater debut in the Toyota Racing Series with ETEC Motorsport, and was immediately the best of the team’s five drivers that included future F2 racer Tatiana Calderon and 2014 TRS champion Andrew Tang. Mardenborough came close to taking pole in round four at Hampton Downs, and four sixth place finishes put him 10th in the standings.

Carlin signed Mardenborough for British and FIA European F3, and he didn’t look out of place in the class field of the latter. He did only make the points four times, but 21st in the standings wasn’t awful compared to his team-mates Nicholas Latifi (15th) and Antonio Giovinazzi (17th), both also in their second year of cars and now with drives in F1.

The opposition was far easier in Britain, where he had the same team-mates, and Mardenborough was sixth in the points with a first podium at Spa. During his ‘free’ weekends, Mardenborough took podiums in the Le Mans and Spa 24 Hours.

Mardenborough started 2014 with a TRS return, almost winning the title and earning the backing of Red Bull Racing. He went on to become a GP3 race-winner and reached GP2 before moving to Japan and continuing his career with Nissan there.

Photo: Francois Flamand / Dutch Photo Agency

The best F1 junior of 2013, and Formula Scout’s pick for best junior single-seater driver?was FR3.5 dominator Kevin Magnussen. Son of Corvette sportscar icon Jan, the 21-year-old Dane took five wins (or six if you include the Paul Ricard victory taken away by a technical DSQ) with DAMS, and earned himself promotion to a McLaren race seat for 2014.

He was demoted after one season despite finishing second on his debut, and being kept on contract denied him a 2015 IndyCar seat. His F1 return with Renault was a disappointment, and his three years with Haas since has been a mixed bag.

While Magnussen dominated in FR3.5, the FR2.0 grid had a far closer title battle?between Pierre Gasly and Oliver Rowland. Each won three races at three different circuits, and headed to the Barcelona finale 11 points apart after 12 races. The gap closed in race one, then they got too close in the title decider as they crashed on the opening lap, guaranteeing Gasly the title.

The action stayed mostly on the right side of too close in ADAC Formel Master’s second Slovakia Ring race, which was voted best race of the year. Ralph Boschung was the early leader, with Marvin Dienst jumping from eighth to second within two laps. After a short safety car period, Boschung led a four-way battle including Dienst, Alessio Picariello and Jason Kremer.

With ten minutes to go, Dienst braked lead into the first corner to pass Boschung for the lead, but both were almost immediately passed by Picariello. The top two swapped places multiple times over the next laps, with Boschung and Kremer doing the same over third place. With five minutes to go, Dienst made a move stick on Picariello and pulled away, with the latter coming under late pressure from Kremer and Boschung. Beitske Visser won a thrilling duel with Nicolas Beer for fifth.

2014

Without a doubt, Max Verstappen was the biggest?story, most exciting driver and cause of one of the best title battles in junior single-seaters in 2014. But there wasn’t a follow-up, as the Dutch 17-year-old went to F1 after his one season in F3.

He began his car racing in the Ferrari Driver Academy-organised Florida Winter Series, which included racing on a roval and against two European F3 champions and several journalists (sadly none of Formula Scout’s), and he won four of the 12 races.

FIA European F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing was Verstappen’s next stop, and he was on pole by his fifth race – adding to the three he took in America. The first of many engine issues prevented him from even starting that race, but he was on the top step for the first time later that weekend at Hockenheim. Two crashes in Pau were his fault, but his next race was ended by another engine failure. He finally got his winning run started at Spa, going unbeaten there, at the Norisring and Masters of F3 (signing for Red Bull shortly after) to mark himself out as closest rival to Prema’s five-time winner Esteban Ocon.

This required Ocon to up his game, which is exactly what he did by taking a triple win at Moscow Raceway next time out. The pair then clashed at the Red Bull Ring, and Ocon’s pointless weekend allowed Jagonya Ayam with Carlin’s Tom Blomqvist to close in. Further success by he and Verstappen wasn’t enough to deny Ocon the title, and status as best?driver of the year.

Beating even that?title battle was the one for the British Formula Ford crown between Jayde Kruger and Harrison Scott, which was decided in the national court after a penultimate race clash led to a penalty, an appeal and a counter appeal.

GP2 once again supplied the best?race, with Raffaele Marciello tracking down, duelling with, then beating Stoffel Vandoorne in greasy conditions to win the Spa feature race. Felipe Nasr qualified 11th, but made several bold overtakes to finish fourth.

Part Two of Formula Scout’s Review of the 2010s will cover every season from 2015 to present
Additional reporting by Peter Allen

The post Formula Scout Review of the 2010s Part 1: 2010 – 2014 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Emma Kimilainen’s journey to the W Series was one of the more unorthodox from a field of varied backstories, and despite big career setbacks she is now showing title-winning potential.

Born in Finland, Kimilainen started racing aged five, and it was karting that gave her the bug to make racing her choice career.

She graduated to cars in 2005 and competed in the Finnish and North European Zone Formula Ford championships, becoming a frequent winner in her second year, before moving on to sportscars in Radical Cup Sweden for 2007 and earning herself an Audi DTM test at Almeria – a circuit she would revisit more than a decade later for W Series driver selection tests.

A year later she returned to single-seaters in ADAC Formel Masters, where she finished 10th in the standings with one podium, and competed as a fully fledged Volkswagen-Audi junior driver.

The following year the Finn progressed to Formula Palmer Audi, racing regularly against future F1 and IndyCar drivers Joylon Palmer, Felix Rosenqvist and Tristan Vautier.

Kimilainen took four podiums on the way to fifth in the standings, in what was one of her most impressive seasons to date.

The Finn was showing plenty of potential, but that year would turn out to be the last time she would race at Brands Hatch, and in single-seaters, until the inaugural W Series season 10 years later.

Photo: Formula Palmer Audi

“I would have of course liked to do some more [racing] but unfortunately the financial crisis at that time was pretty bad,” Kimilainen tells Formula Scout on her recent competitive return to the Kent track. “I didn’t have the possibility to move on and then I stopped.”

2009 appeared to be the end of Kimilainen’s promising career. She only had eyes for single-seaters but did not have the budget to compete in them, and so decided that without the backing she had no option but to take a break from the sport.

Having stepped away from racing, Kimilainen went back into education and after obtaining a BBA degree, she got married and started a family.

Racing seemed a lifetime ago, but four years later – out of the blue – Kimilainen received a call that, unbeknown to her at the time, would ultimately lead her back to the single-seater world.

“I started a family and I got that golden phone call that no one ever gets saying ‘that we have been having an eye on you for a really long time, would you like to come and drive for us?’

“I’m like ‘yeah sure’, even though my daughter was six months old then. Then I really thought ‘do they know I haven’t been racing anything in four years and I have a baby and everything?’ and I was in a completely new life situation and stuff.”

Photo: PWR Racing

Despite being apprehensive about it, Kimilainen grabbed her golden ticket and entered the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship with PWR Racing.

Although she enjoyed the three years she then spent in that series, she never achieved the success she was hoping for and put that down to the fact she had forgotten how difficult racing is psychologically.

“I enjoyed the time in there [STCC] because I got back into racing. But of course I had a lot of work to do, because [although] obviously the talent was there and I was really quick, when it came to racing situations and having the pressure and all that, I had to learn everything new again.

“The mental side was totally gone and I struggled a lot, I was nervous and I struggled a lot.”

In addition to the psychological aspect of racing, Kimilainen also had to adapt to co-ordinate her race/life balance, but having worked on it, she has found a solution that allowed her to excel in W Series this year while making the most of family time.

“How to combine those things, it took a while to figure out and now it’s awesome. Now we have definitely figured it out and everything works perfectly and I’m so happy. It has been a journey, but worth taking.”

After four years in touring cars – she spent 2017 racing a Ford Mustang in the V8 ThunderCars Sweden championship – Kimilainen found herself with an opportunity to return to single-seaters via W Series.

Having made it through W Series’ selection process, the 30-year-old found herself back in her favoured type of car, and had it not been for a crash that caused her to miss two races due to injury, she would without a doubt have been a title contender.

“It’s a dream come true to be back in single-seaters,” she says excitedly.

“I am so grateful W Series have given me that opportunity really to be back in this, because this is definitely what I enjoy most driving-wise, and it has been great.”

After recovering from the reaggravated neck injury sustained at the Hockenheim season opener, Kimilainen returned to the series in strong fashion: finishing fifth at the Norisring, followed by a pole and a win at Assen, a second place at Brands Hatch and three fastest laps in a row in point-scoring races.

Speaking about her performances, Kimilainen said: “I’m doing what I would have been doing all the time. I don’t know, I just drive. [It’s] showing what the season would have been if I was not away [for two races].”

The free practice sessions at Brand Hatch were held under changeable conditions, with rain showers periodically appearing, and it was in these conditions that Kimilainen displayed her talent as she lapped almost two seconds faster than the rest of the field when the track was at its worst.

Discussing that performance, Kimilainen says they are conditions she relishes, and has been exposed to from an early age.

“I don’t know how old I was, but there was many years in a row that every time when it started to rain my dad was like ‘OK, we go and drive now’, we just ‘cacked’ ourselves and we went to drive and he would then put me and my brother on the track in slicks and was like ‘good luck, have fun’.

“So, I’m used to driving [in the] wet and I love when the car is on the limit and I can feel everything and just push the limit all the time a little bit further. Yeah, I really enjoy it.”

Although Kimilainen didn’t quite get things right for Brands Hatch qualifying, having altered the set-up of her car, her racecraft was impeccable as she passed Jamie Chadwick for second and hounded winner Alice Powell all the way to the finish.

The W Series has given Kimilainen the opportunity to return to single-seaters – her favourite category – and with a smile on her face all weekend, it is clear the series has reignited this driver’s passion for racing, and she is showing it on the track.

Her driving in the latter stages of the season have been nothing short of brilliant and if she can continue that momentum into next year she will no doubt be one of the favourites for the 2020 W Series title.

With Kimilainen displaying such talent having been away from motorsport for so long, and suffering such huge setbacks, you have to thank the W Series for its existence, for without it, the 30-year-old could have still been at home watching racing on TV rather than demonstrating title-winning ability from the cockpit.

The post The unorthodox route that resurrected Emma Kimilainen’s single-seater career appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: W Series

Beitske Visser ended a six-year wait for a fourth single-seater victory at W Series’ Zolder race, but it’s likely it won’t be long before she picks up win number five.

The 24-year-old has a home advantage in this weekend’s penultimate W Series round at TT Circuit Assen, and it could help her negate the 10-point gap to championship leader Jamie Chadwick.

This is the first time Visser has been fought for a title in single-seaters, which may seem odd given she was once a Red Bull junior. But her career changed paths in 2017 when she became a BMW junior, and her racing appearances since have mostly been in European GT4 or in a reserve driver capacity, such as with BMW Andretti in Formula E.

Prior to 2019, where the 24-year-old Dutch has also starred in International GT Open, the most successful period of Visser’s career was in karting.

“I’ve been racing for 19 years. My father used to race touring cars, and when I was small I went to races with him,” Visser tells Formula Scout.

“When I was three I saw a little baby kart, and ever since then I was asking: I want to go karting, I want to go karting. My parents thought I was too young at the time, but when I was five they gave me a go-kart and I started.

“I would say back then there were quite a few kids trying out [in The Netherlands], then a few years later not so much, and now it?s again more – even more than it was back then.”

Photo: Fotospeedy

While much was said of countryman Max Verstappen’s ominous ability in a kart, Visser was also putting her country?on the map. She was runner-up in the 2009 Rotax Max Wintercup for Rotax Max Junior karts, and was crowned 2010 WSK Super Master Series champion in the KZ2 class.

In that same year she was second in the Euro Series, and ninth overall in global competition. These results could be accounted to, in part, Visser running with a professional kart outfit for the first time.

“Most of my karting career was me and my father together. We had the go-kart at home, we travelled to the races. Then in 2010 I signed a contract with the factory Intrepid squad.

“It was a pretty good deal. I think nowadays you can do maybe two races for that [money].

“Budget has always been an issue, I don?t come from a rich family – so one year for a really good deal we could kind of afford, but after that we could never afford to pay anything.”

Visser’s KZ1 kart results weren’t quite as strong, but impressive all the same, and she was third in the Super Master Series. While racing for Praga’s kart outfit, she made her car-racing debut in its Dutch Supercar Challenge entry.

In 2012, Visser moved to ADAC Formel Masters with Motopark. She finished eighth and took two wins, despite major setbacks.

“At Zandvoort I crashed and broke my back. I still drove on Sunday [where she won], because they didn?t see it in hospital.?It recovered very quickly. I was young at the time, so your bones heal really quickly. Everyone was surprised how quickly it went, but I think any 17-year-old recovers quicker than a 30-year-old.

“I missed the next round, came back for the rounds after, then the next round I broke my hand. I missed another weekend, then came into the last round and my hand was still not okay. But I was like: it?s the last round, I?m just going to drive.”

Visser stuck with Motopark for a second FMasters season, this time as a Red Bull Junior.

“I got in contact with Red Bull [over winter], and they told me to go on the simulator. I went to Milton Keynes and did a day on the sim, then the next day they called me to say they wanted to sign me. It all went pretty quick.?The whole budget was covered. They gave me a trainer, simulator time, help with everything to prepare better.”

Although her preparations may have improved, the results didn’t.

“Pre-season testing went really well, but we came to the first race and struggled massively and couldn?t understand why.

“We did a back-to-back test with two different chassis, and found there was an issue with the chassis. So we switched chassis, then the next round we found out there was an issue with the engine. It was halfway through the season before we figured out the issues. After that, it went really well, but obviously you are a lot behind already.”

Red Bull and Visser had set the joint ambition to win the title. As she hadn’t won, they separated at year’s end.

Visser reminded everyone of her talent by topping Formula Renault Eurocup pre-season testing with the inexperienced AV Formula team, but her sponsors couldn’t get her a seat. In “going where the budget let me”, Visser ended up in the more powerful Formula Renault 3.5 series with the team instead.

“I got a test in the World Series [FR3.5], and it went pretty well. We knew it would be a big step, and knew I would not get good results, but we did it because we thought it would be a big learning curve and the best way to improve myself.”

The Dallara T12 was a car Visser “fell in love” with immediately, and in her first season she was 21st in the standings. In her third season she had improved to 13th, scoring points in all but two races.

“Those years were tough, in terms of results. I mean, it was expected that jumping from FMasters straight to FR3.5 was going to be tough. The last [FR3.5] year I had pretty good speed, but was unlucky at times. I learned an incredible amount there, and I?m not sure I would have learnt as much anywhere else.”

As Formula 1 started to look more distant, Visser safeguarded her career by winning a shootout to become a BMW junior. The Red Bull-like levels of training and support, as well as on-track mileage, has helped on her single-seater return.

“I?ve enjoyed [W Series] a lot. Formula 3 cars are always amazing to drive, and so far this season has been going good. I think I got back in the rhythm quickly, and hopefully I can challenge Jamie for the title.”

Wins in each of the last two races would guarantee Visser the title, which could bolster her status at BMW.

“I?ve been to a couple of Formula E races, it?s been good. Hopefully in the future I can race there or the DTM.”

The post Beitske Visser: The ex-Red Bull junior aiming for the W Series title appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: ATS F3 Cup

Malaysian driver Weiron Tan took his first German F3 wins at the final round of the campaign at Hockenheim. He had only qualified down in fifth for both races, but was into the lead on lap one of the first race. Champion Markus Pommer would go on to pass him but be penalised for exceeding track limits, allowing Tan to win. An early retirement in race two, Tan would again pick up victory in race three when compatriot Nabil Jeffri retired with mechanical issues.

Indy Dontje secured double pole for the two main races and would finish up with a second place finish in all three races – enough to take third place in the standings away from Sam MacLeod, who was taken out on the first lap of race one and was then seventh and third in the other two.

Pommer’s penalty left him back in fourth in race one, but he claimed his 14th and final win of the year in race two before mechanical issues forced him out in race three. Championship runner-up Jeffri took third place in the first two races before his enforced retirement in race three.

ADAC Formel Masters: Marschall ends campaign with double win

Photo: ADAC

Dennis Marschall ended his rookie single-seater season with a bang as he took two wins from the last ever ADAC Formel Masters round at Hockenheim. In race one he stole the win away from Maximilian Gunther with a last lap pass, but suffered the opposite fortune in race two when champion Mikkel Jensen overtook him on the final tour. Marschall would return to the top step in race three from seventh on the grid.

In addition to his tenth win of the year, Jensen was third in races one and three. Double pole-sitter Gunther had to make do with second, fourth and then ninth, but did secure the championship runner-up position for the second year in a row with Tim Zimmerman third after two fifths and a second place from the final weekend.

Marvin Dienst finished fourth in the standings having not finished higher than sixth all weekend, while Joel Eriksson took fifth thanks to his sixth podium finish of the year in race two. Marschall’s strong weekend was enough to take sixth, four points ahead of Ralph Boschung, who had struggled with straight-line performance over the second half of the season and fallen from a high point of P3.

Formula Renault 2.0 Alps: Bonifacio and de Vries take Jerez victories

Photo: Fast Lane Promotion

Nyck de Vries completed his dominant Formula Renault 2.0 Alps campaign with a ninth win in the series finale at Jerez. The Dutch driver was beaten to victory for just the fifth time in race one, but won race two from pole position and set the fastest lap as he ended the year with exactly 300 points, and claiming the maximum score for the fifth time from seven rounds.

Bruno Bonifacio put his recent run of poor form behind him in race one to score his first victory since the Eurocup round at Spa at the very start of June. The Brazilian was one of numerous first-lap casualties in race two.

With the field bolstered by Eurocup regulars preparing for their trip to the same circuit in a fortnight, Egor Orudzhev took a third and a second, Matt Parry a fourth and a third and Dennis Olsen a fifth and a fourth. Jake Hughes scored a fifth place for the new Strakka entry in race two.

The battle for P2 in the championship was relegated down towards the bottom of the top ten, but saw Charles Leclerc do enough to secure the place with a sixth and seventh overall (second and third among the Alps scorers) with rival Matevos Isaakyan getting an eighth and a sixth (third and second in Alps).

Formula Renault 1.6 NEC: De Pasquale and Aron win at Spa

Photo: Dirk Bogaerts

Anton De Pasquale is a step closer to taking the Formula Renault 1.6 NEC title after victory in race one on the category’s second trip to Spa this year. Sixth in a wet race two was the first time he has failed to finish inside the top four this year, but was still enough to extend his championship lead to 79 points. That hasn’t been enough to guarantee him the title though, because a third race has been added to the Zandvoort finale.

Ralf Aron has become the Australian’s nearest rival thanks to a continuation of his strong FR1.6 form, finishing second in race one and then winning race two. De Pasquale’s season-long competitor Janneau Esmeijer had a poor weekend, coming fifth in race one and then failing to finish race two after contact with Aron.

Florian Janits scored third in race one and second in race three, while Max Defourny capitalised on De Pasquale’s podium absence to take third in race two.

Formula Renault Argentina: Lima and Rey win at San Juan

Agustin Lima took his first Formula Renault Argentina win in race one at San Juan from sixth on the grid, with Kevin Toledo and Nicolas Cazal joining him on the podium from tenth and eighth respectively.

Race two followed a less surprising pattern, with Guillermo Rey taking his third win of the season ahead of race one retirements Felipe Schmauck and Martin Moggia.

Rey (fifth in race one) has closed to within four points of leader Federico Cavagnero, who was seventh and fourth in the two races.

Star Driver: Dennis Marschall

A major step forward from the German to enjoy by far his best weekend of the year at the final round – quite a common phenomenon for a rookie. He won two races, including one from ninth on the grid – and was less than a lap away from winning a third. Unfortunately for him, the move to ADAC F4 will mean his momentum won’t be as helpful as usual over the winter, but he has certainly marked himself out as one to watch assuming he continues in F4 next year.

Photo: ADAC

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Photo: ADAC Formel Masters

Team Lotus driver Dennis Marschall won the 24th and final race of the 2014 ADAC Formel Masters season.

The young ADAC Stiftung Sport protege put on a spectacular race from seventh on the grid to claim his second Hockenheim victory.

Mucke’s Kim-Luis Schramm was on reverse-grid pole for the race and duly kept his lead into turn one, while front row starter Nico Menzel narrowly held second.

Menzel would soon be overtaken by Tim Zimmermann, who picked up second into the hairpin during the opening lap and then slipstreamed his way past Schramm and into the lead lap two.

The poleman kept up with Zimmermann at first, as the duo established themselves as the race leaders, with Menzel bunching up the rest of the pack in third.

However, the leaders didn’t get to break away as Marschall found a way past Menzel on lap four and immediately set out in pursuit of victory.

He slowly but surely reeled in Schramm, overtaking him into the hairpin on lap seven, before pulling off the same trick on Zimmermann on lap nine.

The race for victory was done at that point as Marschall pulled away from Zimmermann, eventually finishing three seconds in the clear.

Behind them, there was a thrilling fight for the final podium spot, as Joel Eriksson and a charging Mikkel Jensen, who had previously overtaken two cars into one corner for fifth place, caught up to Schramm.

Drivers’ champion Jensen finally prevailed, completing the podium, while Schramm settled for fourth. Eriksson took fifth, nearly losing the spot to JBR’s Igor Walilko.

Marvin Dienst took seventh as Menzel finished eighth ahead of Mucke’s Maximilian Gunther and Lotus driver Luis-Enrique Breuer.

Race results

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Photo: ADAC Formel Masters

ADAC Formel Masters 2014 champion Mikkel Jensen added to his tally of victories in the championship in race two of the final round at Hockenheim.

Having started on the front row, the Dane was shuffled back to fourth over the opening laps, but soon returned to second place, setting out in pursuit of race leader Dennis Marschall.

As Joel Eriksson managed to keep up with Jensen, the duo slowly but surely crept up on Marschall, who had won the first race earlier today by overtaking Maximilian Gunther for the lead on the final lap.

This time around, however, his fortunes were reversed as he let Jensen by on the last lap of the race and finished second.

With Joel Eriksson taking a close third place, the top three were more than 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack.

Poleman Gunther had to settle for a distant fourth as Tim Zimmermann took another fifth.

Marvin Dienst held off Nico Menzel for sixth, while another Mucke driver Kim-Luis Schramm took eighth place and reverse-grid pole for race three. Igor Walilko ended up beating Luis-Enrique Breuer to ninth place.

Race results

* – 30-second penalty

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Photo: ADAC Formel Masters

Dennis Marschall?was triumphant in ADAC Formel Masters race one this morning at Hockenheim.

The German timed his run to perfection, passing fellow ADAC Stiftung Sport driver Maximilian Gunther for the lead on the final lap to take his second victory of the season.

Gunther, who started the race from pole, built up an early lead, while Marschall battled with champion?Mikkel Jensen, eventually passing the Dane on lap two.

The Lotus driver then set off after Gunther, gradually taking time out of his three-second advantage. He finally caught up on the last lap of the race and found his way past the Mucke racer.

Gunther tried to retaliate, but couldn’t depose Marschall and would have to settle for second place ahead of Jensen.

Lotus’?Joel Eriksson came home in fourth ahead of Neuhauser Tim Zimmermann, with?Ralph Boschung fifth.

Igor Walilko,?Fabian Schiller,?Marvin Dienst and?Nico Menzel made up the rest of the top ten.

Gunther’s second place ensured that he will finish runner-up in the ADAC Formel Masters standings for a second year in a row. Meanwhile, Neuhauser Racing have been crowned teams’ champions with two races to spare.

Race two of the weekend at Hockenheim takes place this afternoon at 16:00 GMT, with Gunther getting another shot at victory as he starts from pole.

Race results

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Photo: ADAC Formel Masters

Mucke Motorsport’s Maximilian Gunther, who appears set to be runner-up in the ADAC Formel Masters series for the second year in a row, pulled out a surprise qualifying performance that yielded double pole for the Hockenheim finale.

Gunther, who previously hadn’t qualified higher than fifth since round three at Lausitzring, beat champion Mikkel Jensen to the top by two tenths and was the only Mucke driver to make the top ten in the session.

Lotus rookies Joel Eriksson and Dennis Marschall followed Jensen in third and fourth, with their more experienced teammate Ralph Boschung taking fifth.

Neuhauser’s Tim Zimmermann settled for sixth, ahead of fellow rookies Igor Walilko and Luis-Enrique Breuer. Fabian Schiller and Nico Menzel locked out row five for Schiller Motorsport.

The top five drivers on the grid for race one all ended up taking the same spots on second-best times, which determine the grid for race two.

Walilko edged ahead of Zimmermann for sixth, while Breuer, Schiller and Menzel completed the top ten.

Qualifying results

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Photo: ADAC Formel Masters

Lotus driver Dennis Marschall was quickest in the sole free practice session of the final round of the 2014 ADAC Formel Masters season at Hockenheim.

Marschall consecutively set the three best laps of the session in the final minutes, eventually ending up 0.14s clear of recently crowned champion Mikkel Jensen.

Jensen’s teammate Tim Zimmermann took third, leading JBR’s Igor Walilko and Mucke’s Maximilian Gunther, while Joel Eriksson in sixth was the final driver to lap within a second of his session-topping squadmate.

Other Lotus drivers Luis-Enrique Breuer and Ralph Boschung were seventh and eighth, with David Kolkmann and Fabian Schiller rounding out the top ten.

Session results

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