Australian Joey Mawson has re-written the record books to become the first Australian driver to be crowned Champion in the ADAC German Formula 4 Championship.

The PODIUM-backed driver secured the crown with victory in the opening two races of the final round at Hockenheim.

After qualifying on the front row for the opening two races on Friday, Mawson was dominant on his way to victory in race one crossing the line six-seconds clear of Mike-David Ortmann.  His main Championship rival, Mick Schumacher incurred a penalty prior to the race meaning he started 23rd.  He would eventually finish sixth.

The young Australian then further stamped his authority on the Championship with his tenth race win of 2016 during a rain-interrupted second race.  Mawson was unfazed by the challenging conditions as he took the flag by 0.6 seconds from Thomas Preining and Kami Laliberte, while Schumacher was eighth.

After starting tenth in the reverse top ten final race, Mawson was edging his way closer to the front of the field before Lirim Zendeli made an ambitious passing maneuver on the Australian entering turn one on the fifth lap.  The pair made heavy contact damaging Mawson’s car which led to him spearing off the circuit and out of the race, Zendeli received a drive-through penalty for the incident.

“While the final race today didn’t go to plan, it’s an amazing feeling to know that I’ve won the Championship,” said Mawson.

“Mick and I had a great battle all year long, we’ve certainly pushed each other hard on the track to make sure whoever ended up with the title had earned it.

“To be able to win the Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing is a great reward for everyone in the team who have given me so much support over the past two years.

“Being able to win it on Saturday relieved a lot of pressure on everyone, we could then really enjoy the second race before going into the final race of the year without the stress of the title on the line.

“If it wasn’t for Tom Warwick and Geoff Morgan and everyone else involved with PODIUM, this year would not have been possible.  I can’t thank them enough for their ongoing support.”

Mawson finished the year on 374 points, 52 clear of Schumacher in the standings.  Throughout the year he claimed ten race wins, 15 podium finishes and seven out of a possible 16 pole positions.

Mawson will remain in Europe until mid December to finalise plans for 2017 before returning to Australia for a brief period over Christmas.

Australian Joey Mawson takes a 39-point lead into this weekend’s final round of the 2016 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship at the famous Hockenheim circuit.

While the PODIUM-backed driver has led the way in the Championship all throughout the year, he is very aware that the job is far from being complete with Mick Schumacher lurking in second place in the standings.

“I’ve had a really good year so far but there’s still two practice sessions, one qualifying session and three races to go before the Champion is crowned,” said Mawson, who has won eight of the 21 races so far in 2016.

“I’ve really got to be on top of my game and can’t afford to slip up once. It’s 100% focus from here until Sunday night.”

Mawson, along with the rest of the Formula 4 contenders, took to the Hockenheimring this morning (Thursday) as a part of an official test day before the official proceedings for the final round kick off tomorrow.

“Hockenheim is a really cool circuit, it’s got a great amount of history and is one of the most challenging that we go to in the Championship,” said Mawson.

“I like the track, especially the fast corners. It offers good overtaking opportunities, and there will certainly be some great scraps out there.

“Having the extra laps today is very good and will allow us to try a few things before practice starts tomorrow.

“I’ll be taking the same attitude into this weekend as what I have been all year. Take one session at a time, do my best and the points will take care of themselves. It’s worked so far this year, hopefully it will work again this weekend and I’ll end up as Champion.”

In simple terms, the equation for Mawson to become Champion is that if Schumacher was to win every race and Mawson finish fifth or better the title is the Australian’s.

Mawson will take to the circuit on Friday morning for two practice sessions ahead of qualifying in the afternoon. The driver’s fastest time in qualifying decides the grid for race one and second fastest for race two. The finishing positions in the opening 30-minute race decide the grid for Sunday afternoon’s race three, with the top ten being reversed.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

LOCAL TIME
Friday September 30
9:00am Practice 1
10:45am Practice 2
1:55pm Qualifying Group A
2:20pm Qualifying Group B

Saturday October 1
9:05am Qualifying Race
12:00pm Race 1
3:35pm Race 2

Sunday October 2
3:00pm Race 3

AUSTRALIAN TIME
Friday September 30
5:00pm Practice 1
6:45pm Practice 2
9:55pm Qualifying Group A
10:20pm Qualifying Group B

Saturday October 1
5:05pm Qualifying Race
8:00pm Race 1
11:35pm Race 2

Sunday October 2
12:00am (Monday) Race 3
(inc. daylight savings)

Victory in the opening race of the weekend at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands has ensured Australian Joey Mawson remains atop of the standings in the 2016 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship.

With one round remaining, and a maximum of 75 championship points up for grabs, the PODIUM-backed driver now sits 39 points clear of Mick Schumacher in the chase for the championship.

Competing at the Zandvoort circuit for the first time in his career Mawson qualified his Van Amersfoort Racing entry on pole position before going on to dominate the opening 30-minute encounter.

Mawson took full advantage of his front row start to open a 3.5 second lead within the opening half of the race, only to have it diminished by the deployment of the safety car mid-way through the race.  After the restart Mawson continued his dominance to cross the line almost two seconds clear of his nearest rival.

With his qualifying session being cut short by a red flag as Mawson was on his second flying lap he was forced to start race two from 12th position.  After making a good start he had moved his way up to eighth place and pressuring Thomas Preining for seventh in the second half of the race.  While attempting a pass the pair made contact that damaged Mawson’s front wing and he had to pit to have it replaced.  The final stages of the race were controlled by the safety car leaving Mawson to be classified 27th.

Heavy rain descended on the circuit prior to the start of race three leading officials to start the race under the control of the safety car.  After several laps under controlled conditions the green flag was displayed, only for the safety car to be again deployed less than a lap later.

A second attempt was taken for the race to resume before a multi-car pile up caused the race to be red flagged and declared after less than two laps of green flag conditions with half championship points awarded.  Just prior to the red flag being displayed Mawson had made his way past Schumacher and was on alongside Juan Manuel Correa who was in fifth position.  After being squeezed to the inside of the circuit Mawson hit a pool of water and aqua-planed off the circuit.

“I leave the weekend with very mixed feelings, it was great to get the win in race one but I wasn’t able to capitalise on our speed in races two and three,” said Mawson.

“Prior to the weekend I was conscious that qualifying well was going to be vital, with the red flag in my qualifying session it cost me a good starting position in race two but that’s the way it goes sometimes.  You win some, you lose some.

“I’ve now got 39 points between myself and Mick in the battle for the championship so it is really going to go down to the wire at Hockenheim.  I know we’ve had great speed all year long but there’s still three races to go before the champion is decided.”

With one round remaining, Mawson heads the standings on 324 points with Schumacher second on 285.  Mike-David Ortmann is a further 62 points further back in third place.

The final round of the championship will be held at Hockenheim on September 30-October 2.

Australian Joey Mawson will line up in the penultimate round of the 2016 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands this weekend.

Fresh from a test day at the Dutch circuit recently, the PODIUM-backed driver is high in confidence entering the home event for his Van Amersfoort Racing team.

“I’m feeling very ready and excited for the weekend ahead. It’s a home race for the team so it’s going to be pretty special,” said Mawson.

“We’ll also have the F3 team there with us as they are competing in the Zandvoort Masters, so the entire Van Amersfoort crew will be in action at the one event for the first time this year.”

Mawson rates the Zandvoort circuit highly but believes the narrow confines means that qualifying will play a vital role towards the outcome of the weekend.

“Zandvoort is a special place, in my opinion it’s probably the best circuit we have in the championship this year. It’s a real old school circuit with not much run off. You get a lot of satisfaction when you put in a good lap,” said Mawson.

“Qualifying will be the absolute key, it’s a very difficult track to overtake on. It’s basically like a street circuit, so being up the front for the races will be vital.

“I just want to keep doing what I’ve been doing all season long, aim for the podium and get as many points as possible.

“After a good test day last week I think we’re prepared as good as possible and prepared for any conditions, wet or dry.”

Mawson (297) leads Mick Schumacher (251) by 46 points in the standings with third placed Mike-David Ortmann a further 71 points adrift.

Mawson will take to the circuit on Friday morning for two practice sessions ahead of qualifying in the afternoon.  The driver’s fastest time in qualifying decides the grid for race one and second fastest for race two.  The finishing positions in the opening 30-minute race decide the grid for Sunday afternoon’s race three, with the top ten being reversed.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
LOCAL TIME
Friday August 19
8:40am Practice 1
10:40am Practice 2
2:45pm Qualifying Group A
3:10pm Qualifying Group B

Saturday August 20
12:00pm Race 1
5:45pm Race 2

Sunday August 21
10:20am Race 3

AUSTRALIAN TIME
Friday August 19
4:40pm Practice 1
6:40pm Practice 2
10:45pm Qualifying Group A
11:10pm Qualifying Group B

Saturday August 20
8:00pm Race 1
1:45am (Sun) Race 2

Sunday August 21
6:20pm Race 3

TIMING, STREAMING AND OFFICIAL WEBSITE LINKS
Live Timing – click here, Live Streaming – click here.
Official Championship Website – click here.

Australian Joey Mawson added another race win to his resume during Round Six of the ADAC German Formula 4 Championship at the Nürburgring on the weekend.

After finishing second behind Championship rival Mick Schumacher in race one, the PODIUM-backed driver got the jump off the start line in race two before being pressured by Schumacher in the opening laps.

The pair made contact when Schumacher made an ambitious move for the lead which forced Mawson wide.  The German was given a drive-through penalty for his part in the contact leaving Mawson to hold a comfortable lead over Juri Vips on his way to his seventh victory of the year.

In the final 30-minute encounter Mawson moved up from his ninth starting position (reverse top ten from race one finish) to be sixth by the end of the opening lap. He then showed good speed to be battling for a place inside the top five but with the championship using the shorter version of the circuit passing opportunities were limited.

After crossing the line fifth, Mawson was given a post-race penalty for using the pit lane entry while making a pass for fifth place relegating him to 28th.

“Overall we can be satisfied with results from the weekend, I came away with a pole position and two podiums – including a race win,” said Mawson.

“It is disappointing not to have been able to finish on a high due to the penalty in race three but there’s not much I can do about that. I was making a pass on (Richard) Verschoor and he changed direction forcing me onto the pit lane entry.

“The stewards decided that it was an illegal overtaking manoeuvre on my behalf and because it was so late in the race I was given a time penalty of 30 seconds rather than a drive-through penalty.

“In the end, Championship wise I scored the same amount of points as Mick so I left the weekend with the same points lead as what I started with. So that is a real positive.”

With two rounds remaining, Mawson heads the standings on 297 points with Schumacher second on 251.  Mike-David Ortmann is a further 71 points further back in third place.

The penultimate event in the eight-round Championship will be held at the Zandvoort circuit on August 19-21.

Australian Joey Mawson believes consistency will be his key to success as the 2016 German Formula 4 Championship continues at the famous Nürburgring this weekend.

The PODIUM-backed driver has secured six race wins so far in 2016 and with a handy 46-point lead in the standings he’s focused on consistency to maintain the number one spot.

“It’s great to be leading at the moment, but with nine races across three rounds there’s still a long way to go in the championship,” said Mawson.

“As I have done all year, my focus is purely on being consistent and getting podium results which then allows the championship to take care of itself.”

While he has secured 12 top five results from the 15 races so far in the 2016 Championship, Mawson admits the corresponding round last year at the Nürburgring was a disappointing one for him and the Van Amersfoort Racing team – something he is hoping to make amends for this weekend.

“Nürburgring was may worst round of the year last year but we learnt from that and everyone in the team is determined to make this weekend a successful one,” said Mawson.

“We had a very positive test day there a few weeks ago where we learnt a lot and showed good speed, hopefully that will translate into a successful round.”

Mawson (254) leads Mick Schumacher (208) by 46 points in the standings with third placed Mike-David Ortmann a further 51 points adrift.

Mawson will take to the circuit on Friday morning for two practice sessions ahead of qualifying in the afternoon.  The driver’s fastest time in qualifying decides the grid for race one and second fastest for race two.  The finishing positions in the opening 30-minute race decide the grid for Sunday afternoon’s race three, with the top ten being reversed.

Australian Joey Mawson secured a race win during round five of the 2016 German Formula 4 Championship at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on the weekend.

After charging from 11th to fourth in the opening race on Saturday, the PODIUM-backed driver enjoyed his sixth victory from 15 starts this year, with a dominant performance during Race Two on Sunday morning aboard his Van Amersfoort Racing entry.  He then backed his six-second win up by recording third placing in the final race on Sunday afternoon to extend his lead in the points standings to 46.

Mawson’s main rival in the championship chase, Mick Schumacher, endured a troublesome run in qualifying forcing him to play catch up all weekend after starting the first two races outside the top ten.

“Points wise it was really good with a win in Race Two and also a podium in the final race,” said Mawson.

“Mick struck a bit of trouble in qualifying and I was able to make the most of the opportunity and extend the lead in the championship.

“We had a strong car all weekend, again the Van Amersfoort guys did a fantastic job to give me the best possible chance of a great result.  It is very pleasing to be able to reward them with a couple of podiums.”

While pleased with another race win, Mawson believes his performance in the reverse-top ten Race Three was his most satisfying for the weekend.

“Race three was the most satisfying result.  I didn’t get off to the best of starts after having a bit of trouble with the clutch but then the racing and battles was pretty intense,” said Mawson.

“The satisfaction of scoring the podium after such hard racing was a real highlight of the weekend.”

With three rounds remaining, Mawson heads the standings on 254 points with Schumacher second on 208.  Mike-David Ortmann is a further 51 points further back in third place.

The sixth round of the highly-competitive Championship will be held at the Nürburgring on August 5-7.

Australian Joey Mawson will resume his chase for the 2016 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship this weekend with Round Five being held at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The PODIUM-backed driver enters the second half of the year with a 20-point buffer over second placed Mick Schumacher in the standings.

“To be leading at the halfway mark is very pleasing but it is who is leading at the end of the year that matters most,” said Mawson.

“My goal is to keep scoring good results, podium finishes and going for race wins, if I continue to do this then the championship will take care of itself.”

After a break where he took in a few sights of Europe, Mawson returned to the track recently for a test at the Red Bull Ring.

“I had a good summer break and a very positive test day, all is looking well towards another strong weekend,” said Mawson.

“I like the Red Bull Ring. It’s where I secured my first win in the championship.  They have laid a new surface this year and the kerbs have also been modified , so I think that lap times will be up on 2015.

“It’s a great track – the best on the calendar, in my opinion, along with Hockenheim. There will certainly be some exciting battles.”

Mawson (202) leads Mick Schumacher (182) by twenty points in the standings with third placed Kim Luis Schramm a further 57 points adrift.

Mawson will take to the circuit on Friday morning for two practice sessions ahead of qualifying in the afternoon.  The driver’s fastest time in qualifying decides the grid for race one and second fastest for race two.  The finishing positions in the opening 30-minute race decide the grid for Sunday’s race three, with the top ten being reversed.

Australian Joey Mawson secured a pair of victories at Round Four of the 2016 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship at the Motorsport Arena in Oschersleben across the weekend.

The PODIUM-backed driver charged down the leaders in the opening race from his third starting position to claim the win ahead of polesitter Thomas Preining and Mick Schumacher.

Mawson then started on pole position for race two alongside Schumacher and jumped into the lead from the start of the race. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver edged away from his championship rival during the early laps before maintaining a buffer of one second for the remainder of the 30-minute race.

In final race of the weekend, where the grid is set by reversing the top finishers from race one, Mawson was boxed in through turn two when all the cars were bunched up and slipped back to 12th place. As Mawson was making his way forward he was alongside Jannes Fittje going into turn three, they touched in the corner and Mawson’s front right wishbone was broken putting an end to his race.

“I had quite a good weekend, the last race didn’t quite go to plan but overall it was a very solid weekend. I came into the weekend with a three point lead and leave it with a 20-point lead,” said Mawson.

“Oschersleben seems to be a special place for us, we’ve always had a quick car there.

“I didn’t get the best of starts in race three, and then got caught up in the middle of the pack before I came together with Fittje as I was making my way forward. Unfortunately the stewards have deemed the incident to be my fault so I have a 10 place grid penalty for race one at the Red Bull Ring.

“Overall everything is very positive and I’m leading the championship at halfway, now I look forward to a big second half of the year.”

Mawson now leads the Championship on 202 points, 20 clear of Schumacher in second with Kim Luis Schramm third on 125. The next round will be contested at the Red Bull Ring on July 22-24.

Australian Joey Mawson’s Championship campaign in the 2016 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship reaches the half way mark at the Oschersleben circuit this weekend.

Entering this weekend’s fourth event the PODIUM-backed Van Amersfoort Racing driver sits atop the standings, but he’s very well aware that there’s still a long way to go in the Championship.

“It’s been a good week and a half since the last event and I’ve been flat out doing a lot of work in the gym and data analysis,” said Mawson.

“Heading into this weekend I’m really focused on just getting up on the podium again.

“It’s probably wrong to start looking at the Championship as we’re just at the half way mark, but if I can get another race win or two and a podium result the points will take care of themselves.”

After having secured pole position, two wins and a second placing across the three races when the Championship opener was held at the venue in April, Mawson is understandably confident heading into the weekend.

“Oschersleben is probably the track I’m the most familiar with in the Championship already having raced three rounds there.  I’ve also enjoyed a lot of success there but you never stop learning and adapting to the conditions,” said Mawson.

“The key to this weekend is going to be finding a good balance in the set-up of the car early in the weekend and then adaptable and on our toes with minor changes from then on.

“Qualifying well is probably more important at Oschersleben than any other circuit that we go to in the Championship. Passing opportunities are limited, so if you can start up the front it’s always a great start.”

Mawson (152) leads Mick Schumacher (149) by three points in the standings with third placed Mike-David Ortmann a further 49 points adrift.

Mawson will take to the circuit on Friday morning for two practice sessions ahead of qualifying in the afternoon.  The driver’s fastest time in qualifying decides the grid for race one and second fastest for race two.  The finishing positions in the opening 30-minute race decide the grid for Sunday’s race three, with the top ten being reversed.