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.

Despite a challenging weekend at the Lausitzring, Australian Joey Mawson has maintained the lead in the 2016 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship.

After a sixth place finish in a shortened Race One, the PODIUM-backed Van Amersfoort Racing driver added another piece of silverware to his collection in Race Two on Saturday by finishing second behind Mick Schumacher.

With rain falling as the field lined up for the final 30-minute encounter Mawson, along with the majority of the field, elected to start the race on wet weather tyres.  As the race went on the circuit dried out and he was forced to conserve his tyres while running in fourth place.

Unfortunately contact from another driver damaged the front wing on his car and he was forced to pit for repairs dropping him to 23rd in the final classification.

While disappointed with the final result, Mawson is pleased to have maintained the Championship lead after having secured seven podium finishes from nine races so far in the 24-race schedule.

“It was one of those weekends where we just didn’t get the breaks we needed,” said Mawson.

“In qualifying I was fastest in my group only to be pipped right in the last seconds and end up fourth fastest in my group which meant I started eight in Race One.  That race was then shortened, we only raced 10 of the original 30 minutes, due to a multi-car accident on lap one.

“Race Two I just couldn’t get a run on Mick (Schumacher) to mount a serious challenge for the lead and then Race Three just didn’t go our way when Thomas Preining turned in on me and damaged my front wing.

“On the upside I’m still in the lead of the Championship and the next event is at Oschersleben where I dominated the opening round.”

Mawson now leads the Championship on 152 points, 3 clear of Schumacher in second with Mike Ortmann third on 100.  The next round will be contested in two weeks time in Oschersleben on June 17-19.