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.