The third ADAC Masters Weekend of the 2012 season was staged at the Sachsenring between 8th and 10th June, the fourth time the circuit has hosted the event. 25,000 spectators came through the turnstiles to watch the twelve races on the bill, including the two GT Masters and ten others in the various support series: Formel ADAC, ADAC PROCAR, MINI TROPHY and ATS Formula 3 Cup. ITR President Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Volkswagen's new Director of Motorsport Jost Capito were determined not to miss out on the fun and paid a visit to the historic circuit.
Causing a sensation of a special kind was Germany's own world championship motorcyclist Max Neukirchner. The local favourite and Moto2 rider performed several demo laps in an electrically powered Tesla Roadster, earning a huge round of applause from the packed grandstands. In just four weeks' time, Neukirchner will be returning to the Sachsenring to compete in the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, one of the biggest sporting events in Germany.
Also entertaining the crowd between races was World Truck Racing Champion Egon Allgäuer who drove a 1,200bhp racing truck around the rollercoaster track, whetting the appetite for the ADAC Truck Grand Prix which is due to be staged at the Nürburgring on the weekend of 13th - 15th July as part of the ADAC GT Masters and Formel ADAC Masters programme.
ADAC GT Masters
The 25,000 fans who turned up for the ADAC GT Masters expecting to see exciting racing will not have disappointed. Championship leaders Diego Alessi and Daniel Keilwitz have every reason to be satisfied with the outcome of the weekend: with a win in Race 1 and a P4 in Race 2, the Callaway Competition duo have consolidated their position at the top of the standings. Reigning ADAC GT Masters champions Dino Lunardi and Maxime Martin must be cursing their luck after sustaining punctures in both races.
The climax of the weekend came in the final lap of the second race when the three leading cars all crossed the finish line within 1.4 seconds of each other. The Danish duo of Kristian Poulsen und Christoffer Nygaard pulled off the surprise of the event, claiming a maiden victory for the new Aston Martin V12 Vantage and the first for this venerable British manufacturer in the ADAC GT Masters since its triumphant debut in the 2008 season. At the same time, Poulsen went into the record books as the first ever amateur driver to win in the 'Super Sports Car League'.
Formel ADAC
Gustav Malja was as good as his word: going into the third race weekend of the 2012 Formel ADAC championship, he had pledged to bring home his first winner's trophy in the junior formula series. And he kept his promise. In the first race, Malja thrilled the crowd in a hard-fought contest with championship leader and local favourite Marvin Kirchhöfer, emerging as the ultimate victor. In Race 2, a spectacular encounter with plenty of overtaking, Malja fully exploited his pole position to notch up his second win of the weekend. In the championship standings, Malja is now second, just 14 points adrift of Kirchhöfer. The third of the three races on the programme had to be abandoned as early as the second lap, and no points were awarded.
ATS Formula 3 Cup
Kimi Sato from Japan was the standout driver of the ATS Formula 3 Cup staged as part of the ADAC Masters weekend at the Sachsenring. The Lotus driver finished on the podium in all three races, twice as the winner and once as runner-up. And this was despite never having driven on the historical track in Saxony before. In the first race, Sato even secured the hat-trick of pole position, victory and fastest lap. It was only in Race 2 that Sato was pipped to the post by René Binder who had started from pole position. The Austrian driver's name goes into the list of ATS Formula 3 Cup winners for the first time.
ADAC PROCAR
The ADAC PROCAR contestants in both divisions drove at the absolute limit to lay on a feast of touring car entertainment for fans at the Sachsenring. The outcome of the third outing of the season once again hinged on differences of mere seconds, with the more experienced drivers coming out on top. Crossing the finish line ahead of the pack - just like at Oschersleben and Zandvoort - were the two standout drivers Jens Weimann and Guido Thierfelder. Weimann dominated Division 1, while Thierfelder saw off the opposition in Division 2. Both of them consolidated their lead in the championship ahead of the next race which is on the same bill as the 'GP der Stadt Magdeburg' at the Motorsportarena Oschersleben.
MINI TROPHY
Following the visit to the foreign territory of Le Castellet (France), the MINI TROPHY has returned to the realms of the ADAC Masters Weekend. In their 211bhp MINI John Cooper Works Challenge edition cars, the drivers provided an exciting race in order to gain points in the fight for the 'lifestyle' marque trophy. Championship leader Ralf Martin came third and first in the two races and thereby further established his overall lead. Jürgen Schmarl also put in a strong performance. The Fast Forward driver won the first race and rounded his weekend off with second place in the second race. This improved his position in the championship, moving him up to second place and he is now only three points behind Martin.