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Kirchhofer wraps up German F3 title with tenth race victory

by Valentin Khorounzhiy

Photo: formel3.de

Lotus driver Marvin Kirchhofer officially sealed his German F3 title in race one of the penultimate round of the championship at Oschersleben, picking up his tenth race victory of the season in the process.

Having started from pole position, Kirchhofer led every lap on his way to the checkered flag, his lead never under much of a threat.

Even complete dominance would not automatically ensure early title celebrations for the German, with his teammate and nearest championship rival Artem Markelov needing to finish on the podium to stay in theoretical contention.

However, after the Russian made a rather decent start and seemed well on his way to ensure such a finish, his race came to an abrupt end, when he’s parked his car in the tyre wall as a result of going side-by-side into a sharp turn his teammate Emil Bernstorff.

With Markelov out of contention, John Bryant-Meisner picked up second, having overtaken Gustavo Menezes in the early stages of the race. Menezes then had to spend most of the remaining laps in defensive mode, as he came under pressure from Bernstorff, but the American managed to keep his podium finish.

Tomasz Krzeminski took fifth, ahead of Nabil Jeffri and Sebastian Balthasar, who recorded a Trophy class victory. Matteo Cairoli had a rocky race, finishing eighth, while Sheban Siddiqi and Freddy Killensberger both recovered from an early clash initiated by Nikita Zlobin to finish ninth and tenth respectively.

Race results
Pos. Driver Cl. Team Time/Gap
1 Marvin Kirchhofer C Lotus 22 laps
2 John Bryant-Meisner C Performance Racing +11.845
3 Gustavo Menezes C Van Amersfoort +15.895
4 Emil Bernstorff C Lotus +16.396
5 Tomasz Krzeminski C Performance Racing +27.276
6 Nabil Jeffri C EuroInternational +33.068
7 Sebastian Balthasar T GU-Racing +1:00.224
8 Matteo Cairoli C ADM Motorsport +1 lap
9 Sheban Siddiqi C Lotus +1 lap
10 Freddy Killensberger T GU-Racing +2 laps
11 Luca Iannaccone T Rennsport Rossler +2 laps
12 Andreas Germann T CR Racing Team +2 laps
Not classified
Artem Markelov C Lotus +20 laps
Nikita Zlobin C ADM Motorsport +22 laps
Chamionship standings
Pos. Driver Cl. Team Pts.
1 Marvin Kirchhofer C Lotus 413
2 Artem Markelov C Lotus 289
3 Emil Bernstorff C Lotus 271
4 Gustavo Menezes C Van Amersfoort 187
5 John Bryant-Meisner C Performance Racing 169
6 Thomas Jager C Performance Racing 117
7 Matteo Cairoli C ADM Motorsport 92
8 Nabil Jeffri C EuroInternational 63
9 Sebastian Balthasar T GU-Racing 50
10 Tomasz Krzeminski C Performance Racing 50
11 Yannick Mettler C Performance Racing 46
12 Jordi Weckx C Van Amersfoort 19
13 Hubertus-Carlos Vier T TTC Motorsport 14
14 Freddy Killensberger T GU-Racing 14
15 Aston Hare C EuroInternational 6
16 Thomas Amweg T CR Racing Team 4
17 Nikita Zlobin C ADM Motorsport 3
18 Maximilian Hackl T Franz Woss Racing 3
19 Sheban Siddiqi C Lotus 3
20 Nicolai Sylvest C JBR Motorsport 2
Trophy class (top 3)
Pos. Driver Team Pts.
1 Sebastian Balthasar GU-Racing 338
2 Freddy Killensberger GU-Racing 274
3 Hubertus-Carlos Vier TTC Motorsport 188