Home Formula 4ADAC F4 Picariello secures first reverse-grid win of 2013 at Slovakia Ring

Picariello secures first reverse-grid win of 2013 at Slovakia Ring

by Valentin Khorounzhiy

Photo: ADAC Formel Masters

Having secured the ADAC Formel Masters title in race two of the round, the newly-crowned series champion Alessio Picariello the took his first reverse-grid victory of 2013 at Slovakia Ring.

The Belgian driver had a spectacular start from the race, making his way from seventh on the grid to second in just a couple of corners, as he slotted in behind reverse-grid polesitter Stephane Kox. Shortly after that, Picariello passed Kox into turn one and started establishing a gap over the rest of the field.

As Kox began to tumble down the order, Ralph Boschung and Beitske Visser stepped into the top three. However, as the duo set out to chase after Picariello, the race went into a safety car period, called in after Callan O’Keeffe stopped on-track. The Red Bull junior then limped out of the vehicle, seemingly in need of medical attention.

As O’Keeffe was receiving treatment off-track and his car was being towed away, the safety car stayed out for quite a while, returning to the pits with only five minutes to go. Picariello nailed the restart, getting away from the rest of the field, while Boschung came under pressure from Visser.

Eventually, the Swiss driver got some breathing room and cruised to second behind Picariello, as Visser herself was forced to defend from Jason Kremer and Marvin Dienst. The trio would spend the remaining few minutes fighting for the final podium position and, eventually, Dienst clinched the spot, with Visser and Kremer rounding out the top five.

Fabian Schiller secured sixth, ahead of Lotus man Indy Dontje and Maximilian Gunther, who made it to the points from 19th on the grid. Kox took ninth, with Stefan Riener rounding out the top ten.

Update: Picariello and Riener have received post-race penalties of 30s added time, meaning that Boschung will inherit his first race vicotry in ADAC Formel Masters.

Race results
Pos. Driver Team Time/Gap
1 Alessio Picariello ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. 10 laps in 26:53.036
2 Ralph Boschung Team KUG Motorsport +0.623
3 Marvin Dienst Neuhauser Racing +3.392
4 Beitske Visser Lotus +4.520
5 Jason Kremer Schiller Motorsport +4.913
6 Fabian Schiller Schiller Motorsport +5.289
7 Indy Dontje Lotus +6.517
8 Maximilian Gunther ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. +7.133
9 Stephane Kox Team KUG Motorsport +7.385
10 Stefan Riener Neuhauser Racing +8.631
11 Nicolas Beer Neuhauser Racing +9.401
12 Hendrik Grapp ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. +9.660
13 Kim-Luis Schramm ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. +10.114
14 Benedikt Gentgen JBR Motorsport & Engineering +19.227
15 Kim Giersiepen KSW Motorsport +19.759
16 Martin Gatz KSW Motorsport +25.551
17 Giorgio Maggi ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. +26.257
18 Mikkel Jensen Lotus +3 laps
Callan O’Keeffe Lotus +8 laps
Championship standings
Pos. Driver Team Pts.
1 Alessio Picariello ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. 346
2 Maximilian Gunther ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. 219
3 Jason Kremer Schiller Motorsport 196
4 Nicolas Beer Neuhauser Racing 170
5 Marvin Dienst Neuhauser Racing 169
6 Indy Dontje Lotus 136
7 Ralph Boschung Team KUG Motorsport 117
8 Hendrik Grapp ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. 105
9 Beitske Visser Lotus 96
10 Mikkel Jensen Lotus 79
11 Fabian Schiller Schiller Motorsport 68
12 Stefan Riener Neuhauser Racing 55
13 Callan O’Keeffe Lotus 34
14 Kim Luis Schramm ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. 24
15 Florian Herzog Team KUG Motorsport 17
16 Stephane Kox Team KUG Motorsport 8
17 Benedikt Gentgen KSW Motorsport 1
18 Kim Giersiepen JBR Motorsport & Engineering 1