After in an intense battle, during which he fended off his pursuers and Van Amersfoort team-mate Jonny Edgar, the American Jak Crawford looks almost certain to win the ADAC Formula 4 title. Crawford won the second round of the weekend in the season finale at Oschersleben. He now has a nine-point lead on British driver Edgar ahead of this afternoon’s race which will be the decider (14:55 CET). The reversed grid rule will also serve to spice things up considerably, as race winner Crawford will start from eighth place while Edgar will be seventh on the grid. SPORT1 is broadcasting ADAC Formula 4 races on TV. Racing can also be watched online at SPORT1.de, adac.de/motorsport, YouTube.com/adac and on the ADAC TCR Germany Facebook page.
„I had a tough race,“ said Crawford after his fifth win of the season. „My tyres were in a pretty bad way. I had to concentrate on defence more than anything else. It was definitely the toughest race I’ve ever had.“ He has already planned his strategy for the race that will decide who wins the title fight: „I’m hoping to get away well off the line again. I’ve already managed it twice this weekend. Maybe I’ll be able to overtake right away. If not, then I’ll just stay on Jonny’s back wheel. I’ll win if I can do that.“
Pole-sitter Crawford did indeed get off to a perfect start and went straight into the lead, but Edgar in second place on the grid lost a position and dropped back behind Oliver Bearman. Rookie champion Tim Tramnitz got away very badly at the start and dropped down the order from sixth to last place. Crawford pulled out a lead over the first few laps while 16-year-old Edgar was now stuck behind Bearman. After a few laps, Edgar then managed to overtake Bearman with a strong move, but by now, his deficit on Crawford was already two-and-a-half seconds.
Edgar gradually closed on his team-mate over the next few laps and a thrilling scrap took place over the final stages of the race. Crawford couldn’t go any quicker. Edgar appeared to have the edge and looked for a gap, but Crawford was not about to be caught off-guard. Another attempt on the final lap was also unsuccessful. At the finish line, a mere 0.115 seconds separated the two competitors. Bearman came third.
Bearman’s US Racing team-mates Vladislav Lomko and Elias Seppänen finished fourth and fifth, while French teenager Victor Bernier was sixth. Joshua Dürksen took P7 from Tramnitz. Every cloud has a silver lining, and Tramnitz will now start Race 3 from pole position. Josef Knopp and Roee Meyuhas secured the remaining points-scoring positions.