It was the first wet race of this ATS Formula 3 Cup season. Following the severe weather conditions on the previous day, eleven drivers from nine countries contested the first race of the weekend in the support programme of the DTM. Title favourite Markus Pommer from Team Lotus started from the pole position and claimed a dominant start/finish victory. Malaysian Nabil Jeffri from Team Motopark took second place on the 3.478-km track at Lausitzring. The leader of the rookie ranking, Dutchman Indy Dontje from Team Lotus grabbed third.
The international grid started into the first race of the weekend behind the safety car. Markus Pommer from Neckarsulm (Lotus / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) broke away right at the start. Nabil Jeffri from Kuala Lumpur (Motopark / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) stayed on the tail of the leading car, but did manage to close the gap initially. Starting from third, Dane Nicolai Sylvest (JBR Motorsport & Engineering / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) successfully fended off the attacks of Malaysian Weiron Tan (Van Amersfoort Racing / Dallara F311 Volkswagen).
Pommer at the top cruised along the track. Jeffri in pursuit lost crucial seconds taking off into the grass. Still, he remained in second place. Behind Sylvest came Dutchman Indy Dontje (Lotus / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) who is hungry for a podium finish after a moderately successful weekend at Nürburgring. The 21-year old used his chance and overtook Sylvest after his driver error. This caused him to lose his rhythm and gave Russian Nikita Zlobin (SMP Racing by ADM Motorsport / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) an opportunity for overtaking. It is the race of the driver from Moscow. Having started from seventh, the 18-year old achieved his best result of the season so far, finishing fourth.
Markus Pommer claimed a dominant victory, leaving his strongest rival, Nabil Jeffri, in second place. Indy Dontje finished third. Since race 2 was cancelled due to bad weather yesterday, the drivers will contest race 3 in the ATS Formula 3 Cup at 4.40 p.m.
Markus Pommer: “It was a lot more slippery during the test. Everything worked well and I was very happy with the car. Usually, in a wet race, the driver at the top wins, because the drivers behind him have poorer visibility. The grip was good, we have switched to a rain set-up shortly before the race.”
Nabil Jeffri: “I was really sad when I lost crucial seconds on Markus after my driver error because I could have put him under more pressure. However, I had a good race and am happy with my result.”
Indy Dontje: “I was faster than the driver in front of me. I would have closed the gap to Weiron at some point. Then I overtook Nicolai. I was really quick, but Markus clocked the fastest lap. My team told me to make sure I scored the points. We are really happy with the result.”