DE: Series Assen summary

Rookies prove to be invincible at Assen

For the first time this season, the ATS Formula 3 Cup left Germany to race at Assen, Netherlands. Within the framework of the ADAC Masters Weekend, the series held the fourth race weekend and the seventh and eighth rounds of its 2010 season respectively. And due to the special noise protection regulations the Dutch circuit has to cope with, the time schedule of the race weekend differed from the one the Formula 3 young guns are accustomed to. For the first time this year, teams and drivers had to contest a qualifying session and a race both on Saturday and Sunday.

The Dutch weather gods seemed to be particularly fond of the ATS Formula 3 Cup. While many of the partner series had to use wets, the Formula 3 drivers could rely on their fast Yokohama slicks throughout the weekend. Nonetheless, the temperatures dropped to enjoyably cool 20o. C.

Paddock news
This weekend, www.formel3.de provided the ATS Formula 3 Cup enthusiasts for the first time the chance of following all the sessions of the series in real time via live timing. For those who haven't found the link, so far: the 'Live Timing' button is positioned below the ticker box.

When the race weekend was over, several teams took their time when it came to packing up. As the coming two rounds are held as early as this weekend at the Nurburgring, they will travel from Assen straight to the tradition-rich German circuit. And the other teams also will make just a short stop at their headquarters to collect some spare parts. But all the Team Principals left Assen in a happy mood as none of the cars was seriously damaged. So, major repairs won't be necessary, in the coming days.

There were two Drivers of the weekend
... at Assen: Felix Rosenqvist and Daniel Abt. Both celebrated their maiden Formula 3 wins, at the TT Circuit. Sweden's Felix Rosenqvist and his team, Racing Performance, were the winners on Saturday and on Sunday, German Daniel Abt made his Dutch team Van-Amersfoort-Racing happy by securing his first win.

Furthermore, the fourth race weekend of the season proved to be the most successful to date for both rookies. In addition to winning one race each, they both finished runner-up in the other. Nonetheless, Abt even was slightly more successful than the Swede as he scored three extra points: two for the two pole positions and one for a fastest race lap.

The races
In both races, the start definitely represented the key factor for a good result. Tom Dillmann, for instance, who held the second position on the Saturday grid, made a clear jump-start, received a drive-thru penalty as 'reward' and consequently, he lost a lot of ground. Daniel Abt and Stef Dusseldorp didn't get going fast enough and so, Felix Rosenqvist took the lead and successfully defended it against the two Van-Amersfoort drivers until taking the chequered flag.

On Sunday, however, Abt delivered in perfect style: pole position, race lead and race win. While Dusseldorp wasn't able to match the pace of Rosenquist and finished third for the second time, this weekend. And Dillmann encountered an even more difficult weekend. He had to cope with having finished eighth and a forth, in the two Assen rounds

The rankings
Due the successful weekend of Daniel Abt and the rather modest achievements of Tom Dillmann, we've got a new ATS Formula 3 Cup championship leader: with 62 points on his tally, Abt now holds the lead, five points ahead of Dillmann. Kevin Magnussen also failed to tie in with his previous performances and dropped back to third position. And Dusseldorp's two third places didn't represent the success the Dutchman had hoped for. With 43 points on his tally he currently holds fourth position. Meanwhile Rosenquist leaped from ninth to fifth - but with 27 points, his gap to the Dutchman still is big.

In the 'SONAX Rookie-Pokal', Abt (68 points) now hold a seven-point lead over Magnussen, while Rosenqvist and Jimmy Eriksson (both 33 points) are tied for third. In the ATS Formula 3 Trophy, Germany's Riccardo Brutschin again secured back-to-back wins and extended his lead over his team-mate Aleksi Tuukkanen to 18 points, with Alexey Karachev following in third position, 21 points behind the leader. In the 'AvD Speedpokal' Dillmann and Abt both have scored seven points for pole positions and fastest trace laps respectively.

-source: formel3.de