Markus Pommer wins 2014 ATS Formula 3 Cup champion title 20.09.2014: Markus Pommer made it. With five races to go until the end of the season,

Markus Pommer made it. With five races to go until the end of the season, the driver from Neckarsulm, who contests for Team Lotus, has secured the ATS Formula 3 Cup title. The 23-year old handled the rain-soaked 3.645-km Sachsenring best of the eleven drivers, scoring a dominant lights-to-flag victory.


 His toughest rival, Malaysian Nabil Jeffri from Team Motopark, finished second. Grabbing third, his compatriot and team-mate from Van Amersfoort Racing, Weiron Tan, made his debut on the podium.


Rain began to fall in time for the starting grid formation. Consequently, the race started behind the safety car. Pole-sitter Markus Pommer (Lotus / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) aimed for victory in the race or at least a finish ahead of his pursuer Nabil Jeffri (Motopark / Dallara F311 Volkswagen). That would secure the driver from Neckarsulm the championship title. If the 23-year old had a perfect start, chances to achieve success were good. That was the case in all of the previous races of the season.


Following a ten-minute safety car deployment, Pommer broke away. He also benefited from the battle for second between Jeffri and Sam MacLeod (Van Amersfoort Racing / Dallara F311 Volkswagen). However, the Briton lost control over his vehicle and ran wide through the gravel. As a result, his team-mate Weiron Tan from Kuala Lumpur (Van Amersfoot Racing / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) claimed third place.


In the middle of the grid, Nicolai Sylvest (JBR Motorsport & Engineering / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) who made his debut at Sachsenring, put in a phenomenal performance. At first, the Dane was on the tail of Brazilian Pipo Derani (ADM Motorsport / Dallara F311 Volkswagen), who contests for the Italian team this weekend only.


Thanks to a superb manoeuvre the Dane was able to defeat Derani. Sylvest went on to attack Indy Dontje (Lotus / Dallara F311 Volkswagen) from the Netherlands who was in fourth place. However, there was not enough time left in the race.


Markus Pommer at the top secured the championship title. Jeffri finished second,  with Tan, who scored his first podium finish, following behind.


Markus Pommer: “I feel great. At first I could not believe it. Now I am just happy. It took a few minutes for me to realise it. I will concentrate on the second race now. But I will definitely have a nice dinner with my friends tonight. The big party will follow tomorrow.”


Nabil Jeffri: “I'm quite happy because my fastest lap was pretty close to Markus'. That's what I'm aiming for now. I won't be able to win the championship title now but I want to get as close to Markus as possible.”


Weiron Tan: “I am just so happy to not go home empty-handed this time. It took a long time and the season so far has been a challenge. My team taught me a lot, but we will never stop to work hard.”


- Bettina Eichhammer, photo Formel 3 Vereinigung