Champion in his debut year: Marvin Kirchhfer succeeds Pascal Wehrlein Eight wins and 15 podium finishes in the 2012 season Kirchhfer intends emulating his hero Sebastian Vettel: "I would eventually like to move up into Formula 1."

It hardly gets any better: Marvin Kirchhfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus) becomes champion in his Formel ADAC debut year. The ADAC Sports Foundation protg is the fifth winner overall in the history of the Formel ADAC academy. Particularly impressive: apart from the first champion, Armando Parente in 2008, Kirchhfer is the only driver to win the title in his first season in the series. With eight wins and 15 podiums, Kirchhfer won in an exciting title fight against Gustav Malja (16, Sweden, Neuhauser Racing). Winning the title takes Kirchhfer a significant step closer towards his big goal. "My dream is to make a career of motor racing," says the Lotus driver. "Sebastian Vettel is my role model and I would like to finish up in Formula 1." Brilliant debut Kirchhfer celebrated his first year in the Formel ADAC with a superb debut: he secured his first victory at the opening race of the season in the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and led the championship standings ahead of the second race weekend at Zandvoort in Holland. But even then, the 18-year-old did not reckon on finishing the season with the title: "No way! I wanted to gain experience and maybe collect one or two podiums. I was, of course, very happy to find as a newcomer that things were going so well and that the speed was there." A key advantage: Kirchhfer never thought of his debut season in Formula Junior series as a training year but went on the offensive right from the start, aiming to compete at a high level. Kirchhfer had made a name for himself on the motor racing scene even before moving up into Formel ADAC; in 2011, he took nine wins from ten races to clinch the German Karting Championship. Excellent preparation "Winning the German Karting Championship was very good preparation for my first year in the Formel ADAC," recalls Kirchhfer. "Initially, the change from karting to a single-seater car was not easy, but something just clicked at some point and then there was no stopping me." He received strong support from his Lotus team. The crew around team boss Timo Rumpfkeil played a big part in Kirchhfer's successful year. "The team took care of me very well. It is very important to feel that you are in good hands as a rookie - that's definitely the case with Lotus," said Kirchhfer, thanking his team. From quad bike to Formel ADAC champion Like so many successful young drivers, Kirchhfer came into contact with motor racing at a very early age: "My dad first put me on a quad bike at the age of three. Driving was such fun that I began karting a year later and developed a more professional approach down the years." From quad bike to 2012 Formel ADAC champion - it will be interesting to see where Kirchhfer's path takes him in the future. The Formel ADAC young driver programme has a long history and for many years has been the starting point for numerous future motor racing stars. In previous years, Formula 1 drivers Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hlkenberg and Timo Glock and DTM stars Martin Tomczyk and Ralf Schumacher all began their successful careers in the various ADAC junior single-seater series. In addition, last year's champion Pascal Wehrlein moved up into the prestigious Formula 3 Euro Series after triumphing in the Formel ADAC.