ADAC High-Speed Academy begins its seventh seasonHome race for Team Lotus at etropolis Motorsport Arena OscherslebenMcLaren juniors, vice champion and champion's brother: Attractive starting field, guaranteeing plenty of excitement

Green for go and the start of the Formel ADAC's seventh season, as the ADAC High-Speed Academy traditionally contests the first of eight race weekends scheduled for 2014 at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The 15 drivers from six different teams will be keen to lay the foundations for a successful season in the three races at Oschersleben (April 25th-27th). The three drivers from Team Lotus will be doubly motivated as they steel themselves for the challenge, since this is a home race for the Oschersleben-based team; the team's home base is located just a stone's throw away from the 3.696 km track. Lotus youngster with high aspirations The 2012 champion team has an international squad of drivers for the new season. Newcomer Ralph Boschung (16, SUI, Lotus) intends to build on his successes from the previous season. The young Swiss driver secured a total of six podiums and a race win in his debut year. Boschung: "I learned a great deal in last year's 24 races and am sure that will benefit me. My goal is to finish in the top three at the end of the year. The championship is, of course, always at the back of my mind." A successful season opener at Oschersleben might be just the ticket - in the past six years, five drivers who later went on to become Formel ADAC champions secured at least one victory at the first race weekend on the challenging Oschersleben track with its 14 turns and changes in elevation of up to 23 metres. Boschung's team-mate Dennis Marshall (17, Germany, Lotus) is also hoping to get off to a good start in his first year in open-wheel racing. "Preparations earlier went very well and I've already become established in the top group of drivers at official testing in Oschersleben," said the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé. "Also, we should be very competitive with Lotus." Champion's brother debuts Lotus are relying on the services of another newcomer to the series in Joel Eriksson (16, SWE, Lotus). However, 16-year-old Eriksson is no stranger to the team. Racing with Lotus two years ago, his older brother Jimmy won the ATS Formula 3 Cup championship which is run under the ADAC GT Master umbrella. "Joel is definitely the next top talent to emerge from Scandinavia," said team manager Timo Rumpfkeil with some conviction. The Lotus youngsters are highly motivated but face strong opposition in Oschersleben. Seven of the 15 drivers in all will be lining up for their second Formel ADAC season, aiming to use the knowledge that they've acquired to achieve further success. Reigning vice-champion Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) is among the title contenders. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé races with Mücke Motorsport, who line up under the ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. banner. He achieved eleven podiums in 2013 and is now aiming to take the next step. "I am not lining up to finish runner-up once again," said the 16-year-old bullishly. Extra motivation thanks to McLaren With Marvin Dienst (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), Günther will have competition from within the ranks of his own championship winning team, who are fielding five drivers in all. The 17-year-old can also look back on a year's experience gained in Formel ADAC and finished preseason testing in fifth place. Starting this year, Dienst has been a member of the McLaren Performance Academy, which is a support programme run by the well established Formula 1 racing team Corinna Kamper (19, AUT, HS Engineering) is the only female driver currently in the Formel ADAC starting field. The 19-year-old Austrian thus continues the unbroken tradition of female drivers in the ADAC junior series and aims to repeat the successes of her predecessors with HS Engineering. Formel ADAC on TV Once again this season, Formel ADAC will enjoy strong TV exposure. After each race weekend, ADAC GT Masters live TV exclusive partner kabel eins and SPORT1 will both carry magazine reports about the single-seater junior series. Highlights from the Formel ADAC season opener in Oschersleben will be shown by kabel eins on Monday, April 28th and Wednesday at 2:15 am in 'ran Racing - ADAC GT Masters Magazine'. SPORT1 will present various events from the ADAC GT Masters race weekend, including Formel ADAC, for the delectation of viewers in its 'ADAC GT Masters magazine' offering on April May 3rd. In addition to this extensive television coverage, fans can follow live streaming from all Formel ADAC races on the Internet. The free download is available on the ADAC official website at www.adac.de/formel-adac.

First of eight race weekends of the 2014 season Traditional season opener at Oschersleben Home race for the Lotus squad International flair on the Formel ADAC grid Please click on the images for the print version.For additional information, downloadable PDF versions of all press releases and high-resolution images, please visit our media website. Statistics: You can find all the stats on the 2014 Formel ADAC season plus facts and figures about the circuit and the forthcoming race weekend in the attached file 'Formel ADAC Stats Sheet'.Race calendar for the 2014 Formel ADAC season 25/04 - 27/04/14 etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben09/05 - 11/05/14 Circuit Park Zandvoort (NL)23/05 - 25/05/14 Lausitzring*06/06 - 08/06/14 Red Bull Ring (A)08/08 - 10/08/14 Slovakia Ring (SVK)29/08 - 31/08/14 Nürburgring19/09 - 21/09/14 Sachsenring03/10 - 05/10/14 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg * subject to approval by FIA/DMSB