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2006 DTM Hockenheim

RACE RESULTS:

DTM RACE REPORT (TOP OF PAGE)

MERECEDES

• Bernd Schneider Wins DTM Season Opener with 13th Hockenheim Victory
• Bernd Schneider drove his Vodafone AMG-Mercedes C-Class to victory in the 2006 DTM season opener at Hockenheim repeating his win in last year's season finale here five and a half months ago.
• The four most experienced DTM drivers crossed the finish line first: Behind four-times DTM Champion Bernd Schneider came home the seven-times Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen (Audi), Formula One World Championship runner-up Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Audi) and double Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen (AMG-Mercedes C-Class).
• Alexandros Margaritis (Easy Rent AMG-Mercedes C-Class) and Jean Alesi (stern AMG-Mercedes C-Class) with last year's cars ended up fifth and sixth respectively. In his 201st race, Bernd Schneider achieved his 40th DTM/ITC win and his 13th at Hockenheim. 104,000 spectators attended the event during the weekend.
• Short before the start, pole sitter Jamie Green experienced a problem with the engine electronics which could not be solved. Therefore he spun during the formation lap when warming up the tyres. During the first two laps Green dropped to tenth place and came into the pits and retired.
• At the start Schneider accelerated into an immediate lead ahead of Stefan Mücke, who improved from fifth on the grid to second in a last year's car of his father's private team. Schneider came in for his first pit stop on lap nine and resumed in fourth place. Five laps later Schneider regained the lead whilst Mücke was fourth ahead of Alexandros Margaritis in the Persson team's 2005 C-Class.
• Mücke and Margaritis pitted simultaneously on lap 20 and exited the pits side-by-side. On lap 23 both cars touched with Mücke suffering from a broken left front suspension. He came into the pits and retired.
• On lap 24, Bernd Schneider made his second pit stop and rejoined the race still in leading position ahead of Tom Kristensen who had pitted at the same time. After 37 laps Schneider crossed the finish line 4.2sec ahead of Kristensen.
• Mika Häkkinen started seventh and was sixth after the first lap. He made his pit stops on laps six and 21. On lap 28, the Finn was fourth and reduced the gap behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen to under one second, but was not able to pass. Margaritis came home fifth ahead of his Persson team mate Jean Alesi.
• The Frenchman had an exciting battle with Martin Tomczyk (Audi A4 DTM). Behind them, DTM rookie Daniel la Rosa was eighth with his 2005 TrekStor AMG-Mercedes C-Class until the last lap. Then he retired due to low fuel pressure. La Rosa missed the fastest lap of the race by three thousandths of a second.
• Bruno Spengler who had qualified third suffered from a damaged tyre on lap 15 at the hairpin and drove back to the pits slowly. The Canadian posted the fastest lap of the race on lap 17 with a 1:34.726 and ended up ninth.
• Bernd Schneider, Vodafone AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2006, winner:
• "I'm really happy about my 40th victory. My team gave me a perfect car and made great pit stops. I thank everybody for their immense efforts. This weekend everything went my way and it's a good feeling to win again here."
• Mika Häkkinen, AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2006, fourth:
• "I had preferred to finish on the podium. After my second pit stop I was behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen and was able close the gap, but I was not able to pass him. Starting seventh on the grid I'm still satisfied with my result, but there's more to come in the next races."
• Alexandros Margaritis, Easy Rent AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2005, fifth:
• "I had a good feeling during this morning's warm-up. We had a good speed and I'm happy to finish fifth and to be the best driver with a last year's car."
• Jean Alesi, stern AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2005, sixth:
• "My qualifying was not so good, but our team didn't give in and gave me a great car. Thanks to everybody."
• Bruno Spengler, DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2006, ninth:
• "I lost some positions at the first corner after the start; however I was able to catch up afterwards. Due to the damaged tyre I lost a lot of time and we had to make my second pit stop earlier than planned. That was it."
• Susie Stoddart, AutoScout24 AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2004, tenth:
• "I'm satisfied to finish my first DTM race in tenth position. The car had a good speed and we had good pit stops. I'm happy and look forward to the next race."
• Mathias Lauda, Second Hand AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2004, 11th:
• "I'm happy with my first DTM race. Unfortunately I was not able to see the start light due to the rear wing of the car in front of me."
• Daniel la Rosa, TrekStor AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2005, retired:
• "A great race and I was eighth and in the points positions until the final lap. I was even able to fight for seventh with Martin Tomczyk. Then I had a problem with the fuel pressure and the car stopped."
• Stefan Mücke, TV-Spielfilm AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2005, retired:
• "I'm very disappointed. Mattias Ekström made a mistake under braking ahead of me and Alexandros came side-by-side with me. I wasn't able to avoid him and we touched, as a result my suspension broke ."
• Jamie Green, Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes C-Class 2006, retired:
• "This was a frustrating end to a weekend which in the beginning looked really promising. I realised the problem with the engine electronics already on the formation lap when I suffered from wheelspin. However, that's motor racing. I now look forward to the next race at the Lausitzring in three weeks."
• Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
• "A good start with exciting sport and several drivers capable of winning. However, Bernd Schneider was in optimum shape and controlled the field from the beginning to the chequered flag. With the 40th win of his career and the 13th here he is the King of Hockenheim."
• "Alexandros Margaritis with fifth place and Daniel la Rosa with a fast lap of three thousandths of a second behind the fastest lap of the race showed a good performance. Jamie Green retired due to problems with the engine electronic, today he could have achieved a very good result from pole position."
• "Bruno Spengler dropped back with a damaged tyre. Susie Stoddart performed well with a tenth place in her DTM debut. The new weight rules proved to be good and the field was even more competitive. Here the DTM was a first-class stage for an exciting competiton which the spectators at the race track and the TV viewers at home certainly enjoyed."

AUDI        (TOP OF PAGE)

• Two Audi drivers on the podium
  Tom Kristensen second after fantastic fight back; Heinz-Harald Frentzen third in Audi on debut
  Martin Tomczyk and Timo Scheider also score points
• At a thrilling opening to the DTM season in Hockenheim, 104,000 spectators were eyewitness to an excellent Audi team performance. The performances of both Tom Kristensen and Heinz-Harald Frentzen were particularly impressive: The pair carved their way through the field from grid positions nine and eight to clinch second and third at the chequer helped by a good strategy and perfect pit-stops.
• As a result, Frentzen claimed a podium position first time out in his first race with the Audi A4 DTM. With Martin Tomczyk, in seventh place, and Timo Scheider finishing eighth, two further Audi drivers scored points. Audi Sport Team Abt leads the teams' championship.
• Mattias Ekström, who jumped from sixth to third position at the start and who had eventual winner Bernd Schneider well in his sights after a quick opening pit-stop, was struck by bad luck when he was forced to retire his A4 with damage to the front right suspension.
• Christian Abt and Pierre Kaffer were also forced to retire. Frank Stippler lost his chance of points due to a problem during his second mandatory pit-stop. Olivier Tielemans and Vanina Ickx took the chequered flag in 13th and 15th position respectively on their DTM debuts.
• Quotes after the race
• Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport):
• "That really was a nail-biting race. Bearing in mind the starting positions we can be extremely satisfied with the result. A second and third position for Tom (Kristensen) and Heinz-Harald (Frentzen) is an excellent team performance.
• We demonstrated just how much potential is in the Audi A4 DTM, and saw that cars from both manufacturers are almost as quick as each other. Strategy and pit-stops still play an important role alongside fast driving. Today we saw just how high the level is in the DTM. I'm already looking forward to the rest of the season."
• Tom Kristensen:
• "I'm obviously happy to have finished second after starting in ninth position. The team did a fantastic job in the pits and with the strategy. I drove absolutely on the limit. I edged closer and closer to Bernd and thought that I was in with a chance of winning."
• "However, about eleven laps before the finish the steering wheel was suddenly skew after I'd driven over the kerbs on the corner exit. I didn't risk anything after that kept well away from the outside kerbs. That's why I'm happy that I finished second. My thanks go to the team that got me into this position today."
• Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
• "I'm really very satisfied. To be right at the front in the Championship from the word go is very important in the DTM. I knew just how good my A4 was and that I could translate this into results if everything fell into place. However, I was a little sceptical immediately after the start."
• "I had huge understeer, couldn't attack and had to be careful that I didn't lose too many places. That's why my crew called me in earlier. The balance was good again with new tyres. The strategy to take the second set of tyres early also paid off - even though Mika (Häkkinen) got very close right at the end."
• Martin Tomczyk:
• "My start was good up to the first corner when some of the Mercedes drivers got into each other's way. I wanted to stay clear of all that. Mattias Ekström was next to me on the right-hand side, Bruno Spengler pulled over into my lane and touched me hard. I didn't want to pass this impulse on to Mattias, took my foot off the throttle and lost a few places."
• "Bruno Spengler then made another mistake, got back into the lane and caught me full force. I had to drive through the grass, dropped back to eleventh place and my car was not perfect anymore. Apart from this, I'm very satisfied with the whole weekend, because my team performed very well. I wanted to finish in the points, and I managed that by claiming seventh place."
• Timo Scheider:
• "Eighth place is basically positive, considering the fact that grid position 13 didn't give me ideal prerequisites for the race. With a fighting spirit and a bit of luck we claimed our first point. We kept improving our performance throughout the weekend and had a very good pace in the race. I'm satisfied - a big 'thank you' to my team."
• Frank Stippler:
• "My congratulations to Timo Scheider on the point he scored. Unfortunately my race didn't go according to plan. Because of all the 'body contact' my chassis got damaged and we lost a few body parts. Unfortunately we had a problem with our radio communications, so our strategy didn't work any more either. In addition, there was a spill during the refuelling operation and that fuel was missing in the end."
• Olivier Tielemans:
• "I'm very satisfied with my first DTM race. 13th place isn't bad with a 2004-spec car. Unfortunately, on the second set of tyres and because of the pit stops, I lost some time. Otherwise, perhaps I would have even finished as the second-best driver of a 2004-spec car. This was a good beginning."
• Vanina Ickx:
• "This was a very good start into my DTM season and I'm happy about having finished the race. In the beginning there was quite a commotion, some rivals drove through the gravel trap and you had to really watch out. I also had to evade Christian Abt who spun in the beginning. I stayed out of all this, pitted early and then had a clear track."
• Mattias Ekström:
• "I started from sixth place and was running in third after two corners. I'm satisfied with that. My car had too much understeer to be really fast. I gave my best. The pit stops and the strategy, too, were good. Everything was okay when twelve laps before the end the front right- hand suspension broke. We need to analyse the reason for this."
• Pierre Kaffer:
• "My start wasn't perfect because I had to brake in the first corner and lost a few positions. We had a good speed but then my 'friend' Stefan Mücke drove into my car - once more. This destroyed my steering system, which of course is a real pity for the whole team."
• Christian Abt:
• "The pace was extremely fast today. On the first laps I had the feeling we'd be able to drive a good race. The car was quick, the set-up was right. So we did work in the right direction, but unfortunately a technical defect prevented me from finishing the race. That is disappointing, but I'm looking forward to the next race already."
• Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline):
• "The way the team worked and pulled Tom (Kristensen) and Heinz- Harald (Frentzen) so far to the front with a perfect strategy was sensational. We achieved a great team result. Of course it was too bad that Mattias (Ekström) retired. But our friends from Stuttgart had a few problems today, as well... In any event it's been a thrilling race. I wouldn't mind if things continued this way."
• Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix):
• "I'm elated about the cooperation with Audi Sport during our first joint race weekend. It's really fun to work this way. I hope our team will be more fortunate in the next race, though. I'm very happy about Audi's two podium places."
• Arno Zensen (Team Direcot Audi Sport Team Rosberg):
• "On the one hand, I'm very happy with the outcome of the race because we scored the first point in our first race for Audi with Timo Scheider. On the other hand, Frank Stippler had been among the top ten for a long time but then ran short on fuel because we apparently made a mistake while refuelling his car. Altogether, I'm not unhappy but we need to continue to work in order to move further towards the front.

DTM RACE PREVIEW (TOP OF PAGE)

• Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline):
• "We are all very interested to see what happens at Hockenheim. The opening round of the big match between Audi and Mercedes starts. We worked very hard over the winter to improve our performance. We hope that we can make the most of it at Hockenheim. The competition is tough but our team is motivated and well prepared."
• Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix):
• "Whoever races wants to achieve the best possible result - that's why we are also expecting a lot at the first race at Hockenheim. We want to achieve a good result and do a good job for Audi."
• Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg):
• "Although we were a little short of time for preparation, in my opinion Timo (Scheider) and Frank (Stippler) both made an excellent impression during the tests. Our first target is to make the top ten with both cars in qualifying. Then we'll wait and see what happen..."