Rain Adds Extra Challenge to DTM Individual Races

The DTM drivers got their challenge during Sunday's tournament in the Olympic Stadium. 

The layout of the tournament was similar to yesterday with the same course and concept. The tournament proceeded in six rounds. The first round decided who would really get to compete. Certain drivers were passed immediately into the second round. They were the current champion Gary Paffett, the three best AudiAudi A5 DTMGermany, 2012 > present12 photos
drivers – Mattias Ekström, Mike Rockenfeller and Edoardo Mortara, the three best MercedesMercedes-Benz DTM ChallengerGermany, 2011 > present2 photos
drivers - Jamie Green, Christian Vietoris and David Coulthard, and the three best BMWBMW M3 DTMGermany, 2012 > present4 photos
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drivers Bruno Spengler, Martin Tomczyk and Augusto Farfus. The other 12 drivers raced one-on-one in four lap competitions to decide who would get to compete against the best. 

A bird's eye view of the Olympic Stadium course

© photo by DTM, licence: Attribution

In the qualification round, BMW driver Dirk Werner raced Audi driver Rahel Frey, and Frey won. Audi driver Timo Scheider raced Mercedes Robert Wickens, and Wickens won. BMW driver Joey Hand raced Mercedes driver Roberto Merhi. Hand won. BMW driver Andy Priaulx went against Audi driver Filipe Albuquerque, and Albuquerque moved forward. Mercedes Ralf Schumacher raced Audi Miguel Molina, and Molina won. Finally, Susie Wolff was against Adrien Tambay, and Tambay won. 

Round 2

These were four lap head-to-head races with no breaks between laps. 

1. Mortara vs. Coulthard - First lap had Coulthard down by a tenth, then two tenths in the second lap Coulthard came back and cut the lead to a tenth in the third. Coulthard won by less than a tenth in the end. 

2. Wickens vs. Tomczyk - Tomczyk had a significant lead through the first lap and kept it through the second lap. Tomczyk won by 1.5 seconds. It was no contest. 

3. Ekström vs. Hand - Ekström had nearly a second in the first lap. Ekström never came close to giving up the lead and won by 1.5 seconds. 

4. Vietoris vs. Farfus - It was close through the first lap with no clear leader. Farfus started to pull a 0.6 second lead in the second lap. He held in in the third lap and won by 0.8 seconds.

5. Spengler vs. Tambay - Spengler faster in first lap. It also began to rain during their race. Spengler kept the lead in the second by just 0.3 seconds. It was neck and neck in lap 3. Spengler won but Tambay gave it is all. Tambay had a massive slide in the final quarter to attempt to win. Spengler won by 0.2 seconds. It was a great race. 

For some reason, the final three races from this round were not broadcast. We do not know details about the races but have the results. Gary Paffett raced Rahel Frey, and Paffett won. Jamie Green raced Filipe Albuquerque, and Green won. And Mike Rockenfeller raced Miguel Molina, and Rockenfeller won. 

Quarter Final

Heavy rain delayed the start of the round by about 45 minutes. The cars were running on rain tires. The layout changed slightly for this round. It was now 6 laps with a pit stop to change tires on the third lap. The cars did not need tires, but this was a way to challenge the mechanics as well. 

1. Paffett vs. Coulthard - Paffett led handily in the first two laps taking a 0.6 second lead. Paffett kept the lead through laps 4 and 5. He won by 0.8 seconds. 

2. Tomczyk vs. Ekström - Ekström had a 0.5 second lead in the first lap and extended it to 0.7 seconds in the second lap, but at the pit stop it was nearly equal again. Ekström lost most of his lead. On lap 4, Ekström had a 0.5 second lead. For lap 5, it was down to 0.4. In the last lap, Tomczyk nearly came back and won. He lost by 0.090 seconds. Ekström moves forward. 

3. Green vs. Rockenfeller - It was basically neck and neck through the first lap. Green had a slight lead. His lead grew to 0.3 seconds in the second lap. Green still had the lead after the pit stop. Green kept the lead through the race and won by 0.3 seconds. 

4. Farfus vs. Spengler - Spengler faster by 0.4 seconds in first lap. It was over 0.8 seconds in the second lap, and 1.1 seconds in the third lap. At the pit stop, there was something wrong with the air in Farfus's pit, and he did not get new tires. That gave Spengler a nearly 2 second lead. Spengler won by 3.5 seconds. 

Half Final

In this round, the two losing drivers will share the third place position on the podium. The layout is the same as before with six laps and a pit stop

1. Paffett vs. Ekström - Ekström had a half second lead in the first lap. He pulled the lead out to 0.8 seconds in the second lap. On the third lap, it was over a second. He had nearly 2 seconds on Paffett by lap 4. It was no contest. Ekström won by 1.7 seconds. An Audi will be on either the first or second step of the podium

2. Green vs. Spengler - A close race with Green leading by 0.17 in the first lap. Green kept pulling though. The difference was 0.5 seconds at the pit stop. But Green had a problem and stalled the car. Spengler was able to pull ahead after the pit stop. But Spengler screwed up a corner on the final lap. Green won by half a second. It was a great, close race. 

Final

Like in the quarter final, there was a delay due to rain. The final would be slightly different. There would be two, six-lap races with pit stops. The drivers would switch sides of the track between races. The winning driver in the first race would keep his lead in the second

1. Ekström vs. Green - This decides who is the best - Audi versus Mercedes. There was a significant amount of water on the course. There was just 0.033 between them in the first lap. Ekström was leading. Ekström pulled out a 0.2 second lead in the second lap and basically the same in the third. Ekström had a problem during the pit stop. It took too long to pit the left rear tire on, and Green pulled away. It allowed green to pull out a 1.7 second lead. Green won by almost 2 seconds. If it were not for the messed up pit stop, it would have been a much closer race. 

The two switched sides and raced again. Green was able to start with his lead. Ekström would have to regain two seconds over six laps to win. The difference was one second for the first lap. The difference was 0.58 seconds in the second lap. At the pit stop, the difference was 0.03 seconds. Green had a problem in the pit stop, and Ekström was able to take the lead. Ekström pulled out a 1.5 second lead and won. 

That gave Ekström the first place finish, Green second place and Paffett and Spengler shared third place. 

DTM Takes on Challenge in Munich Olympic Stadium