Adenau, 17 August, 2003
In the seventh season round of the DTM at the sprint circuit of the
Nürburgring, victory went to Abt-Audi driver Laurent Aiello. At the finish, the
DTM-champion had an advantage of 1.387 seconds and moved up from
seventh to fourth place in the drivers’ standings. Team-mate Mattias
Ekström, who had claimed pole-position in the first night-qualifying in history
of the DTM, finished fourth, Karl Wendlinger was eleventh. Audi Junior Peter
Terting was still classified 18th in spite of a retirement. A suspension part
on the left rear wheel on the youngster’s Abt-Audi TT-R broke during the race
after having been damaged in a collision with an opponent in the earlier
stages. The second Audi Junior, Martin Tomczyk, was in a promising fourth
position, but then had to retire with gearbox problems. Christian Abt’s race
also ended in the pits after 13 laps with a broken gearbox.
The race at a glance
Weather
overcast, slightly windy,
22 degrees Celsius
Spectators
85,000
- Start
#5 Ekström and #1 Aiello have a good start, Aiello takes the lead before the
first corner,
#14 Tomczyk retains fourth place in spite of contact. The rear bodywork of
his Abt-Audi TT-R comes loose.
#2 Abt spins, he drops back to 21st place.
#6 Wendlinger 14th place,
#15 Terting is 18th.
1st lap
#14 Tomczyk is overtaken by Schneider, but can counter immediately and
remains fourth
7th lap
#5 Ekström at the first mandatory pit stop,
#1 Aiello in the lead from #14 Tomczyk
8th lap
#14 Tomczyk and #1 Aiello at first mandatory pit stop
9th lap
#6 Wendlinger pit stop, duel #15 Terting with Schneider
10th lap
#1 Aiello and #5 Ekström behind drivers who have not made their pit stop in
fourth and fifth place
#15 Terting the last Audi driver for the first mandatory pit stop
11th lap
#5 Ekström is overtaken by Albers
13th lap
After the first range of mandatory pit stops, the Audi drivers are in the
following positions:
#1 Aiello 1st,
#5 Ekström 3rd,
#2 Abt 13th,
#14 Tomczyk 14th,
#6 Wendlinger 16th and
#15 Terting 20th
14th lap
#15 Tomczyk into the pits, retires
15th lap
#5 Ekström overtaken by Schneider
16th lap
#2 Abt retires in the pits
17th lap
#15 Terting overtakes Mayländer, is 18th again
21st lap
#1 Aiello and #5 Ekström for the second mandatory pit stop
24th lap
#1 Aiello is leading from Albers and Schneider
25th lap
#6 Wendlinger for second mandatory pit stop
33rd lap
#6 Wendlinger in hard fights, is 13th at the end of the lap
35th lap
#15 Terting into the pits, retires
#1 Aiello remains dominantly in the lead
40. Runde
#5 Ekström sets the fastest times, is closing up on Schneider
Finish
victory for #1 Aiello, #5 Ekström is fourth, #6 Wendlinger is eleventh
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