2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race

2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race
The Mercedes Arena complex debuted in 2002.
Race Information
Date	4 August 2002
No.	49
Event	Großer Preis der Tourenwagen 2002
Location	Nürburgring Sprint Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Format	30 km / 15 min (Qualifikationslauf)
Lap length	3.625 km (2.249 mi)
Distance	9 laps / 32.625 km (20.272 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Uwe Alzen
Team	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:26.773
Fastest Lap
Driver	Jean Alesi
Team	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:26.741 on lap 4
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Uwe Alzen	Laurent Aïello	Bernd Schneider
Winner Team	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes
Time	13:11.682
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2002 Lausitzring Feature Race		2002 Nürburgring Feature Race

The 2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race, formally known as the Großer Preis der Tourenwagen 2002 Qualifikationslauf, was the thirteenth race of the 2002 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged on the Nürburgring Sprint circuit in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany on 4 August 2002. The race would see Uwe Alzen sweep to his first win of the campaign from pole position, having resisted a late challenge from championship leader Laurent Aïello.

Qualifying for the qualifying race had seen Alzen secure his second career pole, albeit after a series of exchanges with Aïello and Bernd Schneider throughout the session. The former German pilot would win the battle by 0.080s from Aïello, with Scheider a further tenth back, while Alain Menu headed the Opel challenge from fifth behind Marcel Fässler.

The start of the race saw Alzen ace his getaway, while Aïello had to fend off the attentions of Schneider on the run to the first corner. The Frenchman duly won the duel on the brakes to secure the position as, at the back of the field, Jean Alesi was turned around at the first corner.

The rest of the opening tour proved fairly clean, barring a spin for Michael Bartels in the middle of the new Mercedes complex after contact with Bernd Mayländer. Out front, meanwhile, Alzen would fail to break away from Aïello, resulting in the top six all queuing behind the #5 Mercedes.

Indeed, Aïello had several looks at passing the black Warsteiner Mercedes, with Schneider having to defend from Fässler behind, while Alain Menu and Christian Abt remained a threat in fifth and sixth. Indeed, it was only when Fässler relented that Schneider was clear to attack Aïello, while Abt and Menu would fall away from the group while fighting between themselves.

The dogfight for victory would last through to the chequered flag, with Alzen placing his car perfectly to deny Aïello a lunge to claim victory. Aïello finished second after a late lunge around the outside of the final corner on the final tour just fell short of taking the lead, while Schneider claimed third ahead of Fässler. Behind, the Abt/Menu fight drew in the rest of the top ten in the closing stages, and would end with contact between Karl Wendlinger and Thomas Jäger.

Background

Laurent Aïello had retained the lead in the Championship as the sixth weekend came to a close, although his advantage had been reduced to twenty-one points. Indeed, defending champion Bernd Schneider had inched closer to the Frenchman after his first win of the campaign, which had also put him four ahead of Mattias Ekström in third. Jean Alesi was next up in fourth ahead of Christian Abt, while Manuel Reuter had trebled his points for the season and moved off the foot of the scorers list.

Likewise, Team Abt Sportsline still held the initiative in the Teams' Championship, although their advantage had been cut to fourteen points as the field left the Lausitzring. Vodafone AMG-Mercedes had been the team to do the damage after Schneider's victory, which had also moved them 21 clear of Team Abt in third. Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes were next up in fourth ahead of OPC Euroteam, while OPC Team Phoenix had risen to seventh after their increasingly rare double score.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race is displayed below:

2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Livery
1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2002
2	Jean Alesi	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2002
3	Laurent Aïello	Team Abt Sportsline	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2002
4	Karl Wendlinger	Team Abt	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2002
5	Uwe Alzen	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2002
6	Marcel Fässler	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2002
7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Phoenix	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2002
8	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Team Phoenix	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2002
9	Mattias Ekström	Team Abt	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2002
10	Christian Abt	Team Abt Sportsline	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2002
11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
12	Peter Dumbreck	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
14	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Holzer	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2002
15	Michael Bartels	OPC Team Holzer	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2002
16	Bernd Mayländer	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
17	Patrick Huisman	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
18	Alain Menu	OPC Euroteam	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2001
19	Yves Olivier	OPC Euroteam	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM 2001
23	Martin Tomczyk	Team Abt Sportsline Junior	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2002
24	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
42	Christijan Albers	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race are outlined below:

2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	5	Uwe Alzen	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	1:26.773	—	150.392 km/h	1
2nd	3	Laurent Aïello	Team Abt Sportsline	1:26.853	+0.080s	150.253 km/h	2
3rd	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	1:27.014	+0.241s	149.975 km/h	3
4th	6	Marcel Fässler	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	1:27.025	+0.252s	149.956 km/h	4
5th	18	Alain Menu	OPC Euroteam	1:27.314	+0.541s	149.460 km/h	5
6th	10	Christian Abt	Team Abt Sportsline	1:27.473	+0.700s	149.188 km/h	6
7th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Phoenix	1:27.535	+0.762s	149.083 km/h	7
8th	12	Peter Dumbreck	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:27.572	+0.799s	149.020 km/h	8
9th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:27.914	+1.141s	148.440 km/h	9
10th	4	Karl Wendlinger	Team Abt	1:27.923	+1.150s	148.425 km/h	10
11th	15	Michael Bartels	OPC Team Holzer	1:27.983	+1.210s	148.324 km/h	11
12th	14	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Holzer	1:28.055	+1.282s	148.202 km/h	12
13th	16	Bernd Mayländer	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	1:28.128	+1.355s	148.080 km/h	13
14th	24	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:28.304	+1.531s	147.784 km/h	14
15th	42	Christijan Albers	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:28.433	+1.660s	147.569 km/h	15
16th	19	Yves Olivier	OPC Euroteam	1:28.437	+1.664s	147.562 km/h	16
17th	23	Martin Tomczyk	Team Abt Sportsline Junior	1:28.818	+2.045s	146.929 km/h	17
18th	2	Jean Alesi	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	1:28.976	+2.203s	146.668 km/h	18
19th	17	Patrick Huisman	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	1:30.675	+3.902s	143.920 km/h	19
20th	8	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Team Phoenix	1:31.726	+4.953s	142.271 km/h	20
21st	9	Mattias Ekström	Team Abt	1:32.761	+5.988s	140.684 km/h	21
107% Time: 1:32.847
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid

The starting grid for the 2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race in shown below:

		9	Mattias Ekström	1:32.761			17	Patrick Huisman	1:30.675			23	Martin Tomczyk	1:28.818			42	Christijan Albers	1:28.433			16	Bernd Mayländer	1:28.128			15	Michael Bartels	1:27.983			11	Thomas Jäger	1:27.914			7	Manuel Reuter	1:27.535			18	Alain Menu	1:27.314			1	Bernd Schneider	1:27.014			5	Uwe Alzen	1:26.773
						8	Joachim Winkelhock		1:31.726		2	Jean Alesi		1:28.976		19	Yves Olivier		1:28.437		24	Stefan Mücke		1:28.304		14	Timo Scheider		1:28.055		4	Karl Wendlinger		1:27.923		12	Peter Dumbreck		1:27.572		10	Christian Abt		1:27.473		6	Marcel Fässler		1:27.025		3	Laurent Aïello		1:26.853

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race is displayed below:

2002 Nürburgring Qualifying Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	5	Uwe Alzen	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	9	13:11.682		3
2nd	3	Laurent Aïello	Team Abt Sportsline	9	+0.206s		2
3rd	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	9	+0.513s		1
4th	6	Marcel Fässler	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	9	+1.087s
5th	10	Christian Abt	Team Abt Sportsline	9	+5.484s
6th	4	Karl Wendlinger	Team Abt Sportsline	9	+6.115s
7th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	9	+6.697s
8th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Phoenix	9	+7.233s
9th	14	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Holzer	9	+8.091s
10th	23	Martin Tomczyk	Team Abt Sportsline Junior	9	+9.799s
11th	2	Jean Alesi	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	9	+10.506s	1:26.741
12th	24	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	9	+12.975s
13th	8	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Team Phoenix	9	+13.601s
14th	17	Patrick Huisman	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	9	+14.992s
15th	19	Yves Olivier	OPC Euroteam	9	+16.539s
16th	9	Mattias Ekström	Team Abt	9	+17.954s
17th	12	Peter Dumbreck	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	9	+19.300s
18th	42	Christijan Albers	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	9	+22.190s
19th	15	Michael Bartels	OPC Team Holzer	9	+22.610s
20th	18	Alain Menu	OPC Euroteam	9	+27.298s
21st*	16	Bernd Mayländer	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	5	Retired
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
• * Mayländer was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 75% of the race distance.

Milestones

• Uwe Alzen claimed his seventh career victory.
• HWA Team secured their 25th win as an entrant.
  • Mercedes claimed their 27th victory as a manufacturer.

Standings

Laurent Aïello had enhanced his lead in the championship after the opening battle of the Nürburgring, having moved 22 ahead of closest challenger Bernd Schneider. Schneider himself had enhanced his hold on second, moving five ahead of Mattias Ekström, while Jean Alesi was a distant fourth. Christian Abt then completed the top five, while race winner Uwe Alzen had made the most ground, having leapt from eleventh to seventh.

In the Teams' Championship there was little change to the order, with Team Abt Sportsline having opened out their advantage to fifteen points. Vodafone AMG-Mercedes were their closest challengers in second, while their sister teams Team Abt and Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes were behind in third and fourth respectively.

2002 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Laurent Aïello 56 ◄0 2nd Bernd Schneider 34 ◄0 3rd Mattias Ekström 29 ◄0 4th Jean Alesi 20 ◄0 5th Christian Abt 13 ◄0 6th Marcel Fässler 8 ◄0 7th Uwe Alzen 7 ▲4 8th Alain Menu 6 ▼1 9th Martin Tomczyk 5 ▼1 10th Christijan Albers 5 ▼1 11th Timo Scheider 5 ▼1 12th Joachim Winkelhock 3 ◄0 13th Karl Wendlinger 3 ◄0 14th Manuel Reuter 3 ◄0 15th Michael Bartels 1 ◄0

2002 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Team Abt Sportsline 69 ◄0 2nd Vodafone AMG-Mercedes 54 ◄0 3rd Team Abt 32 ◄0 4th Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes 15 ◄0 5th OPC Euroteam 6 ◄0 6th OPC Team Holzer 6 ◄0 7th OPC Team Phoenix 6 ◄0 8th Team Abt Sportsline Junior 5 ◄0 9th Service 24h AMG-Mercedes 5 ◄0 10th Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes 0 ◄0 11th OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes 0 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

• Liveries: byggxx, 'Rennwagen (2002)', dtm.fandom.com/de, (DTM Wiki/de, 2015), https://dtm.fandom.com/de/wiki/Kategorie:Rennwagen_(2002), (Accessed 29/05/2020)

References: