2002 Sachsenring Feature Race

2002 Sachsenring Feature Race
The Sachsenring in 2002 was unchanged
Race Information
Date	2 June 2002
No.	44
Event	ADAC-Preis Sachsenring 2002
Location	Sachsenring Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Saxony, Germany
Format	100 km / 40 min (Feature Race)
Lap length	3.704 km (2.302 mi)
Distance	28 laps / 103.712 km (64.444 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	{{{{{natp}}}}} Unknown
Team	{{{{{natpt}}}}} Unknown
Time	Unknown
Fastest Lap
Driver	Michael Bartels
Team	OPC Team Holzer
Time	1:21.221 on lap 21
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Laurent Aïello	Bernd Schneider	Alain Menu
Winner Team	Team Abt Sportsline
Time	38:55.520
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2002 Sachsenring Qualifying Race		2002 Norisring Qualifying Race

The 2002 Sachsenring Feature Race, formally known as the ADAC-Preis Sachsenring 2002 Feature Race, was the eighth race of the 2002 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Sachsenring in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Saxony, Germany on 2 June 2002. The race would see Laurent Aïello sweep to victory to enhance his grip on the Championship lead, in front of a 59,000 strong crowd.

The Qualifikationslauf was won in dominant fashion by Aïello, putting him on pole position for the Feature Race. He would be joined on the front row by Alain Menu of Opel, while Bernd Schneider was to share the second row with Martin Tomczyk.

Aïello made the best getaway at the start, easing across to block Menu into the first corner, resulting in the Swiss racer locking up as he tried to avoid the #3 Abt-Audi. Schneider also locked-up when trying to avoid the back of the #18 OPC Euroteam Opel, with the rest of the field making it through without issue.

There was, however, contact further around the opening lap, with Yves Olivier getting shoved into a slide, before Patrick Huisman had to take to the gravel to avoid a stranded Thomas Jäger. Further around Manuel Reuter would also be elbowed onto the grass as, out front, Aïello powered clear at the head of the field.

Indeed, there would be no stopping the Frenchman in the early stages, with Menu providing no resistance to Aïello as the #3 Abt-Audi continued to escape. Elsewhere, Jäger was forced into another spin after contact with stablemate Uwe Alzen at the final corner, while Stefan Mücke destroyed his radiator on the back of Jean Alesi.

The race began to settle after that, although Schneider would make several attempts to pass Menu as the pit-window loomed. Indeed, his best chance came with a lunge around the outside of the first corner, although Menu would stubbornly run the #1 Mercedes out wide and almost allow Joachim Winkelhock to sneak through.

Schneider was the first of the leaders to stop in a bid to undercut Menu, although Menu would just manage to keep ahead of the Mercedes as Schneider caught traffic Yet, he would be unable to make any ground on Aïello, who emerged from his stop at the same moment still with a comfortable advantage over the fight for second.

Winkelhock would inherit the lead after Aïello and co.s' stops, although he would still emerge behind the intense scrap for second. Indeed, Schneider would need the aid of traffic to finally pass Menu and claim a de facto second, before sprinting away in a vain bid to catch Aïello.

Elsewhere, Reuter would drop out of the race in spectacular fashion, a tyre failure sending him into the gravel at turn six. Menu, meanwhile, would find himself acting as a bottleneck for the rest of the race, with Winkelhock, Marcel Fässler, Timo Scheider, Mattias Ekström and, briefly, a wild Christian Abt trailing the Swiss racer.

Out front, meanwhile, Aïello ran unopposed to the chequered flag to claim an impressive victory, with Schneider having run out of time to close the Frenchman's lead. Behind, Menu just held on to secure third from Fässler, the latter having elbowed his way past Winkelhock late on, while Scheider rounded out the scorers in sixth, narrowly ahead of Ekström.

Background

Victory for Laurent Aïello had enhanced his lead after his fourth win of the campaign, which moved him eleven clear of his closest challenger. Indeed, Jean Alesi had failed to score and so had lost ground, as had third placed Mattias Ekström after a difficult first race. Christian Abt was next up ahead of Bernd Schneider, while Alain Menu was on the board for the first time, and had moved into the top ten.

The Teams' Championship had been likewise fairly static after the Qualifikationslauf, as Team Abt Sportsline had increased their lead by two points to fifteen points. Vodafone AMG-Mercedes had retained second, while Team Abt would likewise held station in third. Elsewhere, OPC Euroteam had added their name to the scoresheet, leaving OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes and Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes as the only non-scorers.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2002 Sachsenring Feature Race is displayed below:

2002 Sachsenring Feature 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:

Grid

The starting grid for the 2002 Sachsenring Feature Race in shown below:

		4	Karl Wendlinger*				16	Bernd Mayländer				24	Stefan Mücke				11	Thomas Jäger				42	Christijan Albers				5	Uwe Alzen				6	Marcel Fässler				14	Timo Scheider				8	Joachim Winkelhock				1	Bernd Schneider				3	Laurent Aïello
						17	Patrick Huisman				7	Manuel Reuter				2	Jean Alesi				9	Mattias Ekström				12	Peter Dumbreck				15	Michael Bartels				10	Christian Abt				19	Yves Olivier				23	Martin Tomczyk				18	Alain Menu

• * Wendlinger was unable to start the race due to damage sustained in the Qualifying Race.

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2002 Sachsenring Feature Race is displayed below:

2002 Sachsenring Feature Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	3	Laurent Aïello	Team Abt Sportsline	28	38:55.520		10
2nd	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	28	+1.499s		6
3rd	18	Alain Menu	OPC Euroteam	28	+19.841s		4
4th	6	Marcel Fässler	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	28	+20.119s		3
5th	8	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Team Phoenix	28	+21.546s		2
6th	14	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Holzer	28	+21.953s		1
7th	9	Mattias Ekström	Team Abt	28	+22.449s
8th	42	Christijan Albers	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	28	+24.188s
9th	5	Uwe Alzen	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	28	+29.372s
10th	12	Peter Dumbreck	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	28	+35.068s
11th	15	Michael Bartels	OPC Team Holzer	28	+35.543s	1:21.221
12th	19	Yves Olivier	OPC Euroteam	28	+39.485s
13th	16	Bernd Mayländer	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	28	+43.163s
14th	17	Patrick Huisman	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	28	+44.762s
15th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	28	+47.506s
16th	10	Christian Abt	Team Abt Sportsline	26	+2 Laps
Ret	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Phoenix	12	Tyre
Ret	23	Martin Tomczyk	Team Abt Sportsline Junior	11	Damage
Ret	2	Jean Alesi	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	11	Damage
Ret	24	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	2	Collision
DNS	4	Karl Wendlinger	Team Abt
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

• Laurent Aïello secured his ninth win.
• ABT Sportsline claimed their eleventh victory as an entrant.
  • Abt-Audi registered their eleventh victory as a manufacturer.
• Second and final podium finish for Alain Menu.
  • This was also Menu's last points finish.

Standings

Laurent Aïello had enhanced his lead atop the Championship after his fifth win of the campaign, moving onto 38 points for the season. That left him 21 ahead of Jean Alesi in second, while Mattias Ekström had fallen 22 behind, both having failed to score. Bernd Schneider was next up, having moved onto fourteen for the campaign, while Joachim Winkelhock had added his name to the scorers' list.

In the Teams' Championship it was Team Abt Sportsline whom led the charge, moving onto a half-century after the fourth weekend came to a close. Vodafone AMG-Mercedes had therefore slipped nineteen behind in second, while Team Abt fell 31 behind in third. There were more changes behind as OPC Euroteam leapt into fourth from eighth, while Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes and OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes were still yet to score.

2002 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Laurent Aïello 38 ◄0 2nd Jean Alesi 17 ◄0 3rd Mattias Ekström 16 ◄0 4th Bernd Schneider 14 ▲1 5th Christian Abt 12 ▼1 6th Alain Menu 6 ▲4 7th Martin Tomczyk 5 ▼1 8th Timo Scheider 5 ◄0 9th Christijan Albers 4 ▼2 10th Marcel Fässler 4 ▲3 11th Karl Wendlinger 3 ▼2 12th Joachim Winkelhock 2 ▲3 13th Michael Bartels 1 ▼2 14th Manuel Reuter 1 ▼2

2002 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Team Abt Sportsline 50 ◄0 2nd Vodafone AMG-Mercedes 31 ◄0 3rd Team Abt 19 ◄0 4th OPC Euroteam 6 ▲4 5th OPC Team Holzer 6 ◄0 6th Team Abt Sportsline Junior 5 ▼2 7th Service 24h AMG-Mercedes 4 ▼1 8th Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes 4 ▲1 9th OPC Team Phoenix 3 ▼2 10th Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes 0 ▲1 11th OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes 0 ▼1

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: