2002 Sachsenring Qualifying Race

2002 Sachsenring Qualifying Race
The Sachsenring in 2002 was unchanged
Race Information
Date	2 June 2002
No.	43
Event	ADAC-Preis Sachsenring 2002
Location	Sachsenring Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Saxony, Germany
Format	30 km / 15 min (Qualifikationslauf)
Lap length	3.704 km (2.302 mi)
Distance	9 laps / 33.336 km (20.714 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Laurent Aïello
Team	Team Abt Sportsline
Time	1:19.411
Fastest Lap
Driver	Karl Wendlinger
Team	Team Abt
Time	1:21.486 on lap 4
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Laurent Aïello	Alain Menu	Bernd Schneider
Winner Team	Team Abt Sportsline
Time	12:17.211
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2002 Donington Park Feature Race		2002 Sachsenring Feature Race

The 2002 Sachsenring Qualifying Race, formally known as the ADAC-Preis Sachsenring 2002 Qualifikationslauf, was the seventh round 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 charge to victory as he enhanced his early grip on the Championship lead, as Alain Menu secured second.

Qualifying for the race would see Aïello claim pole position, edging out Menu by just 0.019s after the Swiss racer had dominated the session. Behind, Bernd Schneider would lead the Mercedes charge from third ahead of Yves Olivier, with the next Mercedes in the field down in eleventh, piloted by Marcel Fässler.

The start of the race would see Aïello ease into the lead initially, only for Menu to ease alongside after blocking Schneider. However, Menu would only lead as far as turn two before Aïello elbowed his way back past, as behind Mattias Ekström and Karl Wendlinger collided to send the #4 Abt-Audi into the gravel.

Manuel Reuter was another early victim on the opening tour, having been nudged onto the grass in the middle of the pack, while one of the Mercedes stalled at the start. Out front, meanwhile, Aïello would sprint clear after Menu's early bid fo the lead, leaving the Swiss racer to fend off the attentions of Schneider.

Indeed, the opening laps would prove to be very static, with no major changes to the order once Joachim Winkelhock secured fourth from Martin Tomczyk. That was subsequently reversed at the end of lap three when Tomczyk dived back ahead, as Wendlinger came in for repairs but ultimately retired having set fastest lap.

Out front, meanwhile, Aïello would lead a rather processional race across the line to claim victory, enhancing his Championship lead. Menu was next up to claim his first podium and points ahead of Schneider, while everyone bar Wendlinger finished without too much damage.

Background

Laurent Aïello had retained the lead in the Championship in-spite of his double Donington non-score, and maintained a healthy eighteen point lead. Jean Alesi was his closest challenger leaving the UK, having moved up to second on seventeen points, while Mattias Ekström had slipped to third on sixteen. Christian Abt and Bernd Schneider then completed the top five, while Marcel Fässler had become the season's twelfth individual scorer.

In the Teams' Championship Team Abt Sportsline had maintained the initiative, having moved onto 37 points for the campaign. Vodafone AMG-Mercedes were next up in second, on 24 points for the season, while the top three was completed by Team Abt on nineteen. A fourteen point gap then heralded the arrival of Team Abt Sportsline Junior and OPC Team Holzer, while Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes and OPC Team Phoenix completed the scorers.

Entry List

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

2002 Sachsenring 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 Sachsenring Qualifying Race are outlined below:

2002 Sachsenring Qualifying Race Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	3	Laurent Aïello	Team Abt Sportsline	1:19.411	—	167.916 km/h	1
2nd	18	Alain Menu	OPC Euroteam	1:19.430	+0.019s	167.876 km/h	2
3rd	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	1:19.825	+0.414s	167.196 km/h	3
4th	19	Yves Olivier	OPC Euroteam	1:19.825	+0.414s	167.045 km/h	4
5th	4	Karl Wendlinger	Team Abt	1:19.885	+0.474s	166.919 km/h	5
6th	23	Martin Tomczyk	Team Abt Sportsline Junior	1:19.945	+0.534s	166.794 km/h	6
7th	8	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Team Phoenix	1:19.966	+0.555s	166.750 km/h	7
8th	10	Christian Abt	Team Abt Sportsline	1:19.988	+0.577s	166.705 km/h	8
9th	9	Mattias Ekström	Team Abt	1:20.072	+0.661s	166.530 km/h	9
10th	14	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Holzer	1:20.117	+0.706s	166.436 km/h	10
11th	6	Marcel Fässler	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	1:20.208	+0.797s	166.247 km/h	11
12th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Phoenix	1:20.245	+0.834s	166.171 km/h	12
13th	15	Michael Bartels	OPC Team Holzer	1:20.282	+0.871s	166.094 km/h	13
14th	12	Peter Dumbreck	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:20.320	+0.909s	166.015 km/h	14
15th	5	Uwe Alzen	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	1:20.364	+0.953s	165.925 km/h	15
16th	2	Jean Alesi	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	1:20.512	+1.101s	165.602 km/h	16
17th	42	Christijan Albers	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:20.622	+1.211s	165.394 km/h	17
18th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:20.794	+1.383s	165.041 km/h	18
19th	17	Patrick Huisman	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	1:20.986	+1.575s	164.650 km/h	19
20th	16	Bernd Mayländer	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	1:21.141	+1.730s	164.336 km/h	20
21st	24	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:21.872	+2.461s	162.868 km/h	21
107% Time: 1:24.967
Source:

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

Grid

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

		24	Stefan Mücke	1:21.872			17	Patrick Huisman	1:20.986			42	Christijan Albers	1:20.622			5	Uwe Alzen	1:20.364			15	Michael Bartels	1:20.282			6	Marcel Fässler	1:20.208			9	Mattias Ekström	1:20.072			8	Joachim Winkelhock	1:19.966			4	Karl Wendlinger	1:19.885			1	Bernd Schneider	1:19.753			3	Laurent Aïello	1:19.411
						16	Bernd Mayländer		1:21.141		11	Thomas Jäger		1:20.794		2	Jean Alesi		1:20.512		12	Peter Dumbreck		1:20.320		7	Manuel Reuter		1:20.245		14	Timo Scheider		1:20.117		10	Christian Abt		1:19.988		23	Martin Tomczyk		1:19.945		19	Yves Olivier		1:19.825		18	Alain Menu		1:19.430

Race

Results

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

2002 Sachsenring Qualifying Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	3	Laurent Aïello	Team Abt Sportsline	9	12:17.211		3
2nd	18	Alain Menu	OPC Euroteam	9	+3.051s		2
3rd	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	9	+4.018s		1
4th	23	Martin Tomczyk	Team Abt Sportsline Junior	9	+6.437s
5th	8	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Team Phoenix	9	+7.904s
6th	19	Yves Olivier	OPC Euroteam	9	+9.067s
7th	14	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Holzer	9	+9.779s
8th	10	Christian Abt	Team Abt Sportsline	9	+10.576s
9th	6	Marcel Fässler	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	9	+10.868s
10th	15	Michael Bartels	OPC Team Holzer	9	+11.748s
11th	5	Uwe Alzen	Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes	9	+12.337s
12th	12	Peter Dumbreck	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	9	+13.311s
13th	42	Christijan Albers	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	9	+14.127s
14th	9	Mattias Ekström	Team Abt	9	+14.865s
15th	11	Stefan Mücke	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	9	+20.768s
16th	2	Jean Alesi	Vodafone AMG-Mercedes	9	+17.423s
17th	24	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	9	+20.768s
18th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Phoenix	9	+21.918s
19th	16	Bernd Mayländer	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	9	+23.311s
20th	17	Patrick Huisman	OASE/CEB AMG-Mercedes	9	+24.174s
21st*	4	Karl Wendlinger	Team Abt	6	Retired	1:21.486
Source:

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

Milestones

• Laurent Aïello secured his eighth win.
• ABT Sportsline claimed their tenth victory as an entrant.
  • Abt-Audi registered their tenth victory as a manufacturer.
• Maiden podium finish for Alain Menu.
  • This was also Menu's maiden points finish.

Standings

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.

2002 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Laurent Aïello 28 ◄0 2nd Jean Alesi 17 ◄0 3rd Mattias Ekström 16 ◄0 4th Christian Abt 12 ◄0 5th Bernd Schneider 8 ◄0 6th Martin Tomczyk 5 ◄0 7th Christijan Albers 4 ◄0 8th Timo Scheider 4 ◄0 9th Karl Wendlinger 3 ◄0 10th Alain Menu 2 ▲3 11th Michael Bartels 1 ▼1 12th Manuel Reuter 1 ▼1 13th Marcel Fässler 1 ▼1

2002 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Team Abt Sportsline 40 ◄0 2nd Vodafone AMG-Mercedes 25 ◄0 3rd Team Abt 19 ◄0 4th Team Abt Sportsline Junior 5 ◄0 5th OPC Team Holzer 5 ◄0 6th Service 24h AMG-Mercedes 4 ◄0 7th OPC Team Phoenix 1 ◄0 8th OPC Euroteam 1 ▲1 9th Warsteiner AMG-Mercedes 1 ▼1

Only point scoring drivers and teams 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: