2003 Norisring Race

2003 Norisring Race
The Norisring returned for 2002.
Race Information
Date	22 June 2003
No.	61 (5 of 2003)
Event	ADAC Norisring Trophäe 2003
Location	Norisring Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
Format	165 km / 70 min (Championship Race)
Lap length	2.300 km (1.429 mi)
Distance	72 laps / 165.600 km (102.899 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Bernd Schneider
Team	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes
Time	48.991
Fastest Lap
Driver	Bernd Schneider
Team	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes
Time	49.240 on lap 44
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Christijan Albers	Marcel Fässler	Bernd Schneider
Winner Team	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:00:50.599
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2003 Lausitzring Race		2003 Donington Park Race

The 2003 Norisring Race, otherwise known as the ADAC Norisring Trophäe 2003, was the fifth round of the 2003 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Norisring in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, on 22 June 2003. The race would see Christijan Albers claim his third win in dominant fashion, after teammate Bernd Schneider lost a handsome lead due to a slow stop.

Qualifying had seen Schneider storm to pole position for the second race in a row, topping both the normal session and Super Pole to beat former teammate Jean Alesi by 0.090s. The second row saw their teammates Albers and Marcel Fässler claim their positions, while Mattias Ekström and Laurent Aïello shared row three in the first of the Abt-Audis.

The start of the race saw Alesi make a huge mistake, jumping the lights to storm into the lead of the race, with Schendier slotting into second. Behind, Albers would secure third ahead of Fässler, with the rest of the field making it through the infamous first hairpin without issue.

The race quickly settled in the early laps, with Fässler being passed by Ekström for fourth, while Katsutomo Kaneishi was spun out at the start of the second race. Alesi, meanwhile, was slapped with a drive-through penalty at the end of lap three for jumping the start, which he served two laps later and dropped to the back of the field.

The first stops came at the end of lap eight, with Martin Tomczyk leading the delayed Alesi into the pits when the pit window opened. Ekström, meanwhile, would be the first of the leading drivers to serve his first stop two laps later, and duly dropped behind Fässler when the Swiss racer made his stop two laps after him.

Albers and Schneider, meanwhile, would remain out until the mid-teens, with Albers stopping before his more experienced teammate on lap sixteen. Schneider then had an issue during his stop two laps later as he tried to rejoin the circuit, with Mercedes having to lift his car back up again and inspect it before sending him back out.

Albers duly emerged in the de jure lead ahead of Fässler, while Peter Dumbreck enjoyed some time leading the race for Opel before making his stop. Elsewhere, Ekström was forced to stop at the exit of the first hairpin after a catastrophic engine failure, while after the first round of stops Schneider found himself in fifth behind Dumbreck and Aïello.

Shortly before the second round of stops Schneider managed to force his way past Aïello, taking advantage of the fact that the Frenchman had used the best of his Dunlop tyres trying and failing to move ahead of Dumbreck. The German racer then jumped Dumbreck during the second round of stops to move back into third, although he was too far back to challenge the lead duo.

Indeed, the closing stages saw little movement in to the order at the head of the field, with Albers controlling his pace to secure his third win of the campaign. Fässler duly claimed second ahead of Schneider, while Dumbreck claimed fourth ahead of a charging Alesi. The #10 Mercedes was chased across the line by Aïello and Christian Abt, while Joachim Winkelhock completed the scorers in eighth.

Background

After another two week break the 2003 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters arrived at the paddock of one of the most popular circuits on the calendar, the comparatively tiny Norisring in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Again competing for the Norisring Trophy, the DTM field would find themselves at an unchanged Norisring, which served as the de facto home round for Abt-Audi in the season. Likewise, the entry list was unchanged after the Ingolstadt based squad had managed to rebuild two cars for Laurent Aïello and Christian Abt after their heavy pre-race accidents at the Lausitzring.

Schneider Surge

Bernd Schneider used his second victory of the campaign to move back to the top of the Championship, the German ace having moved onto 29 points for the season. Teammate Christijan Albers made way for him, slipping three off the lead, while Marcel Fässler remained a title contender in third, eight off the lead. Defending Champion Laurent Aïello was next up in fourth, ten off the lead, and ahead of Peter Dumbreck, with ten drivers having scored in 2003.

The Teams' Championship saw Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes extend their lead as they continued their march to their fourth Teams' Championship, the German squad having moved onto 55 points. Sister squad AMG-Mercedes were next up in second, 23 off the lead, while OPC Team Phoenix found themselves ahead of Hasseröder Abt-Audi in third. Elsewhere, AMG-Mercedes continued to head the charge in the Manufacturers' Championship, 50 points clear of closest challengers Abt-Audi, and 55 ahead of Opel in third.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2003 Norisring Race is displayed below:

2003 Norisring Race Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Livery
1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2003
2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2003
3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2003
4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2003
5	Mattias Ekström	PlayStation 2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2003
6	Karl Wendlinger	PlayStation 2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2003
7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM
8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM
9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2003
10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2003
11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2002
12	Bernd Mayländer	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2002
14	Martin Tomczyk	S Line Audi Junior Team	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2002
15	Peter Terting	S Line Audi Junior Team	Abt-Audi	TT-R 2002
16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM
17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM
18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM
19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM
20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	ARTA AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2002
24	Gary Paffett	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
42	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM 2001
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2003 Norisring Race are outlined below:

2003 Norisring Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	48.991	—	169.010 km/h	1
2nd	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	49.081	+0.090s	168.700 km/h	2
3rd	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	49.213	+0.222s	168.248 km/h	3
4th	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	49.348	+0.357s	167.787 km/h	4
5th	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	49.378	+0.387s	167.686 km/h	5
6th	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	49.563	+0.572s	167.060 km/h	6
7th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	49.696	+0.705s	166.613 km/h	7
8th	16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	49.772	+0.781s	166.358 km/h	8
9th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	49.959	+0.968s	165.735 km/h	9
10th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:00.780	+11.789s	136.229 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	48.812	—	169.630 km/h	SP
2nd	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	48.815	+0.003s	169.619 km/h	SP
3rd	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	48.942	+0.130s	169.179 km/h	SP
4th	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	48.994	+0.182s	169.000 km/h	SP
5th	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	49.028	+0.216s	168.883 km/h	SP
6th	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	49.073	+0.261s	168.728 km/h	SP
7th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	49.131	+0.319s	168.529 km/h	SP
8th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	49.267	+0.455s	168.063 km/h	SP
9th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	49.284	+0.472s	168.005 km/h	SP
10th	16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	49.303	+0.491s	167.941 km/h	SP
11th	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	49.377	+0.565s	167.689 km/h	11
12th	20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	ARTA AMG-Mercedes	49.422	+0.610s	167.536 km/h	12
13th	17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	49.423	+0.611s	167.533 km/h	13
14th	6	Karl Wendlinger	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	49.464	+0.652s	167.394 km/h	14
15th	8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	49.481	+0.669s	167.336 km/h	15
16th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	49.519	+0.707s	167.208 km/h	16
17th	12	Bernd Mayländer	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	49.586	+0.774s	166.982 km/h	17
18th	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	49.680	+0.868s	166.666 km/h	18
19th	42	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	49.680	+0.868s	166.666 km/h	19
20th	24	Peter Terting	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	49.686	+0.874s	166.646 km/h	20
21st	15	Peter Terting	S-Line Audi Junior Team	49.745	+0.933s	166.448 km/h	21
107% Time: 52.228
Source:

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

Grid

The starting grid for the 2003 Norisring Race in shown below:

		15	Peter Terting	49.745			42	Stefan Mücke	49.680			12	Bernd Mayländer	49.586			8	Alain Menu	49.481			17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	49.423			14	Martin Tomczyk	49.377			7	Manuel Reuter	49.959			19	Peter Dumbreck	49.696			5	Mattias Ekström	49.378			4	Christijan Albers	49.213			3	Bernd Schneider	48.991
						24	Gary Paffett		49.686		18	Timo Scheider		49.680		11	Thomas Jäger		49.519		6	Karl Wendlinger		49.464		20	Katsutomo Kaneishi		49.422		2	Christian Abt		1:00.780		16	Joachim Winkelhock		49.772		1	Laurent Aïello		49.563		9	Marcel Fässler		49.348		10	Jean Alesi		49.081

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2003 Norisring Race is displayed below:

2003 Norisring Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	72	1:00:50.599		10
2nd	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	72	+5.753s		8
3rd	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	72	+12.081s	49.240	6
4th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	72	+19.332s		5
5th	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	72	+30.169s		4
6th	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	72	+31.704s		3
7th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	72	+34.116s		2
8th	16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	72	+51.050s		1
9th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	71	+1 Lap
10th	8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	71	+1 Lap
11th	6	Karl Wendlinger	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	71	+1 Lap
12th	15	Peter Terting	S-Line Audi Junior Team	71	+1 Lap
13th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	71	+1 Lap
14th	17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	71	+1 Lap
15th	42	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	71	+1 Lap
16th	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	70	+2 Laps
17th*	20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	ARTA AMG-Mercedes	63	Accident
18th*	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	61	Spin
Ret	24	Gary Paffett	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	33	Retired
Ret	12	Bernd Mayländer	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	31	Retired
Ret	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	17	Engine
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
• * Kaneishi and Tomczyk were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 70% of the race distance.

Milestones

• Third career victory for Christijan Albers.
• 33rd win for HWA Team as an entrant.
  • Mercedes secured their 35th victory as a manufacturer.

Standings

Victory for the third time moved Christijan Albers back to the top of the Championship, the Dutchman having moved back ahead of teammate Bernd Schneider and onto 36 points at the halfway point of the campaign. Schneider himself had moved onto 35 points, leaving him just a point behind, while Marcel Fässler had retained third and was still in the hunt just seven off the lead. Peter Dumbreck and Laurent Aïello then completed the top five, with eleven of the twenty drivers to have entered the DTM in 2003 having scored points in the first half of the season.

In the Teams' Championship Vodaone/ES AMG-Mercedes were in total control as the season reached its halfway point, the German squad having scored 71 points in five races. Sister squad AMG-Mercedes were in second, 27 off the lead, while OPC Team Phoenix led the anti-HWA charge in third on 30 points. Mercedes, meanwhile, reigned supreme in the Manufacturers' Championship at the halfway point, the Stuttgart manufacture having scored 115 points and five wins out of five.

 

2003 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Christijan Albers 36 ▲1 2nd Bernd Schneider 35 ▼1 3rd Marcel Fässler 29 ◄0 4th Peter Dumbreck 23 ▲2 5th Laurent Aïello 22 ▼1 6th Mattias Ekström 17 ▼1 7th Jean Alesi 15 ◄0 8th Timo Scheider 7 ◄0 9th Alain Menu 7 ◄0 10th Christian Abt 3 ◄0 11th Joachim Winkelhock 1 ▲4

2003 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes 71 ◄0 2nd AMG-Mercedes 44 ◄0 3rd OPC Team Phoenix 30 ◄0 4th Hasseröder Abt-Audi 25 ◄0 5th PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi 17 ◄0 6th OPC Team Holzer 7 ◄0 7th OPC Euroteam 1 ◄0 2003 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st AMG-Mercedes 115 ◄0 2nd Abt-Audi 42 ◄0 3rd Opel 38 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

• Liveries: byggxx, 'Rennwagen (2003)', dtm.fandom.com/de, (DTM Wiki/de, 2021), https://dtm.fandom.com/de/wiki/Kategorie:Rennwagen_(2003), (Accessed 03/07/2021)

References: