2003 Spielberg Race

2003 Spielberg Race
The A1-Ring returned for 2003.
Race Information
Date	7 September 2003
No.	64 (8 of 2003)
Event	DTM Spielberg 2003
Location	A1-Ring Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Format	170 km / 70 min (Championship Race)
Lap length	4.326 km (2.688 mi)
Distance	40 laps / 173.040 km (107.522 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Marcel Fässler
Team	AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:27.212
Fastest Lap
Driver	Bernd Schneider
Team	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:27.226 on lap 28
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Marcel Fässler	Bernd Schneider	Christijan Albers
Winner Team	AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:02:53.685
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2003 Nürburgring II Race		2003 Zandvoort Race

The 2003 Spielberg Race, formally known as the DTM Spielberg 2003, was the eighth round of the 2003 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the A1-Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria, on 7 September 2003. The race would see Marcel Fässler secure his first win of the campaign, as AMG-Mercedes secured the first ever Manufacturers' Championship with two rounds to spare.

Fässler would also be the man to beat in qualifying, with the Swiss ace claiming pole position in Super Pole for the third time in 2003, defeating teammate Jean Alesi by 0.032s. Christijan Albers was next up in third ahead of Laurent Aïello, while Championship leader Bernd Schneider secured fifth.

Fässler made a barnstorming start to the race, screaming into an unopposed lead as Alesi made a miserable getaway from second. Alesi duly tumbled down to eighth as the field flew into the first corner, with everyone miraculously making it through the first corner without issue.

Instead it was the run to turn three that the race kicked off, with Christian Abt and Peter Dumbreck colliding, resulting in Abt spinning across the circuit in the middle of the pack. Alesi was left with no where to go and collided heavily with Abt, writing off both cars, while Dumbreck limped back to the pits to retire as the Safety car was scrambled.

After three laps the race resumed, with Fässler easing into the lead ahead of the now second placed Albers, with Aïello in tow. Schneider would harass his former rival for position with Mattias Ekström slaking him, while Manuel Reuter was left as the lead Opel in ninth.

Schneider and Aïello would fight hard for third during the early laps before the stops, allowing Fässler and Albers to establish a lead. Ekström duly became the first of the leaders to stop at the end of lap seven, with Fässler and Schneider pitting two laps later with Schneider gaining a huge amount of ground.

Indeed, Schneider rejoined right underneath Fässler's rear wing, and would instantly attack his stablemate for the de facto lead as Albers made his stop. The Dutchman rejoined behind both of them as Aïello assumed control of the race, before the Frenchman's stop a lap after Albers' saw him drop behind Ekström.

Once the last of the first stop had been completed Fässler would reassume the lead, with Schendier still harassing him for all he was worth. It was not long, however, before the lead group began making their second stops shortly after half-distance, although Schneider would lose ground in that exchange but held second.

The third and final phase of the race saw Schneider claw back the gap back to Fässler, although the German racer would not manage to usurp the Swiss racer for victory. Indeed, Fässler was able to claim the win by six tenths from Schneider having resisted more late-race pressure, while Albers was a comfortably third ahead of Aïello and Ekström. Gary Paffett was next up having led the race between the stops, Alain Menu led the Opel challenge in seventh, while Martin Tomczyk secured his first points of the campaign in eighth.

Background

A three week break would split the trip to the A1-Ring from the previous round at the Nürburgring, with the trip into Austria heralding the start of the final phase of the season. Indeed, three races in four weeks would conclude the 2003 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, beginning with a blast around an unchanged A1-Ring in the Styrian Mountains. The entry list was likewise unchanged for the trip to Austria, amid news that the DTM would allow a mix of the current generation of cars, and new saloon based designs to race in 2004.

A Single Divide

Bernd Schneider retained his lead in the Championship after the seventh round of the season, although the German ace had seen his lead cut to a single point after his podium finish. Christijan Albers had done the damage to his teammate's lead, setting up an interesting final third of the season, with third placed Marcel Fässler eleven off the lead. Behind, Laurent Aïello had leapt into fourth after his first victory of the campaign, with Jean Alesi occupying fifth.

Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes would leave the Nürburgring still with a daunting lead in the Teams' Championship, the German squad just three off the 100 point mark after seven rounds. Second place was occupied by sister squad AMG-Mercedes, while OPC Team Phoenix were a point ahead of Hasseröder Abt-Audi in the fight for third. Elsewhere, Mercedes-AMG had continued their march to the Manufacturers' Championship despite failing to win a race for the first time in 2003, having moved 103 points clear of Abt-Audi in second.

Entry List

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

2003 Spielberg 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 Spielberg Race are outlined below:

2003 Spielberg Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	1:27.212	—	178.571 km/h	1
2nd	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	1:27.244	+0.032s	178.506 km/h	2
3rd	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	1:27.412	+0.200s	178.163 km/h	3
4th	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:27.587	+0.375s	177.807 km/h	4
5th	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	1:27.680	+0.468s	177.618 km/h	5
6th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:27.877	+0.665s	177.220 km/h	6
7th	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	1:27.937	+0.725s	177.099 km/h	7
8th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	1:27.997	+0.785s	176.978 km/h	8
9th	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	1:28.091	+0.879s	176.789 km/h	9
10th	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	1:37.095	+9.883s	160.395 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	1:27.019	—	178.967 km/h	SP
2nd	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:27.154	+0.135s	178.690 km/h	SP
3rd	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	1:27.166	+0.147s	178.665 km/h	SP
4th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	1:27.211	+0.192s	178.573 km/h	SP
5th	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	1:27.290	+0.271s	178.412 km/h	SP
6th	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	1:27.309	+0.290s	178.412 km/h	SP
7th	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	1:27.318	+0.299s	178.354 km/h	SP
8th	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	1:27.440	+0.421s	178.106 km/h	SP
9th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:27.625	+0.606s	177.730 km/h	SP
10th	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	1:27.632	+0.613s	177.715 km/h	SP
11th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	1:27.823	+0.804s	177.329 km/h	11
12th	8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	1:27.831	+0.812s	177.313 km/h	12
13th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:28.079	+1.060s	176.813 km/h	13
14th	17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	1:28.079	+1.060s	176.813 km/h	14
15th	16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	1:28.328	+1.309s	176.315 km/h	15
16th	24	Gary Paffett	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:28.331	+1.312s	176.309 km/h	16
17th	15	Peter Terting	S-Line Audi Junior Team	1:28.468	+1.449s	176.036 km/h	17
18th	42	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:28.563	+1.544s	175.847 km/h	18
19th	6	Karl Wendlinger	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	1:28.592	+1.573s	175.790 km/h	19
20th	12	Bernd Mayländer	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:28.780	+1.761s	175.417 km/h	20
21st	20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	ARTA AMG-Mercedes	1:29.765	+2.746s	173.493 km/h	21
107% Time: 1:33.110
Source:

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

Grid

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

		20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	1:29.765			6	Karl Wendlinger	1:28.592			15	Peter Terting	1:28.468			16	Joachim Winkelhock	1:28.328			11	Thomas Jäger	1:28.079			7	Manuel Reuter	1:27.823			18	Timo Scheider	1:28.091			5	Mattias Ekström	1:27.937			3	Bernd Schneider	1:27.680			4	Christijan Albers	1:27.412			9	Marcel Fässler	1:27.212
						12	Bernd Mayländer		1:28.780		42	Stefan Mücke		1:28.563		24	Gary Paffett		1:28.331		17	Jeroen Bleekemolen		1:28.079		8	Alain Menu		1:27.831		14	Martin Tomczyk		1:37.095		19	Peter Dumbreck		1:27.997		2	Christian Abt		1:27.877		1	Laurent Aïello		1:27.587		10	Jean Alesi		1:27.244

Race

Results

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

2003 Spielberg Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	40	1:02:53.685		10
2nd	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	40	+0.683s	1:27.226	8
3rd	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	40	+5.835s		6
4th	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	40	+9.878s		5
5th	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	40	+23.820s		4
6th	24	Gary Paffett	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	40	+30.042s		3
7th	8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	40	+35.852s		2
8th	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	40	+36.393s		1
9th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	40	+43.717s
10th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	40	+44.449s
11th	42	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	40	+48.174s
12th	17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	40	+55.554s
13th	15	Peter Terting	S-Line Audi Junior Team	40	+55.935s
14th	16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	40	+59.369s
15th	12	Bernd Mayländer	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	40	+1:04.109
16th	6	Karl Wendlinger	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	40	+1:04.413
17th	20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	ARTA AMG-Mercedes	40	+1:25.447
Ret	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	1	Damage
Ret	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	1	Damage
Ret	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	0	Collision
Ret	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	0	Collision
Source:

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

Milestones

• AMG-Mercedes declared as the 2003 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship for Manufacturers' Champions.
• Fifth and final victory for Marcel Fässler.
• 35th win for HWA Team as an entrant.
  • Mercedes secured their 37th victory as a manufacturer.

Standings

Bernd Schneider had inched away atop the Championship with two races to go, the German racer having moved three clear of his closest challenger. Indeed, Christijan Albers had dropped back from his teammate after finishing behind him on the podium, with those two remaining as the main protagonists with a round to go. Behind, Marcel Fässler had remained in the hunt in third after his maiden victory, nine off the lead, while defending Champion Laurent Aïello was also still in the chase, but would need Schneider and Albers to fail to score and win both of the remaining races.

The Teams' Championship would go on for at least one more round, although it was only a question of which of HWA's two teams would take the squad's fourth straight title. Their lead squad sponsored by Vodafone/ES led the charge with 111 points, while sister squad AMG-Mercedes were 35 behind, with 36 points left to fight for. The fight for the Manufacturers' Championship was over with AMG-Mercedes declared as the Champions with two rounds to spare, with the Stuttgart squad 120 points clear of Abt-Audi, with only 78 to fight for.

 

2003 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Bernd Schneider 57 ◄0 2nd Christijan Albers 54 ◄0 3rd Marcel Fässler 48 ◄0 4th Laurent Aïello 37 ◄0 5th Mattias Ekström 32 ▲1 6th Jean Alesi 28 ▼1 7th Peter Dumbreck 26 ◄0 8th Timo Scheider 10 ◄0 9th Alain Menu 9 ◄0 10th Gary Paffett 4 ▲3 11th Christian Abt 3 ▼1 12th Thomas Jäger 2 ▼1 13th Joachim Winkelhock 1 ▼1 14th Martin Tomczyk 1 ▲4

2003 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes 111 ◄0 2nd AMG-Mercedes 76 ◄0 3rd Hasseröder Abt-Audi 40 ▲1 4th OPC Team Phoenix 36 ▼1 5th PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi 32 ◄0 6th OPC Team Holzer 9 ◄0 7th Service 24h AMG-Mercedes 4 ▲2 8th Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes 2 ▼1 9th OPC Euroteam 1 ▼1 10th S-Line Audi Junior Team 1 ◄0 11th ARTA AMG-Mercedes 0 ◄0 2003 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st AMG-Mercedes 193 ◄0 2nd Abt-Audi 73 ◄0 3rd Opel 46 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers 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: