2003 Zandvoort Race

2003 Zandvoort Race
The Circuit Park Zandvoort returned for 2003.
Race Information
Date	21 September 2003
No.	65 (9 of 2003)
Event	DTM Zandvoort 2003
Location	Circuit Park Zandvoort Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands
Format	150 km / 70 min (Feature Race)
Lap length	4.307 km (2.676 mi)
Distance	36 laps / 155.052 km (96.345 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Timo Scheider
Team	OPC Team Phoenix
Time	1:35.336
Fastest Lap
Driver	Christijan Albers
Team	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:36.494 on lap 22
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Christijan Albers	Bernd Schneider	Mattias Ekström
Winner Team	Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes
Time	59:40.840
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2003 Spielberg Race		2003 Hockenheim Finale Race

The 2003 Zandvoort Race, otherwise formally known as the DTM Zandvoort 2003 was the ninth and penultimate round of the 2003 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Circuit Park Zandvoort in Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands on 21 September 2003. The race would see Christijan Albers sweep to his fourth victory of the campaign, ensuring that the title fight between himself and teammate Bernd Schneider would continue to the finale in Hockenheim.

Qualifying had seen something of a shock result given the form shown in 2003, with Timo Scheider storming to his maiden pole position, which was also the first for Opel since 2002. Martin Tomczyk would complete the front row for the junior ABT Sportsline squad ahead of Albers, while Championship leader Schneider was well down the field in thirteenth.

The start saw Scheider sweep into the lead unopposed, for Tomczyk stalled off the grid and failed to move beyond his grid slot. Albers duly shot into second ahead of Manuel Reuter, Alain Menu and Jeroen Bleekemolen, with Tomczyk eventually scrambling off the grid in the midfield.

The early laps would see Schneider storm towards the front of the field, making up six positions on the opening tour alone to move from fifteenth to ninth. Out front, meanwhile, Scheider would escape with Albers in tow, while Reuter would back up the rest of the top ten by fending off the attentions of Menu.

Scheider would become the first driver to stop as soon as the pits opened at the end of lap six, with Albers assuming the lead in his absence. The Dutchman duly stopped on the following tour as Katsutomo Kaneshi threw a potential curve-ball by getting beached in the gravel, while Peter Dumbreck and Tomczyk collided in the pit lane.

After the stops Scheider would return to the lead of the race, with Albers still giving chase in second having dropped slightly behind. Schneider, meanwhile, had been the big winner by climbing to third, aided by a collision between Peter Terting and Menu that saw the Swiss racer spat into the barriers.

With that, and a spin for Terting when the German youth was trying to get out of the way of faster drivers, the race would settled down until the second round of stops with Albers slowly inching towards Scheider. The Dutchman duly stopped before the German racer in a bid to jump the #18 Opel with fresher tyres, with Scheider coming in at the end of the following tour.

Unfortunately for Scheider his race would come to an end after his stop, for a mis-fitted front-right wheel would come off as soon as he left the pitlane. Scheider was out on the spot as a result, unable to limp his car back to the pits, while behind Laurent Aïello collided with Thomas Jäger in the pit lane.

With that the race was run, with Albers claiming victory on home soil ahead of teammate and title rival Schneider by five seconds. Mattias Ekström would secure third after a late fight with Reuter, with Alesi chasing the lead Opel across the line for fifth. Marcel Fässler was next up ahead of Bleekemolen, while Karl Wendlinger rounded out the points in eighth.

Background

For the second part of the DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters final four week fling to end the 2003 season, the Series would head to Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands for the penultimate round of the campaign. The circuit itself was unchanged after the Series' previous visit in 2002, with the field likewise unmodified from the previous round in Austria.

Schneider's Step

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.

Entry List

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

2003 Zandvoort 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	Patrick Huisman	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 Zandvoort Race are outlined below:

2003 Zandvoort Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	1:35.336	—	162.373 km/h	1
2nd	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	1:35.341	+0.005s	162.364 km/h	2
3rd	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	1:35.345	+0.009s	162.357 km/h	3
4th	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	1:35.354	+0.018s	162.342 km/h	4
5th	8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	1:35.464	+0.128s	162.155 km/h	5
6th	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	1:35.681	+0.345s	161.787 km/h	6
7th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	1:35.764	+0.428s	161.647 km/h	7
8th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	1:36.311	+0.975s	160.729 km/h	8
9th	17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	1:36.695	+1.359s	160.091 km/h	9
10th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:36.773	+1.437s	159.961 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	1:35.231	—	162.552 km/h	SP
2nd	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	1:35.281	+0.050s	162.466 km/h	SP
3rd	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	1:35.361	+0.130s	162.330 km/h	SP
4th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	1:35.514	+0.283s	162.070 km/h	SP
5th	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Holzer	1:35.560	+0.329s	161.992 km/h	SP
6th	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	1:35.628	+0.397s	161.877 km/h	SP
7th	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	1:35.651	+0.420s	161.838 km/h	SP
8th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:35.667	+0.436s	161.811 km/h	SP
9th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Holzer	1:35.736	+0.505s	161.694 km/h	SP
10th	17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	1:35.810	+0.579s	161.569 km/h	SP
11th	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	1:35.888	+0.657s	161.438 km/h	11
12th	6	Karl Wendlinger	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	1:35.933	+0.702s	161.362 km/h	12
13th	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	1:35.986	+0.755s	161.273 km/h	13
14th	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	1:36.004	+0.773s	161.243 km/h	14
15th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:36.567	+1.336s	160.303 km/h	15
16th	24	Gary Paffett	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:36.719	+1.488s	160.051 km/h	16
17th	12	Bernd Mayländer	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:36.831	+1.600s	159.866 km/h	17
18th	16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	1:36.863	+1.632s	159.813 km/h	18
19th	42	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	1:36.996	+1.765s	159.594 km/h	19
20th	20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	ARTA AMG-Mercedes	1:37.269	+2.038s	159.146 km/h	20
21st	15	Peter Terting	S-Line Audi Junior Team	1:37.373	+2.142s	158.976 km/h	21
107% Time: 1:41.897
Source:

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

Grid

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

		15	Peter Terting	1:37.373			24	Stefan Mücke	1:36.996			12	Bernd Mayländer	1:36.831			11	Thomas Jäger	1:36.567			3	Bernd Schneider	1:35.986			10	Jean Alesi	1:35.888			17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	1:36.695			7	Manuel Reuter	1:35.764			8	Alain Menu	1:35.464			4	Christijan Albers	1:35.345			18	Timo Scheider	1:35.336
						20	Katsutomo Kaneishi		1:37.269		16	Joachim Winkelhock		1:36.863		24	Gary Paffett		1:36.719		1	Laurent Aïello		1:36.004		6	Karl Wendlinger		1:35.933		2	Christian Abt		1:36.773		19	Peter Dumbreck		1:36.311		9	Marcel Fässler		1:35.681		5	Mattias Ekström		1:35.354		14	Martin Tomczyk		1:35.341

Race

Results

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

2003 Zandvoort Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	4	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	36	59:40.840	1:36.494	10
2nd	3	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes	36	+5.337s		8
3rd	5	Mattias Ekström	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	36	+14.478s		6
4th	7	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer	36	+14.975s		5
5th	10	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	36	+15.368s		4
6th	9	Marcel Fässler	AMG-Mercedes	36	+24.230s		3
7th	17	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	36	+27.899s		2
8th	6	Karl Wendlinger	PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi	36	+32.329s		1
9th	1	Laurent Aïello	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	36	+33.126s
10th	19	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Phoenix	36	+37.904s
11th	2	Christian Abt	Hasseröder Abt-Audi	36	+45.005s
12th	24	Gary Paffett	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	36	+53.870s
13th	11	Thomas Jäger	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	36	+1:00.767
14th	15	Peter Terting	S-Line Audi Junior Team	36	+1:16.075
15th	16	Joachim Winkelhock	OPC Euroteam	36	+1:22.570
16th	12	Bernd Mayländer	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	35	+1 Lap
17th	42	Stefan Mücke	Service 24h AMG-Mercedes	35	+1 Lap
18th	20	Katsutomo Kaneishi	ARTA AMG-Mercedes	32	+4 Laps
Ret	18	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	21	Wheel
Ret	8	Alain Menu	OPC Team Holzer	14	Collision
Ret	14	Martin Tomczyk	S-Line Audi Junior Team	9	Damage
Source:

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

Milestones

• Vodafone/Express Service AMG-Mercedes declared as the 2003 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship for Teams Champions.
• Maiden pole position for Timo Scheider.
• Christijan Albers claimed his fourth career victory.
  • Albers also recorded his maiden fastest lap.
• 36th win for HWA Team as an entrant.
  • Mercedes secured their 38th victory as a manufacturer.
• Maiden and only points finish for Jeroen Bleekemolen.
• Karl Wendlinger claimed his 24th and final point.

Standings

Bernd Schneider would head the Championship hunt with one race to go in 2003, with the German racer having scored 65 points across the opening nine races. That left him just a point ahead of Christijan Albers, meaning that whoever finished highest in the finale in Hockenheim of the two would win the title, although if Albers failed to score then Schneider would win regardless. Behind, Marcel Fässler was confirmed in third ahead of Mattias Ekström, with the Swedish ace instead set to duel Laurent Aïello for best of the rest status behind the lead trio.

The Teams' Championship had, unsurprisingly, been settled at the penultimate round of the season, with Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes having secured the title with 129 points. That left them 46 points clear of sister squad AMG-Mercedes in second, with the secondary HWA entry safely ahead of third placed Hasseröder Abt-Audi. In the Manufacturers' Championship pre-declared Champions AMG-Mercedes had moved onto 218 points, while Abt-Audi were set to claim second ahead of Opel, although the latter marque did have a mathematical chance of overhauling the Ingolstadt based marque.

 

2003 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Bernd Schneider 65 ◄0 2nd Christijan Albers 64 ◄0 3rd Marcel Fässler 51 ◄0 4th Mattias Ekström 38 ▲1 5th Laurent Aïello 37 ▼1 6th Jean Alesi 32 ◄0 7th Peter Dumbreck 26 ◄0 8th Timo Scheider 10 ◄0 9th Alain Menu 9 ◄0 10th Manuel Reuter 5 ▲5 11th Gary Paffett 4 ▼1 12th Christian Abt 3 ▼1 13th Thomas Jäger 2 ▼1 14th Jeroen Bleekemolen 2 ▲2 15th Joachim Winkelhock 1 ▼2 16th Karl Wendlinger 1 ▲1 17th Martin Tomczyk 1 ▼3 18th Bernd Mayländer 0 ▼1 19th Stefan Mücke 0 ◄0 20th Peter Terting 0 ◄0 21st Patrick Huisman 0 ◄0 22nd Katsutomo Kaneishi 0 ◄0

2003 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Vodafone/ES AMG-Mercedes 129 ◄0 2nd AMG-Mercedes 83 ◄0 3rd Hasseröder Abt-Audi 40 ◄0 4th PS2 Red Bull Abt-Audi 39 ▲1 5th OPC Team Phoenix 36 ▼1 6th OPC Team Holzer 14 ◄0 7th Service 24h AMG-Mercedes 4 ◄0 8th OPC Euroteam 3 ▲1 9th Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes 2 ▼1 10th S-Line Audi Junior Team 1 ◄0 11th ARTA AMG-Mercedes 0 ◄0 2003 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st AMG-Mercedes 218 ◄0 2nd Abt-Audi 80 ◄0 3rd Opel 53 ◄0

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: