2004 Brno Race

2004 Brno Race
The Brno Circuit made its DTM debut in 2004.
Race Information
Date	19 September 2004
No.	75 (9 of 2004)
Event	DTM Brno 2004
Location	Brno Circuit Brno, South Moravian, Czech Republic
Format	160 km / 70 min (Championship Race)
Lap length	5.403 km (3.357 mi)
Distance	30 laps / 162.090 km (100.718 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Mattias Ekström
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt
Time	1:53.003
Fastest Lap
Driver	Manuel Reuter
Team	OPC Team Holzer 2
Time	1:56.009 on lap 21
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Mattias Ekström	Tom Kristensen	Gary Paffett
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Abt
Time	59:26.498
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2004 Zandvoort Race		2004 Hockenheim Finale Race

The 2004 Brno Race, formally known as the DTM Brno 2004 Race, was the ninth and penultimate race of the 2004 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at Circuit Brno in Brno, South Moravian, Czech Republic, on 19 September 2004. The race would see Mattias Ekström sweep to victory for the fourth time in 2004, a result which also secured the Swedish racer his maiden DTM title.

Qualifying for the DTM's debut in Brno had seen Ekström sweep to pole position, the Swedish ace defeating Christijan Albers in Super Pole by almost a quarter of a second. Martin Tomczyk was next ahead of Tom Kristensen, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Marcel Fässler shared the third row for Opel.

The start of the race saw Ekström and Albers make an even start, prompting Ekström to move across to block the #2 AMG-Mercedes into the first corner. Albers tried to challenge but locked up and ran wide, allowing Tomczyk to sweep inside, while Kristensen got a run on the Mercedes to move into third.

Further back there was a collision between Frank Biela and Manuel Reuter at the first corner, while Bernd Schneider, Laurent Aïello and Christian Abt tangled further around the circuit on the opening tour. Out front, meanwhile, Ekström made his break ahead of Tomczyk, while Albers managed to force his way back ahead of Kristensen.

The early laps saw the order settle, before the pit window opened at the end of lap five with Ekström diving in for his first stop with Albers and Kristensen following the #5 Audi in. Ekström duly scrambled out ahead of the Dutchman and the Dane, with Albers rejoining alongside Abt, before spinning the #11 Audi around through turn one.

Tomczyk stopped a lap later from the lead and would rejoin just ahead of Albers, after Ekström and Albers got caught behind Jeroen Bleekemolen on their out-laps. Tomczyk duly began to defend heavily from Albers, resulting in contact between the two as Albers tried to force a move which left both cars with race ending damage.

With Tomczyk and Albers out, Ekström was left with a commanding lead at the head of the field, with Kristensen moving up to second with a move on the hobbled Mercedes of Albers before he retired. Behind, Fässler would hold third ahead of Paffett, with their battled lasting until their second stops, with Paffett squeezing ahead of the #3 Opel exiting the pitlane.

With that the race was run, with Ekström cruising to an impressive victory, and one that would hand the Swede his maiden DTM title. Kristensen was a lonely second ahead of Paffett, who escaped from Fässler in the closing stages, while Emanuele Pirro was a distant fifth. Frentzen was next up ahead of Timo Scheider, while Jean Alesi fended off Peter Dumbreck to claim the final point.

Background

Two weeks after the trip to Zandvoort the 2004 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters field headed to a new venue on its roster, and one that had a well regarded history. The Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic was that new venue, with the 3.357 mi circuit playing host to its first major international touring car event. The circuit itself had a varied history dating back to the 1930s, with the version of the circuit the DTM was to use in 2004 having opened in 1996.

Ekström's Endeavour

Mattias Ekström was on the verge of securing his maiden DTM crown with two races to go after his third win of the campaign, the Swede having moved onto 61 points for the season. That tally was thirteen more than Christijan Albers, meaning the Swede would win the title in Brno if he finished ahead of Albers, or if Albers finished lower than seventh in the race. Gary Paffett was the only other driver remaining in the hunt, although he would have to finish in fourth in Brno to keep his hopes alive.

Audi Team Abt had increased their lead in the Teams' Championship with their one-two in Zandvoort, which left them on 92 points for the season. That meant they would secure the title if they outscored Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes by a point in Brno, while HWA's second team were still mathematically in the hunt in third. AMG-Mercedes continued to lead the charge in the Manufacturers' Championship, although their advantage over Audi had been cut to just six points, while Opel were too far back to challenge in third.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2004 Brno Race is displayed below:

2004 Brno Race Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Livery
1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/DaimlerChrysler AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM
2	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/DaimlerChrysler AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM
3	Marcel Fässler	OPC Team Holzer 1	Opel	Vectra GTS V8
4	Laurent Aïello	OPC Team Phoenix	Opel	Vectra GTS V8
5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	A4 DTM
6	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	A4 DTM
7	Gary Paffett	AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM
8	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM
9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	OPC Team Holzer 2	Opel	Vectra GTS V8
10	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer 2	Opel	Vectra GTS V8
11	Christian Abt	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	A4 DTM
12	Tom Kristensen	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	A4 DTM
14	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Holzer 1	Opel	Vectra GTS V8
15	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	Opel	Vectra GTS V8
16	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	Opel	Astra V8 Coupé DTM
17	Markus Winkelhock	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM
18	Stefan Mücke	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM
20	Jarek Janiš	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM
21	Bernd Mayländer	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	CLK-DTM
44	Emanuele Pirro	Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest	Audi	A4 DTM
45	Frank Biela	Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest	Audi	A4 DTM
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2004 Brno Race are outlined below:

2004 Brno Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	1:53.003	—	172.126 km/h	1
2nd	2	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:53.231	+0.228s	171.779 km/h	2
3rd	6	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt	1:53.248	+0.245s	171.754 km/h	3
4th	12	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:53.314	+0.311s	171.653 km/h	4
5th	9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	OPC Team Holzer 2	1:53.462	+0.459s	171.430 km/h	5
6th	3	Marcel Fässler	OPC Team Holzer 1	1:53.592	+0.589s	171.233 km/h	6
7th	7	Gary Paffett	AMG-Mercedes	1:53.704	+0.701s	171.065 km/h	7
8th	11	Christian Abt	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:53.737	+0.734s	171.015 km/h	8
9th	14	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Holzer 1	1:53.962	+0.959s	170.677 km/h	9
10th	44	Emanuele Pirro	Audi Team Joest	1:54.094	+1.091s	170.480 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	12	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:52.883	—	172.309 km/h	SP
2nd	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	1:52.916	+0.033s	172.259 km/h	SP
3rd	3	Marcel Fässler	OPC Team Holzer 1	1:53.540	+0.657s	171.312 km/h	SP
4th	6	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt	1:53.544	+0.661s	171.306 km/h	SP
5th	2	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:53.558	+0.675s	171.285 km/h	SP
6th	7	Gary Paffett	AMG-Mercedes	1:53.569	+0.686s	171.268 km/h	SP
7th	44	Emanuele Pirro	Audi Team Joest	1:53.681	+0.798s	171.099 km/h	SP
8th	9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	OPC Team Holzer 2	1:53.681	+0.798s	171.099 km/h	SP
9th	11	Christian Abt	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:53.785	+0.902s	170.943 km/h	SP
10th	14	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Holzer 1	1:53.801	+0.918s	170.919 km/h	SP
11th	15	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	1:53.849	+0.966s	170.847 km/h	11
12th	10	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer 2	1:53.881	+0.998s	170.799 km/h	12
13th	8	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	1:54.147	+1.264s	170.401 km/h	13
14th	45	Frank Biela	Audi Team Joest	1:54.224	+1.341s	170.286 km/h	14
15th	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:54.493	+1.610s	169.886 km/h	15
16th	4	Laurent Aïello	OPC Team Phoenix	1:54.519	+1.636s	169.847 km/h	16
17th	20	Jarek Janiš	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	1:55.435	+2.552s	168.500 km/h	17
18th	18	Stefan Mücke	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:55.782	+2.899s	167.995 km/h	18
19th	17	Markus Winkelhock	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:55.812	+2.929s	167.951 km/h	19
20th	21	Bernd Mayländer	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	1:55.857	+2.974s	167.886 km/h	20
21st	16	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	1:56.336	+3.453s	167.195 km/h	21
Source:

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

Grid

The starting grid for the 2004 Brno Race in shown below:

		16	Jeroen Bleekemolen	1:56.336			17	Markus Winkelhock	1:55.812			20	Jarek Janiš	1:55.435			1	Bernd Schneider	1:54.493			8	Jean Alesi	1:54.147			15	Timo Scheider	1:53.849			14	Peter Dumbreck	1:53.962			7	Gary Paffett	1:53.704			9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	1:53.462			6	Martin Tomczyk	1:53.248			5	Mattias Ekström	1:53.003
						21	Bernd Mayländer		1:55.857		18	Stefan Mücke		1:55.782		4	Laurent Aïello		1:54.519		45	Frank Biela		1:54.224		10	Manuel Reuter		1:53.881		44	Emanuele Pirro		1:54.094		11	Christian Abt		1:53.737		3	Marcel Fässler		1:53.592		12	Tom Kristensen		1:53.314		2	Christijan Albers		1:53.231

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2004 Brno Race is displayed below:

2004 Brno Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	30	59:26.498	1:56.551	10
2nd	12	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	30	+2.313s	1:56.250	8
3rd	7	Gary Paffett	AMG-Mercedes	30	+5.407s	1:56.421	6
4th	3	Marcel Fässler	OPC Team Holzer 1	30	+9.804s	1:56.750	5
5th	44	Emanuele Pirro	Audi Team Joest	30	+33.220s	1:57.506	4
6th	9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	OPC Team Holzer 2	30	+38.270s	1:57.801	3
7th	15	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	30	+38.774s	1:57.699	2
8th	8	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	30	+39.421s	1:57.991	1
9th	14	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Holzer 1	30	+40.283s	1:57.624
10th	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	30	+41.239s	1:56.652
11th	18	Stefan Mücke	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	30	+44.741s	1:57.837
12th	10	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer 2	30	+45.451s	1:56.009
13th	11	Christian Abt	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	30	+55.904s	1:57.139
14th	45	Frank Biela	Audi Team Joest	30	+56.885s	1:56.827
15th	4	Laurent Aïello	OPC Team Phoenix	30	+1:01.660	1:56.233
16th	21	Bernd Mayländer	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	30	+1:09.888	1:57.809
17th	16	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	30	+1:10.863	1:58.206
18th	17	Markus Winkelhock	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	30	+1:12.636	1:58.328
Ret	2	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	14	Damage	1:56.453
Ret	6	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt	8	Collision	1:56.719
Ret	20	Jarek Janiš	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	1	Suspension	—
Source:

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

Milestones

• Mattias Ekström declared as the 2004 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship for Drivers Champion.
• Audi Sport Team Abt declared as the 2004 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship for Teams Champions.
  • This was ABT Sportsline's first Teams' Championship victory.
• Seventh win for Ekström.
• ABT Sportsline secured their 23rd win as an entrant.
  • 23rd win for Audi as a manufacturer.

Standings

Mattias Ekström's fourth win of the campaign was enough for the Swede to secure the DTM Championship with a race to spare. Indeed, second placed Gary Paffett had slipped twenty points behind and hence could not overhaul the Swede, and instead found himself fighting for second. Christijan Albers was the only man who could deny the Brit from the runner-up spot, three behind, while Albers himself was ten clear of Tom Kristensen in fourth.

The Teams' Championship was also over before the Hockenheim finale, with Audi Team Abt having moved out of reach in Brno. The German squad had a 28 point advantage over Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes ahead of the finale, with only 18 points left to fight for. The Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, would go down to the finale in Hockenheim, with Audi nine ahead of AMG-Mercedes with one race to go.

2004 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Mattias Ekström 71 ◄0 2nd Gary Paffett 51 ▲1 3rd Christijan Albers 48 ▼1 4th Tom Kristensen 38 ▲1 5th Martin Tomczyk 31 ▼1 6th Bernd Schneider 26 ◄0 7th Jean Alesi 15 ◄0 8th Timo Scheider 15 ◄0 9th Marcel Fässler 13 ▲2 10th Laurent Aïello 12 ▼1 11th Emanuele Pirro 11 ◄0 12th Manuel Reuter 9 ▼2 13th Peter Dumbreck 6 ◄0 14th Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3 ▲3 15th Stefan Mücke 2 ▼1

2004 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Abt 102 ◄0 2nd Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes 74 ◄0 3rd AMG-Mercedes 66 ◄0 4th Audi Team Abt Sportsline 38 ◄0 5th OPC Team Phoenix 27 ◄0 6th OPC Team Holzer 1 19 ◄0 7th OPC Team Holzer 2 12 ◄0 8th Audi Team Joest 11 ◄0 9th Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes 2 ◄0 10th OPC Euroteam 0 ◄0 11th Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes 0 ◄0 2004 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 151 ▲1 2nd AMG-Mercedes 142 ▼1 3rd Opel 58 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

• Liveries: byggxx, 'Rennwagen (2004)', dtm.fandom.com/de, (DTM Wiki/de, 2021), https://dtm.fandom.com/de/wiki/Kategorie:Rennwagen_(2004), (Accessed 20/07/2021)

References: