2004 Zandvoort Race

2004 Zandvoort Race
The Circuit Park Zandvoort returned for 2003.
Race Information
Date	5 September 2004
No.	74 (8 of 2004)
Event	DTM Zandvoort 2004
Location	Circuit Park Zandvoort Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands
Format	150 km / 70 min (Feature Race)
Lap length	4.307 km (2.676 mi)
Distance	10 laps / 43.070 km (26.762 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Mattias Ekström
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt
Time	1:34.051
Fastest Lap
Driver	Christijan Albers
Team	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:36.441 on lap 7
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Mattias Ekström	Martin Tomczyk	Christijan Albers
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Abt
Time	16:16.858
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2004 Oschersleben Race		2004 Brno Race

The 2004 Zandvoort Race, formally known as the DTM Zandvoort 2004 Race, was the eighth round of the 2004 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at Circuit Park Zandvoort in Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands, on 5 September 2021. The race would see Mattias Ekström continue his march to a maiden Championship title, albeit after a huge accident for Peter Dumbreck split the race into two parts.

Qualifying for the round in the Netherlands had seen Ekström sweep to pole position, defeating one of the remaining pretenders to the title Gary Paffett by a tenth of a second. Bernd Schneider and Martin Tomczyk would then share the second row, while Manuel Reuter was a disappointed eighth in the best placed Opel.

The start of the race would see Ekström instantly dart into the lead, the #5 Audi getting such a good launch that no one could challenge him into the first corner. Behind, Schneider got the jump on Paffett to secure second, with the #7 AMG-Mercedes instead having to fend off Tomczyk into Tarzan.

The rest of the opening tour proved to be fairly clean, with Ekström and Schneider immediately gapping Paffett and Tomczyk in third. The clean running would continue through the early laps, with very little change to the order until the pitstop window opened.

Ekström, Schneider and Paffett all came in together as soon as the pits opened, with Ekström managing to rejoin still ahead of Schneider, and with two cars between himself and the German veteran. Paffett, meanwhile, suffered a slow stop and lost a lot of time, allowing Tomczyk, Tom Kristensen and Christian Abt to all jump the Englishman.

The race settled down once again until the second round of stops, with Schneider losing out to Tomczyk in the exchange to slip back to third. Paffett, meanwhile, would be penalised for aggressive driving after tipping Kristensen into a spin, only for the race to be halted at the end of lap 23 as Dumbreck crashed heavily at the final corner.

The race was instantly stopped to allow the remains of the ruined Opel to be removed, with Dumbreck escaping uninjured despite the total destruction of his car. After that the field were assembled on the grid for a ten lap sprint race, as 75% of the original race distance had not been completed before the red flag.

For the second time that afternoon there would be no stopping Ekström off the grid, with the #5 Audi once again leaping into the lead unopposed ahead of Tomczyk. Behind, Christijan Albers swept around the outside of Schneider to claim third, while Paffett found himself in fifth having managed to serve his penalty moments before the red flag.

The ten lap sprint proved to be little more than a formality for Audi, with Ekström and Tomczyk controlling the pace to claim a one-two, and leave Ekström on the verge of the Championship title. Behind, Albers resisted the attentions of Paffett to complete the podium at his home race, while Schneider fended off Kristensen to claim fifth. Emanuele Pirro and Manuel Reuter would round out the points in seventh and eighth.

Background

The 2004 DTM field would head to the Netherlands for the eighth round of the campaign, using the fan-favourite Circuit Park Zandvoort for a fourth successive season. The Dutch circuit was unchanged for the Series' 2004 visit, with the North Sea winds expected to drag sand onto the circuit as normal. Likewise, there were no major changes to the entry list, although Opel youngster Jeroen Bleekemolen was to be given a 2004-spec car for his home race as the German marque enjoyed its strongest form of the season.

Kristensen's Charge

Mattias Ekström remained atop the Championship as the DTM field left Oschersleben, the Swede having moved onto 51 points for the campaign. His lead had hence increased to nine points over Christijan Albers as the Dutchman failed to score for a second successive race, while Gary Paffett had moved to within eleven of the lead in third. Maiden victor Tom Kristensen, meanwhile, had shot into the top five ahead of Martin Tomczyk, with Bernd Schneider slipping to sixth.

Elsewhere, Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes' first non-score of the season had cost them the lead in the Championship, as Audi Team Abt hit the head of the field. The German squad had moved ten clear of their Mercedes powered rivals, while HWA's second team were a further ten behind in third. In the Manufacturers' Championship AMG-Mercedes had seen their lead slashed to fourteen points by Audi, while Opel's biggest points haul of the campaign was not enough to prevent them from slipping even further behind the Ingolstadt marque.

Entry List

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

2004 Zandvoort 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	Vectra GTS V8
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 Zandvoort Race are outlined below:

2004 Zandvoort Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	1:34.051	—	164.859 km/h	1
2nd	7	Gary Paffett	AMG-Mercedes	1:34.168	+0.117s	164.654 km/h	2
3rd	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:34.537	+0.486s	164.011 km/h	3
4th	6	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt	1:34.710	+0.659s	163.712 km/h	4
5th	11	Christian Abt	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:34.813	+0.762s	163.534 km/h	5
6th	12	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:34.908	+0.857s	163.370 km/h	6
7th	2	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:35.104	+1.053s	163.034 km/h	7
8th	10	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer 2	1:35.295	+1.244s	162.707 km/h	8
9th	15	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	1:35.322	+1.271s	162.661 km/h	9
10th	3	Marcel Fässler	OPC Team Holzer 1	1:35.708	+1.657s	162.005 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	1:33.544	—	165.753 km/h	SP
2nd	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:33.864	+0.320s	165.187 km/h	SP
3rd	12	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.954	+0.410s	165.029 km/h	SP
4th	6	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt	1:34.040	+0.496s	164.878 km/h	SP
5th	15	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	1:34.294	+0.750s	164.434 km/h	SP
6th	11	Christian Abt	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:34.349	+0.805s	164.338 km/h	SP
7th	10	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer 2	1:34.378	+0.834s	164.288 km/h	SP
8th	3	Marcel Fässler	OPC Team Holzer 1	1:34.411	+0.867s	164.230 km/h	SP
9th	2	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:34.417	+0.873s	164.220 km/h	SP
10th	7	Gary Paffett	AMG-Mercedes	1:34.426	+0.882s	164.204 km/h	SP
11th	44	Emanuele Pirro	Audi Team Joest	1:34.511	+0.967s	164.057 km/h	11
12th	9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	OPC Team Holzer 2	1:34.651	+1.107s	163.814 km/h	12
13th	8	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	1:34.781	+1.237s	163.589 km/h	13
14th	45	Frank Biela	Audi Team Joest	1:35.060	+1.516s	163.109 km/h	14
15th	16	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	1:35.232	+1.688s	162.815 km/h	15
16th	14	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Holzer 1	1:35.232	+1.688s	162.815 km/h	16
17th	18	Stefan Mücke	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:35.823	+2.279s	161.810 km/h	17
18th	17	Markus Winkelhock	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	1:35.935	+2.391s	161.621 km/h	18
19th	21	Bernd Mayländer	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	1:36.309	+2.765s	160.994 km/h	19
20th	4	Laurent Aïello	OPC Team Phoenix	1:37.563	+4.019s	158.925 km/h	20
21st	20	Jarek Janiš	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	1:38.361	+4.817s	157.635 km/h	21
Source:

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

Grid

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

		20	Jarek Janiš	1:38.361			21	Bernd Mayländer	1:36.309			18	Stefan Mücke	1:35.823			16	Jeroen Bleekemolen	1:35.071			8	Jean Alesi	1:34.781			44	Emanuele Pirro	1:34.511			15	Timo Scheider	1:35.322			2	Christijan Albers	1:35.104			11	Christian Abt	1:34.813			1	Bernd Schneider	1:34.537			5	Mattias Ekström	1:34.051
						4	Laurent Aïello		1:37.563		17	Markus Winkelhock		1:35.935		14	Peter Dumbreck		1:35.232		45	Frank Biela		1:35.060		9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen		1:34.651		3	Marcel Fässler		1:35.708		10	Manuel Reuter		1:35.295		12	Tom Kristensen		1:34.908		6	Martin Tomczyk		1:34.710		7	Gary Paffett		1:34.168

Race

Results

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

2004 Zandvoort Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	10	16:16.858	1:36.703	10
2nd	6	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt	10	+0.805s	1:36.556	8
3rd	2	Christijan Albers	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	10	+1.440s	1:36.441	6
4th	7	Gary Paffett	AMG-Mercedes	10	+2.757s	1:36.492	5
5th	1	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	10	+4.498s	1:36.549	4
6th	12	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	10	+4.981s	1:36.596	3
7th	44	Emanuele Pirro	Audi Team Joest	10	+8.022s	1:37.140	2
8th	10	Manuel Reuter	OPC Team Holzer 2	10	+8.817s	1:36.991	1
9th	45	Frank Biela	Audi Team Joest	10	+15.121s	1:37.675
10th	3	Marcel Fässler	OPC Team Holzer 1	10	+17.537s	1:37.541
11th	8	Jean Alesi	AMG-Mercedes	10	+19.398s	1:37.508
12th	15	Timo Scheider	OPC Team Phoenix	10	+23.360s	1:36.379
13th	16	Jeroen Bleekemolen	OPC Euroteam	10	+25.688s	1:38.029
14th	17	Markus Winkelhock	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	10	+27.042s	1:38.589
15th	21	Bernd Mayländer	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	10	+27.204s	1:38.519
16th	20	Jarek Janiš	Sonax Dark Dog AMG-Mercedes	10	+29.902s	1:38.799
17th	18	Stefan Mücke	Original-Teile AMG-Mercedes	10	+35.273s	1:38.172
Ret	9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	OPC Team Holzer 2	0	Retired	—
Ret	11	Christian Abt	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	0	Extinguisher	—
Ret	4	Laurent Aïello	OPC Team Phoenix	0	Retired	—
Ret	14	Peter Dumbreck	OPC Team Holzer 1	0	Accident	—
Source:

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

Milestones

• Sixth win for Mattias Ekström.
• ABT Sportsline secured their 22nd win as an entrant.
  • 22nd win for Audi as a manufacturer.

Standings

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.

2004 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Mattias Ekström 61 ◄0 2nd Christijan Albers 48 ◄0 3rd Gary Paffett 45 ◄0 4th Martin Tomczyk 31 ▲1 5th Tom Kristensen 30 ▼1 6th Bernd Schneider 26 ◄0 7th Jean Alesi 14 ◄0 8th Timo Scheider 13 ◄0 9th Laurent Aïello 12 ◄0 10th Manuel Reuter 9 ◄0 11th Marcel Fässler 8 ◄0 12th Emanuele Pirro 7 ▲1 13th Peter Dumbreck 6 ▼1 14th Stefan Mücke 2 ◄0

2004 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Abt 92 ◄0 2nd Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes 74 ◄0 3rd AMG-Mercedes 59 ◄0 4th Audi Team Abt Sportsline 30 ◄0 5th OPC Team Phoenix 25 ◄0 6th OPC Team Holzer 1 14 ◄0 7th OPC Team Holzer 2 9 ◄0 8th Audi Team Joest 7 ◄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 AMG-Mercedes 135 ◄0 2nd Audi 129 ◄0 3rd Opel 48 ◄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: