2005 Hockenheim Opening Race

2005 Hockenheim Opening Race
The Hockenheimring opened the 2005 campaign
Race Information
Date	17 April 2005
No.	77 (1 of 2005)
Event	DTM Hockenheim Opening 2005
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Format	165 km / 70 min (Championship Race)
Lap length	4.574 km (2.842 mi)
Distance	37 laps / 169.238 km (105.159 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Mattias Ekström
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time
Fastest Lap
Driver	Jamie Green
Team	Junge Gebrauchte/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:35.262 on lap 23
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Jean Alesi	Gary Paffett	Bernd Schneider
Winner Team	DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:04:48.245
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2004 Hockenheim Finale Race		2005 Lausitzring I Race

The 2005 Hockenheim Opening Race, formally known as the DTM Hockenheim Opening 2005, was the opening round of the 2005 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 17 April 2005. The race would see Jean Alesi open the campaign with victory, having opted for a contrarian pitstop strategy.

There had been some shuffling among the teams and manufacturers over the winter, with Team Rosberg having withdrawn from the series, along with Euroteam. However, while Opel would see their entry reduced to just four cars, Mercedes would retain their eight car presence with the addition of Mücke Motorsport to their roster, while Joest Racing secured two more Audis to bring the Ingolstadt marque's presence up to eight cars as well.

Elsewhere, there had also been some changes on the driver front, although only one of the seats in the top Audi/Mercedes teams had changed hands. Indeed, Audi would bring in endurance ace Allan McNish to their secondary ABT Sportsline entry, partnering Tom Kristensen, while Mercedes brought in a huge name in the form of two-time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen to partner DTM ace Bernd Schneider.

Into the opening round itself and qualifying would see defending Champion Mattias Ekström, adorned with #1 as his race number, open the season with pole position, beating Paffett by 0.032s. Green put in an impressive display to claim third for his debut race ahead of Marcel Fässler, the leading Opel pilot in the field, while Alesi secured fifth ahead of the debuting Spengler.

The start of the race saw Paffett dart into the lead as the lights went out, blasting past Ekström into the first corner. They would make it through the first corner unhindered, although behind there would be an accident as the rest of the field thundered into the right-hand flick.

The trigger was Manuel Reuter, who locked up his car and ran wide before spinning, causing the sister car of Laurent Aïello to spin as well. Aïello was subsequently collected by Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello, with all three cars ending up badly damaged just a few yards from the pit exit.

The Safety Car was scrambled to allow the incident to be clear, staying out for five laps before Paffett made another early break at the restart to re-establish the lead. Ekström gave chase in second ahead of Fässler and Jamie Green, the best of the debutantes, while Häkkinen made his first stop from the back of the field.

Ekström would briefly get back on terms with Paffett on the restart lap before both darted in to serve their stops, with Ekström scrambling ahead in the pitstop exchange. Alesi, meanwhile, would move to the head of the five having opted against stopping, with the Frenchman opting for a long first stint.

Paffett and Ekström would get delayed in traffic after their stops, allowing Alesi and Schneider to gain the upper hand and move ahead, Alesi having been the last driver to complete his first stop. Indeed, the second round of stops would see Alesi gain even more ground and retain the lead, while Schneider and Paffett were left to fight for second.

With that the race was run, with Alesi able to control the final laps to secure his first win in eighteen months ahead of Paffett. Schneider completed the podium ahead of Christian Abt, who had been another to make a later stop in the opening phase of the race, while Ekström slipped to fifth ahead of Green. Stefan Mücke trailed them in seventh, while Häkkinen's transition to touring cars had seen him claim a single point with eighth on his debut.

Background

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2005 Hockenheim Opening Race is displayed below:

2005 Hockenheim Opening Race Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Livery
1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	A4 DTM	File:EKS 05 Livery.png
2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	A4 DTM	File:TOM 05 Livery.png
3	Gary Paffett	DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:PAF 05 Livery.png
4	Jean Alesi	DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:ALE 05 Livery.png
5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	A4 DTM	File:KRI 05 Livery.png
6	Allan McNish	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	A4 DTM	File:MCN 05 Livery.png
7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:BSC 05 Livery.png
8	Mika Häkkinen	AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:HAK 05 Livery.png
9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	Opel	Vectra GTS V8	File:FAE 05 Livery.png
10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	Opel	Vectra GTS V8	File:FRE 05 Livery.png
11	Laurent Aïello	Team OPC	Opel	Vectra GTS V8	File:AIE 05 Livery.png
12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	Opel	Vectra GTS V8	File:AIE 05 Livery.png
14	Christian Abt	Audi Sport Team Joest Racing	Audi	A4 DTM	File:ABT 05 Livery.png
15	Pierre Kaffer	Audi Sport Team Joest Racing	Audi	A4 DTM	File:KAF 05 Livery.png
16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:MUC 05 Livery.png
17	Alexandros Margaritis	Mücke Motorsport	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:MAR 05 Livery.png
18	Rinaldo Capello	Audi Sport Team Joest	Audi	A4 DTM	File:CAP 05 Livery.png
19	Frank Stippler	Audi Sport Team Joest	Audi	A4 DTM	File:STI 05 Livery.png
20	Bruno Spengler	Junge Gebrauchte/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:SPE 05 Livery.png
21	Jamie Green	Junge Gebrauchte/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	AMG-Mercedes	C-Klasse DTM	File:GRE 05 Livery.png
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2005 Hockenheim Opening Race are outlined below:

2005 Hockenheim Opening Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:35.251	—	172.873 km/h	1
2nd	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:35.283	+0.032s	172.815 km/h	2
3rd	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:35.809	+0.558s	171.866 km/h	3
4th	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:36.075	+0.824s	171.391 km/h	4
5th	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:36.179	+0.928s	171.205 km/h	5
6th	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:36.191	+0.940s	171.184 km/h	6
7th	2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:36.222	+0.971s	172.873 km/h	7
8th	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:36.354	+1.103s	170.894 km/h	8
9th	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	1:36.489	+1.238s	170.655 km/h	9
10th	16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	1:36.587	+1.336s	170.482 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:34.648	—	173.975 km/h	SP
2nd	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	1:34.817	+0.169s	173.665 km/h	SP
3rd	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:34.996	+0.348s	173.337 km/h	SP
4th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:35.064	+0.416s	173.213 km/h	SP
5th	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:35.156	+0.508s	173.046 km/h	SP
6th	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:35.234	+0.586s	172.904 km/h	SP
7th	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:35.283	+0.635s	172.815 km/h	SP
8th	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:35.288	+0.640s	172.806 km/h	SP
9th	2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:35.304	+0.656s	172.777 km/h	SP
10th	16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	1:35.434	+0.786s	172.542 km/h	SP
11th	11	Laurent Aïello	Team OPC	1:35.435	+0.787s	172.540 km/h	11
12th	14	Christian Abt	Audi Team Joest Racing	1:35.464	+0.816s	172.488 km/h	12
13th	19	Frank Stippler	Audi Team Joest	1:35.467	+0.819s	172.482 km/h	13
14th	6	Allan McNish	Audi Team Abt	1:35.625	+0.977s	172.197 km/h	14
15th	8	Mika Häkkinen	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:35.697	+1.049s	172.068 km/h	15
16th	17	Alexandros Margaritis	Mücke Motorsport	1:35.756	+1.108s	171.962 km/h	16
17th	12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	1:35.880	+1.232s	171.739 km/h	17
18th	15	Pierre Kaffer	Audi Team Joest Racing	1:35.915	+1.267s	171.677 km/h	18
19th	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:35.967	+1.319s	171.583 km/h	19
20th	18	Rinaldo Capello	Audi Team Joest	1:36.020	+1.372s	171.489 km/h	20
Source:

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

Grid

The starting grid for the 2005 Hockenheim Opening Race in shown below:

	Pos.	Pos.
	Driver	Driver
	______________
Row 1	1	______________
	Mattias Ekström	2
	______________	Gary Paffett
Row 2	3	______________
	Jamie Green	4
	______________	Marcel Fässler
Row 3	5	______________
	Jean Alesi	6
	______________	Bruno Spengler
Row 4	7	______________
	Martin Tomczyk	8
	______________	Bernd Schneider
Row 5	9	______________
	Tom Kristensen	10
	______________	Stefan Mücke
Row 6	11	______________
	Laurent Aïello	12
	______________	Christian Abt
Row 7	13	______________
	Frank Stippler	14
	______________	Allan McNish
Row 8	15	______________
	Mika Häkkinen	16
	______________	Alexandros Margaritis
Row 9	17	______________
	Manuel Reuter	18
	______________	Pierre Kaffer
Row 10	19	______________
	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	20
	______________	Rinaldo Capello

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2005 Hockenheim Opening Race is displayed below:

2005 Hockenheim Opening Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	37	1:04:48.245	1:35.731	10
2nd	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	37	+5.643s	1:35.840	8
3rd	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	37	+6.420s	1:35.458	6
4th	14	Christian Abt	Audi Team Joest Racing	37	+8.955s	1:35.721	5
5th	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	37	+12.937s	1:35.965	4
6th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	37	+16.421s	1:35.262	3
7th	16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	37	+20.565s	1:36.532	2
8th	8	Mika Häkkinen	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	37	+22.065s	1:36.150	1
9th	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	37	+27.588s	1:36.160
10th	19	Frank Stippler	Audi Team Joest	37	+28.002s	1:35.833
11th	6	Allan McNish	Audi Team Abt	37	+36.232s	1:37.074
12th	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	37	+36.805s	1:36.377
13th	15	Pierre Kaffer	Audi Team Joest Racing	28	+8 Laps	1:36.331
Ret	17	Alexandros Margaritis	Mücke Motorsport	15	Retired	1:38.084
Ret	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	12	Retired	1:36.993
Ret	2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	3	Retired	—
Ret	12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	1	Retired	—
Ret	18	Rinaldo Capello	Audi Team Joest	0	Collision	—
Ret	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	0	Collision	—
Ret	11	Laurent Aïello	Team OPC	0	Collision	—
Source:

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

Milestones

• Debut race for Rinaldo Capello, Jamie Green, Mika Häkkinen, Pierre Kaffer, Alexandros Margaritis, Allan McNish, Bruno Spengler and Frank Stippler.
• First race for Mücke Motorsport as an entrant.
• Fifth and final victory for Jean Alesi.
  • First win for Alesi since the 2003 Hockenheim Finale Race.
  • This was also the eighth and final podium visit for Alesi.
• HWA Team claimed their 43rd win as an entrant.
  • AMG-Mercedes secured their 45th win as a manufacturer.
• Maiden points finishes for Green and Häkkinen.
• Green recorded his maiden fastest lap.

Standings

Victory on the opening day of the campaign had, unsurprisingly, left Jean Alesi atop the Championship, the Frenchman having outscored Gary Paffett by two points courtesy of his fifth DTM triumph. Paffett himself had a two point margin over Bernd Schneider in third, while the former Champion had a point in hand over Christian Abt. Also on the board after the first race were defending Champion Mattias Ekström, debutante Jamie Green, Stefan Mücke and ex-Formula One ace Mika Häkkinen.

In the Teams' Championship the de jure first HWA Team entry, sponsored by DaimlerChrysler Bank, led the charge, having claimed a maximum score of eighteen points after Alesi and Paffett's one-two. Their secondary entry carrying Vodafone and Sport Edition sponsorship occupied second, eleven behind, while Audi Team Joest Racing led the anti-HWA charge from third. In the Manufacturers' Championship AMG-Mercedes unsurprisingly led the way after locking out the podium, 21 ahead of Audi, while Opel had failed to score.

 

2005 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Jean Alesi 10 ◄0 2nd Gary Paffett 8 ◄0 3rd Bernd Schneider 6 ◄0 4th Christian Abt 5 ◄0 5th Mattias Ekström 4 ◄0 6th Jamie Green 3 ◄0 7th Stefan Mücke 2 ◄0 8th Mika Häkkinen 1 ◄0

2005 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st DC Bank AMG-Mercedes 18 ◄0 2nd Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes 7 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Joest Racing 5 ◄0 4th Audi Team Abt Sportsline 4 ◄0 5th JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes 3 ◄0 6th Mücke Motorsport 2 ◄0 2005 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st AMG-Mercedes 30 ◄0 2nd Audi 9 ◄0 3rd Opel 0 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

References: