2005 Istanbul Park Race

2005 Istanbul Park Race
File:Istanbul Park 2005.png The new Istanbul Park circuit held its only DTM race in 2005.
Race Information
Date	2 October 2005
No.	86 (10 of 2005)
Event	DTM Istanbul 2005
Location	Istanbul Park Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
Format	165 km / 70 min (Championship Race)
Lap length	5.333 km (3.314 mi)
Distance	32 laps / 170.656 km (106.041 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Gary Paffett
Team	DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:47.101
Fastest Lap
Driver	Mika Häkkinen
Team	Vodafone/Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes
Time	2:00.130 on lap 6
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Gary Paffett	Mika Häkkinen	Bernd Schneider
Winner Team	DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:05:27.828
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2005 Lausitzring II Race		2005 Hockenheim Finale Race

The 2005 Istanbul Park Race, formally known as DTM Istanbul 2005, was the tenth and penultimate round of the 2005 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at Istanbul Park in Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey, on 2 October 2005. The race, which was the first and only DTM race to be held at the new Turkish circuit, would see Gary Paffett claim victory and a commanding lead in the Championship with one race to go.

Qualifying had seen Paffett sweep to pole position, in a Super Pole shootout that was dominated by AMG-Mercedes pilots as the three pointed star locked out the first two rows. Mattias Ekström, Championship leader, was best of the rest in fifth, ahead of the first Opel pilot in the form of Manuel Reuter, while Mika Häkkinen and Jean Alesi shared the fourth row for Mercedes.

Rain arrived for the race itself, with Paffett making a strong start, although that was overshadowed by a stunning one from Ekström. Indeed, the #1 Audi instantly darted between Jamie Green and Bruno Spengler to claim third, and would work incredibly hard to try and force a move on Bernd Schneider for second into the first corner.

Schneider resisted Ekström's attentions, leaving the Swede to come under attack from Green further around the opening tour, although even slight contact would not be enough for the #21 Mercedes to get through. More rubbing came towards the end of the opening tour, before Green forced the issue at the final corner and elbowed Ekström out wide, with the lost momentum allowing Häkkinen to slip past both of them.

Ekström would slip further down behind Jean Alesi following the contact, while further back Heinz-Harald Frentzen lost control and took himself and Christian Abt out of the race. Out front, meanwhile, Paffett would secure a comfortable lead over Schneider, while Häkkinen, Green and Alesi formed a very safe barrier back to a wounded Ekström in sixth.

The race would prove fairly routine from that point on, with Paffett able to complete both of his compulsory stops without issue and rejoin still in the de facto lead. Indeed, Paffett's margin over Ekström was such that he would rejoin from his first stop right behind the #1 Audi, and would even pass his main title rival before Ekström made his stop.

With that the race was over, with Paffett sweeping to a very calm victory ahead of Ekström, Schneider and Green, with the latter three crossing the line nose-to-tail to complete an impressive display from Mercedes. Tom Kristensen was the first non-Mercedes pilot in fifth ahead of Laurent Aïello, while Alesi and Spengler completed the scorers. Ekström, meanwhile, would end the day down in twelfth, leaving him nine points behind Paffett ahead of the final race in Hockenheim.

Background

For the penultimate round of the 2005 campaign the DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship would find itself at a brand new circuit, with the Series making its first ever trip to Turkey. Indeed, Istanbul Park in Tuzla, Istanbul, would make its DTM debut in early October, with the field using the full Grand Prix circuit which had only opened a few weeks earlier in time for the Turkish Grand Prix in mid-August. The circuit itself featured fourteen turns and two long straights, with the multi-apex turn eight already having been noted as the most challenging corner on the circuit.

EuroSpeedway Equipoise

There were no changes to the success ballast allocations for the DTM's first trip to Turkey, with AMG-Mercedes and Audi once again racing at the maximum weight, while Opel were still some 40 kg lighter arriving in Turkey.

Outlined below are the success ballast allocations for the 2005 Istanbul Park Race:

2005 Istanbul Park Race Success Ballast
Manufacturer	Year	Weight
AMG-Mercedes	2004	1,055 kg (—)
	2005	1,070 kg (—)
Audi	2004	1,055 kg (—)
	2005	1,070 kg (—)
Opel	2004	1,015 kg (—)
	2005	1,030 kg (—)

Lausitz Leapfrog

A third win of the campaign raised defending Champion Mattias Ekström back to the top of the Championship table with two rounds to go, with the Swede having again swapped places with Gary Paffett. Second for Paffett, meanwhile, had left the Brit just a point behind Ekström, while third placed Tom Kristensen was now out of the fight in third. Mika Häkkinen, meanwhile, was too far behind to challenge the Dane for third, but held a two point margin over Jean Alesi in fifth.

In the Teams' Championship DC Bank AMG-Mercedes had retained their lead atop the table, although their advantage had, once again, been chipped away at by their nearest challengers. Indeed, Audi Team Abt Sportsline had moved to within nine of the leaders, while their sister squad Team Abt had slipped 28 behind in third. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had inched further away from AMG-Mercedes at the head of the field, opening out a sixteen point lead.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2005 Istanbul Park Race is displayed below:

2005 Istanbul Park 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 Istanbul Park Race are outlined below:

2005 Istanbul Park Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:47.101	—	179.426 km/h	1
2nd	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:47.156	+0.055s	179.334 km/h	2
3rd	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:47.280	+0.179s	179.127 km/h	3
4th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:47.330	+0.229s	179.044 km/h	4
5th	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:47.553	+0.452s	178.672 km/h	5
6th	12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	1:47.604	+0.503s	178.588 km/h	6
7th	8	Mika Häkkinen	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:47.641	+0.540s	178.526 km/h	7
8th	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:47.654	+0.553s	178.505 km/h	8
9th	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:47.936	+0.835s	178.038 km/h	9
10th	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	1:48.070	+0.969s	177.818 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:47.208	—	179.247 km/h	SP
2nd	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:47.337	+0.129s	179.032 km/h	SP
3rd	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	1:47.411	+0.203s	178.909 km/h	SP
4th	8	Mika Häkkinen	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:47.431	+0.223s	178.875 km/h	SP
5th	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:47.439	+0.231s	178.862 km/h	SP
6th	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:47.467	+0.259s	178.815 km/h	SP
7th	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:47.530	+0.322s	178.711 km/h	SP
8th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:47.564	+0.356s	178.654 km/h	SP
9th	12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	1:47.743	+0.535s	178.357 km/h	SP
10th	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:47.769	+0.561s	178.314 km/h	SP
11th	11	Laurent Aïello	Team OPC	1:47.814	+0.606s	178.240 km/h	11
12th	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:47.830	+0.622s	178.213 km/h	12
13th	2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:47.848	+0.640s	178.184 km/h	13
14th	19	Frank Stippler	Audi Team Joest	1:48.001	+0.793s	177.931 km/h	14
15th	6	Allan McNish	Audi Team Abt	1:48.181	+0.973s	177.635 km/h	15
16th	18	Rinaldo Capello	Audi Team Joest	1:48.186	+0.978s	177.627 km/h	16
17th	17	Alexandros Margaritis	Mücke Motorsport	1:48.302	+1.094s	177.437 km/h	17
18th	14	Christian Abt	Audi Team Joest Racing	1:48.341	+1.133s	177.373 km/h	18
19th	16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	1:48.377	+1.169s	177.314 km/h	19
20th	15	Pierre Kaffer	Audi Team Joest Racing	1:48.392	+1.184s	177.289 km/h	20
Source:

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

Grid

The starting grid for the 2005 Istanbul Park Race in shown below:

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

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2005 Istanbul Park Race is displayed below:

2005 Istanbul Park Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	32	1:05:27.828	2:00.465	10
2nd	8	Mika Häkkinen	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	32	+3.222s	2:00.130	8
3rd	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	32	+3.551s	2:00.387	6
4th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	32	+3.994s	2:00.211	5
5th	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	32	+30.889s	2:00.623	4
6th	11	Laurent Aïello	Team OPC	32	+33.142s	2:00.522	3
7th	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	32	+36.534s	2:00.343	2
8th	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	32	+37.541s	2:00.551	1
9th	16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	32	+45.625s	2:01.124
10th	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	32	+52.481s	2:01.006
11th	17	Alexandros Margaritis	Mücke Motorsport	32	+54.606s	2:00.790
12th	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	32	+58.189s	2:01.303
13th	19	Frank Stippler	Audi Team Joest	32	+1:08.087	2:01.249
14th	12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	32	+1:08.697	2:01.022
15th	6	Allan McNish	Audi Team Abt	32	+1:12.520	2:01.297
16th	2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	31	+1 Lap	2:01.561
Ret	15	Pierre Kaffer	Audi Team Joest Racing	22	Retired	2:00.653
Ret	18	Rinaldo Capello	Audi Team Joest	11	Retired	2:04.368
Ret	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	5	Collision	2:03.853
Ret	14	Christian Abt	Audi Team Joest Racing	5	Collision	2:04.688
Source:

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

Milestones

• DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes declared as the 2005 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship for Teams' Champions.
  • This was HWA's fifth Teams' Championship crown.
• Eighth win for Gary Paffett.
• HWA Team secured their 49th win as an entrant.
  • AMG-Mercedes claimed their 51st win as a manufacturer.

Standings

Gary Paffett and Mattias Ekström had continued their season-long game of leapfrog in Istanbul, although there had been an almost decisive swing in the former's favour. Indeed, Paffett had not only got back ahead of Ekström, but his victory compared with the Swede's non-score meant that Paffett had a nine point lead heading to Hockenheim. That meant that the Brit only had to finish in eighth in the final race of the season, while Ekström had to win the race and hope that Paffett finished outside of the points.

The Teams' Championship fight was over with a race to go, with DC Bank AMG-Mercedes declared as the Champions, having moved 21 points clear with eighteen left to fight for. Audi Team Abt Sportsline were hence set to finish second, with only sister squad Audi Team Abt able to dislodge them, while HWA's second team were guaranteed fourth. In contrast the Manufacturers' Championship would go to the final day, with AMG-Mercedes having claimed a twelve point lead over Audi ahead of the finale.

 

2005 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Gary Paffett 78 ▲1 2nd Mattias Ekström 69 ▼1 3rd Tom Kristensen 51 ◄0 4th Mika Häkkinen 30 ◄0 5th Jean Alesi 22 ◄0 6th Bernd Schneider 22 ▲2 7th Jamie Green 21 ▲2 8th Heinz-Harald Frentzen 17 ▼2 9th Christian Abt 16 ▼2 10th Allan McNish 13 ◄0 11th Laurent Aïello 12 ▲1 12th Martin Tomczyk 10 ▼1 13th Marcel Fässler 9 ◄0 14th Pierre Kaffer 5 ◄0 15th Manuel Reuter 4 ◄0 16th Frank Stippler 4 ◄0 17th Bruno Spengler 4 ◄0 18th Stefan Mücke 3 ◄0 19th Alexandros Margaritis 0 ◄0 20th Rinaldo Capello 0 ◄0

2005 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st DC Bank AMG-Mercedes 100 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Abt Sportsline 79 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Abt 64 ◄0 4th Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes 52 ◄0 5th GMAC/Stern Team OPC 26 ◄0 6th JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes 25 ▲1 7th Audi Team Joest Racing 21 ▼1 8th Team OPC 16 ◄0 9th Audi Team Joest 4 ◄0 10th Mücke Motorsport 3 ◄0 2005 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st AMG-Mercedes 180 ▲1 2nd Audi 168 ▼1 3rd Opel 42 ◄0

References

Images and Videos:

References: