2005 Zandvoort Race

2005 Zandvoort Race
The Circuit Park Zandvoort returned for 2005.
Race Information
Date	28 August 2005
No.	84 (8 of 2005)
Event	DTM Zandvoort 2005
Location	Circuit Park Zandvoort Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands
Format	160 km / 70 min (Feature Race)
Lap length	4.307 km (2.676 mi)
Distance	38 laps / 163.666 km (101.697 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Bernd Schneider
Team	Vodafone/Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:32.730
Fastest Lap
Driver	Gary Paffett
Team	DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:34.785 on lap 9
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Gary Paffett	Mattias Ekström	Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Winner Team	DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes
Time	1:01:59.421
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2005 Nürburgring Race		2005 Lausitzring II Race

The 2005 Zandvoort Race, formally known as DTM Zandvoort 2005, was the eighth round of the 2005 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Circuit Park Zandvoort in Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands, on 28 August 2005. The race would see Gary Paffett storm to his fourth victory of the season, after using an early pitstop to make a lot of early ground.

Qualifying had seen Bernd Schneider claim am increasingly rare pole position, the first for the three-time Champion since the 2003 Donington Park Race. Marcel Fässler and Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the top three for Opel ahead of Paffett, while Mattias Ekström would share the third row with Jamie Green.

The start of the race saw Schneider make a good start, while Frentzen shot into second ahead of Fässler, while Ekström jumped Paffett. Ekström would go on to secure third through Tarzan, while behind Green tumbled to the back after a poor start, while Laurent Aïello was elbowed wide exiting the first corner.

The rest of the opening tour was more tame, with Schneider making an early bolt out front, while Ekström pressured Frentzen for second. Paffett was similarly stuck behind Fässler, before scything past midway through the second tour, with the top five easing clear of the rest of the field.

Jean Alesi would be the first casualty of the race on lap three, a puncture while fighting with Alexandros Margaritis and Aïello sending him skating into the barriers at turn three. However, the Frenchman's #4 AMG-Mercedes would be moved clear of the circuit without issue, meaning the order remained stable until the stops began on lap seven as Paffett became the first of the lead group to stop.

With clear air Paffett would gain a lot of time, moving right onto the tail of Schneider after the German ace's stop, aided by the fact that Schneider got stuck behind a yet-to-stop Rinaldo Capello. Ekström would stop two laps later but a dramatic drop in pace saw him fall behind Paffett, moments before Schneider smacked into the back of Capello and spun the Italian racer out of the race.

The door was opened for Paffett, and once Frentzen stopped and rejoined behind the Brit, the #3 Mercedes was left in complete control of the race. Indeed, the rest of the second stint, as well as the third, would see Paffett continue to build his lead, while Frentzen completed two quick-fire stops but slipped behind Ekström.

With that the race was run, with Paffett duly sweeping to victory and the Championship lead ahead of his main title rival Ekström. Frentzen was next up ahead of a battle worn Tom Kristensen, while Fässler held onto fifth against a late charge from Martin Tomczyk. Green rallied from his poor start to claim seventh, while Schneider fell to eighth after carrying damage from his contact with Capello.

Background

Just under a year since the DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship's previous visit, the Series would return to the ever popular Circuit Park Zandvoort in Zandvoort, North Holland, Netherlands for the eighth round of the 2005 campaign. The circuit, nestled within the dunes on the coast of the North Sea, was unchanged for the DTM's latest visit, despite some muted calls to alter the final corner which had seen Peter Dumbreck crash heavily in 2004. Elsewhere, the entry list for round eight was unchanged.

Audi's Ailment

Into the success ballast allocation and AMG-Mercedes were no longer the heaviest manufacturer ahead of a race weekend, as Audi had moved level with them atop the ballast chart. Indeed, both the Stuttgart and Ingolstadt based marques would race with an additional 20 kg of ballast on each of their cars, while Opel had remained at the bottom of the ballast charts after their non-score at the Nürburgring.

Outlined below are the success ballast allocations for the 2005 Zandvoort Race:

2005 Zandvoort Race Success Ballast
Manufacturer	Year	Weight
AMG-Mercedes	2004	1,055 kg (—)
	2005	1,070 kg (—)
Audi	2004	1,055 kg (▲ 10 kg)
	2005	1,070 kg (▲ 10 kg)
Opel	2004	1,015 kg (—)
	2005	1,030 kg (—)

Nürburg Notes

A second win of the season had moved Mattias Ekström back to the top of the Championship, and by the same margin by which he had led the 2005 title hunt leaving Oschersleben. Indeed, former leader Gary Paffett had slipped back by a point once again, while Tom Kristensen had slipped fifteen off the lead in third. Mika Häkkinen had added to his tally for the first time in three races to move onto 22 points for the season, while Jean Alesi completed the top five.

In the Teams' Championship DC Bank AMG-Mercedes had retained the initiative atop the table, although their advantage had been reduced to eleven points. Audi Team Abt Sportsline were still their closest challengers in second, while Audi Team Abt completed the top three. Elsewhere, Audi had increased their lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, having moved nine ahead of AMG-Mercedes.

Entry List

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

2005 Zandvoort 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 Zandvoort Race are outlined below:

2005 Zandvoort Race Qualifying Result
Super Pole Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:32.730	—	167.208 km/h	1
2nd	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:32.954	+0.224s	166.805 km/h	2
3rd	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:33.009	+0.279s	166.706 km/h	3
4th	3	Gary Paffett	Vodafone/DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:33.205	+0.475s	166.355 km/h	4
5th	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.277	+0.547s	166.227 km/h	5
6th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:33.295	+0.565s	166.195 km/h	6
7th	6	Allan McNish	Audi Team Abt	1:33.404	+0.674s	166.001 km/h	7
8th	14	Christian Abt	Audi Team Joest Racing	1:33.636	+0.906s	165.590 km/h	8
9th	19	Frank Stippler	Audi Team Joest	1:34.132	+1.402s	164.717 km/h	9
10th	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	1:34.244	+1.514s	164.521 km/h	10
Qualifying Results
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	1:32.968	—	166.779 km/h	SP
2nd	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:33.038	+0.070s	166.654 km/h	SP
3rd	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:33.127	+0.159s	166.495 km/h	SP
4th	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	1:33.194	+0.226s	166.375 km/h	SP
5th	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:33.220	+0.252s	166.329 km/h	SP
6th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:33.252	+0.284s	166.272 km/h	SP
7th	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.300	+0.332s	166.186 km/h	SP
8th	14	Christian Abt	Audi Team Joest Racing	1:33.456	+0.488s	165.909 km/h	SP
9th	6	Allan McNish	Audi Team Abt	1:33.483	+0.515s	165.861 km/h	SP
10th	19	Frank Stippler	Audi Team Joest	1:33.492	+0.624s	165.845 km/h	SP
11th	8	Mika Häkkinen	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	1:33.595	+0.627s	165.662 km/h	11
12th	12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	1:33.700	+0.732s	165.477 km/h	12
13th	11	Laurent Aïello	Team OPC	1:33.724	+0.756s	165.434 km/h	13
14th	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	1:33.788	+0.820s	165.321 km/h	14
15th	2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.874	+0.906s	165.170 km/h	15
16th	18	Rinaldo Capello	Audi Team Joest	1:34.145	+1.177s	164.694 km/h	16
17th	17	Alexandros Margaritis	Mücke Motorsport	1:34.170	+1.202s	164.651 km/h	17
18th	15	Pierre Kaffer	Audi Team Joest Racing	1:34.180	+1.212s	164.633 km/h	18
19th	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	1:34.305	+1.337s	164.415 km/h	19
20th	16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	1:34.568	+1.600s	163.958 km/h	20
Source:

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

Grid

The starting grid for the 2005 Zandvoort Race in shown below:

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

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2005 Zandvoort Race is displayed below:

2005 Zandvoort Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	3	Gary Paffett	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	38	1:01:59.421	1:34.785	10
2nd	1	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	38	+12.015s	1:35.321	8
3rd	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	38	+16.732s	1:35.728	6
4th	5	Tom Kristensen	Audi Team Abt	38	+20.042s	1:35.872	5
5th	9	Marcel Fässler	GMAC/Stern Team OPC	38	+20.873s	1:35.600	4
6th	2	Martin Tomczyk	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	38	+21.120s	1:35.671	3
7th	21	Jamie Green	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	38	+23.436s	1:35.555	2
8th	7	Bernd Schneider	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	38	+30.921s	1:34.972	1
9th	20	Bruno Spengler	JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes	38	+36.488s	1:35.190
10th	14	Christian Abt	Audi Team Joest Racing	38	+37.719s	1:36.004
11th	15	Pierre Kaffer	Audi Team Joest Racing	38	+39.113s	1:36.077
12th	8	Mika Häkkinen	Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes	38	+40.123s	1:35.348
13th	17	Alexandros Margaritis	Mücke Motorsport	38	+48.372s	1:35.783
14th	11	Laurent Aïello	Team OPC	38	+51.535s	1:35.778
15th	6	Allan McNish	Audi Team Abt	32	+6 Laps	1:36.625
Ret	12	Manuel Reuter	Team OPC	27	Damage	1:35.880
Ret	18	Rinaldo Capello	Audi Team Joest	18	Collision	1:36.181
Ret	16	Stefan Mücke	Mücke Motorsport	18	Retired	1:36.390
Ret	19	Frank Stippler	Audi Team Joest	13	Damage	1:36.263
Ret	4	Jean Alesi	DC Bank AMG-Mercedes	2	Puncture	1:37.444
Source:

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

Milestones

• Seventh win for Gary Paffett.
• HWA Team secured their 48th win as an entrant.
  • AMG-Mercedes claimed their 50th win as a manufacturer.

Standings

A fourth win of the campaign saw Gary Paffett move back into the lead of the Championship, although again his lead was far from insurmountable with three races to go. Indeed, Mattias Ekström, the former leader, had only slipped a point behind the Brit, while Tom Kristensen was still mathematically in the hunt in third, nineteen off the lead. Fourth placed Mika Häkkinen, meanwhile, was out of the fight, having slipped 38 points off the lead, with Jean Alesi his closest challenger in fifth.

In the Teams' Championship DC Bank AMG-Mercedes had seen their lead once again been chipped away at, with another point taken away. Audi Team Abt Sportsline were still making their late challenge for the title, with their sister squad Audi Team Abt holding a sixteen point advantage over Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes for third. In the Manufacturers' Championship Audi had extended their lead at the head of the table, moving twelve ahead of AMG-Mercedes.

 

2005 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Gary Paffett 60 ▲1 2nd Mattias Ekström 59 ▼1 3rd Tom Kristensen 41 ◄0 4th Mika Häkkinen 22 ◄0 5th Jean Alesi 19 ◄0 6th Christian Abt 16 ◄0 7th Bernd Schneider 16 ◄0 8th Jamie Green 16 ◄0 9th Heinz-Harald Frentzen 15 ▲1 10th Allan McNish 13 ▼1 11th Martin Tomczyk 10 ◄0 12th Marcel Fässler 9 ◄0 13th Pierre Kaffer 5 ◄0 14th Frank Stippler 4 ◄0 15th Laurent Aïello 4 ◄0 16th Stefan Mücke 3 ◄0

2005 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st DC Bank AMG-Mercedes 79 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Abt Sportsline 69 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Abt 54 ◄0 4th Vodafone/SE AMG-Mercedes 38 ◄0 5th GMAC/Stern Team OPC 24 ▲1 6th Audi Team Joest Racing 21 ▼1 7th JG/Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes 16 ◄0 8th Audi Team Joest 4 ◄0 9th Team OPC 4 ◄0 10th Mücke Motorsport 3 ◄0 2005 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 148 ◄0 2nd AMG-Mercedes 136 ◄0 3rd Opel 28 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

References: