2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1

2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1
The Hockenheimring opened the 2015 season.
Race Information
Date	2 May 2015
No.	180
Event	DTM Festival 2015
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Format	40 min + 1 Lap
Lap length	4.574 km (2.842 mi)
Distance	26 laps / 118.924 km (73.896 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Jamie Green
Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	1:33.044
Fastest Lap
Driver	Paul di Resta
Team	Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG
Time	1:34.751 on lap 4
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Jamie Green	Pascal Wehrlein	Paul di Resta
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	42:47.133
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2014 Hockenheim Finale Race		2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 2

The 2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1, formally advertised as the DTM Festival 2015 Race 1, was the opening round of the 2015 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany on 2 May 2015. The race would see Jamie Green sweep to victory for Audi Team Rosberg, as the series adopted a new format to race meetings.

The DTM adopted a two-race format for the 2015 season, with the first race of the weekend set to last for 40 minutes, harking back to the 2000 season, with no pit-stop window. The second race would then last for 60 minutes (with an additional lap) and would feature a compulsory stop. Furthermore, each race would be treated as a separate event, with their own practice and qualifying sessions.

Elsewhere, there were changes to the line-ups among the Mercedes and BMW squads, with Lucas Auer and Tom Blomqvist getting promotions from the DTM's support series the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Mercedes also added a fourth team in the form of privateers ART Grand Prix, with Gary Paffett sent to lead the new team alongside rookie Auer.

Qualifying had also been modified for the 2015 season, with the knockout system replaced by a simpler 20 minute session with all 24 drivers on circuit. Green duly claimed pole position ahead of Pascal Wehrlein, while Augusto Farfus secured third to lead the BMW charge.

The start of the race saw Green make a clean start, while Wehrlein fended off the attentions of a fast starting Edoardo Mortara. Paul di Resta would join their fight and duly passed Mortara, while António Félix da Costa was spun around by Miguel Molina, resulting in Timo Scheider and Robert Wickens colliding as they tried to avoid.

The race quickly settled, with the only major change to the order after the opening tour coming when di Resta dived inside Wehrlein for second. He duly went chasing off after Green, before the Safety Car was scrambled for the first time in 2015, as Daniel Juncadella slid into the barriers at the Sachs kurve.

Two laps later and the race resumed, with Green again breaking clear only to be reigned back in at the end of the lap. Indeed, the SC had been called upon once again before the end of lap sixteen, as a collision between Martin Tomczyk, Gary Paffett and debutante Auer left all three with terminal damage.

After a three lap intervention the race resumed again, with Green managing to break away and stabilise his lead. di Resta and Wehrlein gave chase and broke clear from Mortara, before the Scot's pace dropped with a worsening brake problem, resulting in Wehrlein passing him.

With that the race was run, with Green sweeping to victory ahead of Wehrlein, while di Resta held onto third after a late challenge from Mortara. Mike Rockenfeller was next up ahead of Nico Müller and Timo Glock, reigning Champion Marco Wittmann claimed ninth, while Farfus completed the scorers.

Background

Testing before the season had seen Jamie Green emerge as one of the favourites for the championship although he would need to overcome a two year wait for a race win in order to fulfil his promise. Mercedes had focused heavily on developing the Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM over the winter, hoping to close the gap to the BMW M4 DTM and Audi RS5 DTM machines. Several drivers left the championship at the end of the 2014 season, with a few new faces getting their first chance in the DTM.

Maximilian Götz and Lucas Auer were the first to be announced, entering for Mercedes, with Auer being partnered with Gary Paffett at the brand new ART Grand Prix team. Also joining the DTM family was Tom Blomqvist, a young British driver, whom replaced Joey Hand at BMW. Otherwise, there were no other changes to the DTM grid from 2014, with Marco Wittmann hoping to become the first driver to successfully defend his crown since Timo Scheider in 2009.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 is displayed below:

2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine
1	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
2	Gary Paffett	Euronics/BWT Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
3	Paul di Resta	Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
6	Robert Wickens	Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
8	Christian Vietoris	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
10	Timo Scheider	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
12	Daniel Juncadella	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
16	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
17	Miguel Molina	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
22	Lucas Auer	Euronics/BWT Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
51	Nico Müller	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
53	Jamie Green	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
77	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW	M4 DTM	P66 4.0l V8
84	Maximilian Götz	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
94	Pascal Wehrlein	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG	C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM 15	Audi 4.0l V8
Source:

Qualifying

The first qualifying session of the season saw Jamie Green clinch pole position in his Audi RS5 DTM, setting an unbeaten time of 1:33.044 around the Hockenheim circuit. In a new format for the DTM, qualifying was held in one 20 minute session, in which drivers were to set the fastest time they could to determine their starting position. The new format may have made the times more competitive than before, as 0.688s covered the top eighteen in the session.

Behind Green came Pascal Wehrlein in his Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM, with Augusto Farfus ensuring that BMW were represented in the top three too. This was not to last, however, as Farfus was sent to the back of the grid after qualifying, his punishment for having too little fuel to submit to the stewards at the end of the session. His place on the grid was filled by Edoardo Mortara, leaving debutante Tom Blomqvist as the highest placed BMW M4 DTM driver on the grid in eighth.

Post Qualifying

The final qualifying result for the 2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 are outlined below:

2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:33.044	—	176.974 km/h	1
2nd	94	Pascal Wehrlein	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	1:33.160	+0.116s	176.753 km/h	2
3rd*	18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	1:33.310	+0.266s	176.469 km/h	23*
4th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Abt	1:33.331	+0.287s	176.430 km/h	3
5th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Rosberg	1:33.338	+0.294s	176.416 km/h	4
6th	3	Paul di Resta	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	1:33.340	+0.296s	176.413 km/h	5
7th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:33.342	+0.298s	176.409 km/h	6
8th	27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.342	+0.298s	176.409 km/h	7
9th	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	1:33.358	+0.314s	176.379 km/h	8
10th	17	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.489	+0.445s	176.131 km/h	9
11th	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	1:33.502	+0.458s	176.107 km/h	10
12th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RMG	1:33.526	+0.482s	176.062 km/h	11
13th	10	Timo Scheider	Audi Team Phoenix	1:33.567	+0.523s	175.985 km/h	12
14th	12	Daniel Juncadella	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	1:33.580	+0.536s	175.960 km/h	13
15th†	2	Gary Paffett	ART Grand Prix	1:33.582	+0.538s	175.956 km/h	24
16th	1	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:33.591	+0.547s	175.939 km/h	14
17th	13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	1:33.604	+0.560s	175.915 km/h	15
18th	8	Christian Vietoris	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	1:33.621	+0.577s	175.883 km/h	16
19th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	1:33.652	+0.608s	175.825 km/h	17
20th	77	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team Schnitzer	1:33.842	+0.798s	175.469 km/h	18
21st	84	Maximilian Götz	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	1:34.056	+1.012s	175.070 km/h	19
22nd	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	1:34.109	+1.065s	174.971 km/h	20
23rd	6	Robert Wickens	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	1:34.121	+1.077s	174.949 km/h	21
24th	22	Lucas Auer	ART Grand Prix	1:34.168	+1.124s	174.861 km/h	22
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Farfus excluded from the result due to not having the required 500g fuel sample required for fuel testing.
• ^† Paffett excluded from the result.

Grid

The starting grid for the first race of the 2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 meeting is outlined below:

		18	Augusto Farfus	Penalty			6	Robert Wickens	1:34.121			84	Maximilian Götz	1:34.056			7	Bruno Spengler	1:33.652			13	António Félix da Costa	1:33.604			12	Daniel Juncadella	1:33.580			36	Maxime Martin	1:33.526			17	Miguel Molina	1:33.489			27	Adrien Tambay	1:33.342			3	Paul di Resta	1:33.340			48	Edoardo Mortara	1:33.331			53	Jamie Green	1:33.044
	2	Gary Paffett		Penalty		22	Lucas Auer		1:34.168		16	Timo Glock		1:34.109		77	Martin Tomczyk		1:33.842		8	Christian Vietoris		1:33.621		1	Marco Wittmann		1:33.591		10	Timo Scheider		1:33.567		5	Mattias Ekström		1:33.502		31	Tom Blomqvist		1:33.358		99	Mike Rockenfeller		1:33.342		51	Nico Müller		1:33.338		94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:33.160

Race

Race one was held on Saturday, 2 May in dry conditions, with the grid unchanged after the post qualifying penalties were announced. Race one was to be a 40 minute race, with no compulsory pitstop.

Report

Pole sitter Green got off the line cleanly to sweep into the first corner ahead of Pascal Wehrlein and Edoardo Mortara, while further back the pack drastically condensed to fit through the right-hand flick. Mattias Ekström and Daniel Juncadella were forced to bounce their way across the grass on the outside of turn one, causing part of Ekstrom's Audi RS5 to flick off his car. Further round the lap and António Félix da Costa suffered a spin, later found to have been the fault of Miguel Molina, causing Timo Scheider and Robert Wickens to take race ending damage.

Paul di Resta had been the big victor on the first lap, taking Mortara and Nico Müller, before applying pressure on fellow Merc master Wehrlein for second. A dive down the inside into the hairpin on lap three gave him second, leaving Green in his sights. Unfortunately for the Scot, Green had pushed hard in the opening laps, opening for himself a three second lead, which he soon demonstrated he could keep. A fairly well tempered, if quiet, race unfolded, until the Safety Car made its first appearance of the weekend.

Juncadella, running in a group that included new boy Lucas Auer, ran wide in the stadium section at the end of lap twelve, with gravel trap seemingly sucking his car into the gravel. Earlier damage at the start was a likely culprit, but regardless, the safety car emerged so his car could be removed. Yet, just two laps later, the race went green again, and Green set about getting his lead back to three seconds. It was to be only a lap, however, before the safety car re-emerged.

Christian Vietoris goes for a spin in the first race of the season.

After a four car scramble coming towards the Mercedes Grand Stand, which resulted in Adrien Tambay going for a trip through the gravel (after contact with Maxime Martin, the mid-pack was severely bunched. Coming into the hairpin on lap sixteen, Martin Tomczyk locked his rear brakes, sending him into a slide which he could not recover. Inevitably, his car slid into Gary Paffett, putting the Brit out of the race, as well as his ART Grand Prix team mate, Auer, whom had nowhere to go as Tomczyk came sliding through.

Another quick safety car period to drag Tomczyk and Paffett's cars out of the way (Auer having limped back to the pits) and the race was on once more. It was stalemate at the front, with Green opening his lead out to a comfortable three seconds again, while di Resta began to struggle with his brakes. Further down the order, Ekstrom was forced to change a tyre after contact with one of his Audi team mates, leaving him to fight back up the order.

With three minutes to go, di Resta's brakes had finally allowed Wehrlein to pass, with the young German pulling the same move the Scot had done to him at the hairpin. Di Resta then set about trying to stop Mortara getting past, while Wehrlein set off after Green. It was not to be his victory, however, as Green comfortably crossed the line having completed 26 laps, Wehrlein taking second and di Resta holding third. Audis filled four of the top six finishers, with the best placed BMW, that of Maxime Martin, down in seventh.

Result

The final classification of the 2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 is displayed below:

2015 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	26	42:47.133	1:34.774	25
2nd	94	Pascal Wehrlein	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	26	+2.327s	1:35.062	18
3rd	3	Paul di Resta	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	26	+3.221s	1:34.751	15
4th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Audi Team Abt	26	+3.930s	1:35.024	12
5th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	26	+4.667s	1:34.871	10
6th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Rosberg	26	+5.203s	1:34.920	8
7th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RMG	26	+11.140s	1:35.472	6
8th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team MTEK	26	+13.840s	1:35.191	4
9th	1	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	26	+14.465s	1:34.967	2
10th	18	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RBM	26	+15.458s	1:35.136	1
11th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team MTEK	26	+15.968s	1:35.577
12th	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	26	+16.247s	1:34.928
13th	13	António Félix da Costa	BMW Team Schnitzer	26	+18.233s	1:36.160
14th	8	Christian Vietoris	gooix/Original-Teile Mercedes-AMG	26	+20.797s	1:35.699
15th	27	Adrien Tambay	Audi Team Abt	26	+25.038s	1:34.903
16th	84	Maximilian Götz	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	26	+25.434s	1:36.177
Ret	22	Lucas Auer	ART Grand Prix	16	Damage	1:36.212
Ret	2	Gary Paffett	ART Grand Prix	15	Collision	1:35.765
Ret	77	Martin Tomczyk	BMW Team MTEK	15	Collision	1:35.609
Ret	12	Daniel Juncadella	Petronas Mercedes-AMG	11	Accident	1:36.596
Ret*	17	Miguel Molina	Audi Team Abt Sportsline	9	Retired	1:36.189
Ret	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RBM	6	Retired	1:38.267
Ret	10	Timo Scheider	Audi Team Phoenix	1	Damage	—
Ret	6	Robert Wickens	Silberpfeil Mercedes-AMG	1	Damage	—
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
• * Molina to demoted three places on the grid in race two for causing a collision.

Milestones

• Debut race for Lucas Auer, Tom Blomqvist and Maximilian Götz.
• 150th start for Timo Scheider.
• Tenth career win for Jamie Green.

Standings

Jamie Green would end the opening day of the season at the head of the 2015 Championship, heading into the Sunday Race with 25 points to his credit. He was hence seven ahead of Pascal Wehrlein in second, while Paul di Resta occupied third on fifteen. Edoardo Mortara, Mike Rockenfeller, Nico Müller, Maxime Martin, Timo Glock, Marco Wittmann and Augusto Farfus had also secured points on the opening day.

In the Teams' Championship it was Audi Team Rosberg who led the charge, having claimed a double points finish in the first race. gooix/OT Mercedes AMG and Silberpfeil Mercedes AMG were next up, while Audi Team Abt completed the top five. In the Manufacturers' Championship it was Audi who topped the table after day one, 22 ahead of AMG-Mercedes in second.

2015 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Jamie Green 25 ◄0 2nd Pascal Wehrlein 18 ◄0 3rd Paul di Resta 15 ◄0 4th Edoardo Mortara 12 ◄0 5th Mike Rockenfeller 10 ◄0 6th Nico Müller 8 ◄0 7th Maxime Martin 6 ◄0 8th Timo Glock 4 ◄0 9th Marco Wittmann 2 ◄0 10th Augusto Farfus 1 ◄0

2015 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Rosberg 33 ◄0 2nd gooix/OT Mercedes AMG 18 ◄0 3rd Silberpfeil Mercedes AMG 15 ◄0 4th Audi Team Abt 12 ◄0 5th Audi Team Phoenix 10 ◄0 6th BMW Team RMG 8 ◄0 7th BMW Team MTEK 4 ◄0 8th BMW Team RBM 1 ◄0 2015 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 55 ◄0 2nd AMG-Mercedes 33 ◄0 3rd BMW 13 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References

Videos and Images:

• Michael Reiss, 'Christian Vietoris dreht sich', flickr.com, (Flickr, 02/05/2015), https://www.flickr.com/photos/michi_reiss/16857191313/in/photolist-rFBvFx-rFyx8r-skUgme-skUuaR-skX2XV-sm2UZf-sm4RBj-syJgPM-sCrf1o-su4GAy-rBU8qF-sCoFpz-rFKZPa-syw5Uw-syErgX-sCgzNQ-skUsh1-sA2FLf-sAmDf5-skJ745-sCpTPX-sCff6f-rFrt7A-sCCfiK-sA2VNy-rFBCFz-rFvTnv-sh8DK9-syGJJn-syvu8h-syF3uT-syxc5L-sh6w27-sm4Sjn-sh87rQ-skSmDo-rFVf94-qHbdqv-wUsQLJ-xjb7Q5-wDSZEa-xzWagd-xAKb9V-wasGEW-waTPxx-w8NYTD-x3mQ4b-x5aszQ-rdjKYg-wmSHi2, (Accessed 29/08/2015)

References: