2021 Hockenheim Race 2

2021 Hockenheim Race 2
The Hockenheimring was unchanged in 2021.
Race Information
Date	3 October 2021
No.	283 (14 of 2021)
Event	DTM Hockenheim 2021
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Format	55 min + 1 Lap
Lap length	4.574 km (2.842 mi)
Distance	34 laps / 155.516 km (96.633 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Kelvin van der Linde
Team	Team ABT Sportsline
Time
Fastest Lap
Driver	Alexander Albon
Team	AlphaTauri AF Corse
Time	1:39.550 on lap 8
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Lucas Auer	Liam Lawson	Maximilian Götz
Winner Team	Mercedes-AMG Team Winward
Time	57:33.498
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2021 Hockenheim Race 1		2021 Norisring Race 1

The 2021 Hockenheim Race 2, formally known as the DTM Hockenheim 2021 Race 2, was the fourteenth race of the 2021 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 3 October 2021. The race would see Lucas Auer sweep to victory, a result which secured the first Manufacturers' title for Mercedes-AMG in the GT3 era of the DTM.

Qualifying had, however, been all about the main title protagonists, with joint-Championship leader Kelvin van der Linde sweeping to his second pole position of the weekend. Auer would, however, manage to split van der Linde from his main title challenger Liam Lawson, the New Zealander having initially finished the session in fourth behind Arjun Maini, before the Indian youth served a penalty for causing a collision with Auer in Race 1.

In a repeat of the start to the opening race of the weekend, van der Linde would again find himself having to aggressively defend from Auer into the first corner, and would again manage to rebuff the Austrian's advances. However, Auer had learned from their fight on Saturday and would subsequently elbow his way down the inside of the #3 Audi into turn two, before sprinting clear on the run to the hairpin.

With Auer away attention focused on van der Linde, who instead found Lawson crawling all over his tail, with the #30 Ferrari briefly getting ahead on the opening lap, before van der Linde forced his way back past. On the second tour the pair would touch several times as Lawson forced his way through at the hairpin, before van der Linde tagged the back of Lawson at turn eight and again got back into second.

That action earned van der Linde a five second time penalty, although that proved immaterial as a slow stop for the South African racer a few laps later cost van der Linde a shot at the podium. Indeed, Lawson was able to bypass the Audi without issue in the pit exchange, although even in clear air the #30 Ferrari was unable to challenge the #22 Mercedes-AMG of Auer.

Indeed, Auer was dominating the race, and would only lose the lead during the pit-phase as several drivers tried to make a longer first stint work. Yet, once the stops were completed the Austrian racer was left with a commanding seven second lead over Lawson, with Maximilian Götz a distant third.

Götz found himself fighting with stablemates Philip Ellis and Daniel Juncadella in the closing stages, as all three had jumped ahead of van der Linde during the pitstops. Their fight would last until the final tour, when Ellis forced his way past Juncadella, while behind Alexander Albon and Marvin Dienst were attacking van der Linde, who was handed an additional five second penalty for not serving the first penalty during his stop.

With that the race was run, with Auer cruising to his second win of the campaign still six seconds clear of Lawson in second. Götz kept his slim title hopes alive in third, half a second ahead of Ellis and Juncadella, while van der Linde crossed the line in sixth, before his now ten second time penalty was applied. That penalty dumped the South African racer back down to tenth, with Albon, Dienst, Arjun Maini and Vincent Abril all moving ahead as a result.

Background

The Hockenheimring was unchanged for what was initially set to be the final race of the season, with the entry list likewise unchanged for the second and final race of the penultimate race weekend of the 2021 campaign.

BMW's BoP Ire

Likewise, the Balance of Performance calculations were unchanged for the second race of the weekend, despite a request by BMW to adjust their calculation. Indeed, after a miserable showing during Race 1, BMW's two teams Walkenhorst Motorsport and ROWE Racing requested an additional test session, in order to demonstrate that the BoP calculation had unfairly affected their cars. Their plan was to run Marco Wittmann's #11 Walkenhorst car at their pre-Hockenheim BoP calculation, against Timo Glock in the #16 ROWE Racing entry with the Hockenheim formula.

While ITR e.V., and AVL, the body responsible for calculating the BoP formula for the DTM, were open to such a test, a rule that came into force after the third round in Zolder meant that the BoP calculations could not be modified without unanimous approval by the DTM's twelve entrants. Unsurprisingly, the DTM's other manufacturers and teams were against such an exercise that would potentially benefit one of their rivals, meaning BMW would have to battle with their original BoP calculation in the second race at Hockenheim.

Outlined below are the BoP calculations and success ballast allocations for the 2021 Hockenheim Race 2:

2021 Hockenheim Race 2 BoP
Manufacturer	Weight	Boost/Restrictor
Audi	1,335 kg (—)	2 x 43 mm (—)
BMW	1,335 kg (—)	2.069 bar (—)
Ferrari	1,335 kg (—)	1.631 bar (—)
Lamborghini	1,305 kg (—)	2 x 42.5 mm (—)
Mercedes-AMG	1,335 kg (—)	2 x 37.5 mm (—)
2021 Hockenheim Race 2 Ballast Allocation
Kelvin van der Linde	Alexander Albon	Mike Rockenfeller
25 kg	18 kg	15 kg

Rocky's Farewell

Elsewhere, Mike Rockenfeller revealed after the opening race of the weekend that he and Audi would go their separate ways at the end of the season, ending a fifteen year relationship between himself and the Ingolstadt manufacturer. The split would also see Rockenfeller leave the DTM at the end of the season, declaring that he would stop racing in the series after the race in Nuremberg, despite his 'big passion' for the DTM. Instead, the 2013 Champion inferred that his intention was to focus on sportscar racing, with various new programmes in the World Endurance Championship and IMSA on the horizon with the advent of the LMDh class in 2023.

Level Leaders

The last lap shenanigans in the opening race at Hockenheim, combined with Kelvin van der Linde's fourth win of the campaign, had been enough for the South African ace to return to the head of the table, although van der Linde had no margin over his main challenger. Indeed, former leader Liam Lawson had ended the day level on 188 points with van der Linde, but had lost the lead by having one fewer race victory. Yet, the young New Zealander had enhanced his huge margin in the Junior Championship, with second placed Sheldon van der Linde instead under major pressure from Esteban Muth to hold second.

The Teams' Championship had seen AF Corse retain their lead after the first race, with the Italian squad having moved onto 310 points for the campaign. Behind, Team ABT Sportsline had inched closer to the leaders, but were still some 46 points off the lead, while Mercedes Team Winward had slipped 97 points behind in third. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Mercedes-AMG were on the verge of the title, having moved 131 points clear of Audi in second.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2021 Hockenheim Race 2 is displayed below:

2021 Hockenheim Race 2 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Livery
3	Kelvin van der Linde	Team ABT Sportsline	Audi	R8 LMS Evo
4	Maximilian Götz	Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
5	Vincent Abril	Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
6	Hubert Haupt	Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
8	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
9	Mike Rockenfeller	Team ABT Sportsline	Audi	R8 LMS Evo
10	Esteban Muth	T3 Motorsport	Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 Evo
11	Marco Wittmann	Walkenhorst Motorsport	BMW	M6 GT3
12	Dev Gore	Team Rosberg	Audi	R8 LMS Evo
16	Timo Glock	ROWE Racing	BMW	M6 GT3
18	Marvin Dienst	Mercedes-AMG Team Mücke Motorsport	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
23	Alexander Albon	AlphaTauri AF Corse	Ferrari	488 GT3 Evo 2020
26	Esmee Hawkey	T3 Motorsport	Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 Evo
30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull AF Corse	Ferrari	488 GT3 Evo 2020
31	Sheldon van der Linde	ROWE Racing	BMW	M6 GT3
36	Arjun Maini	Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
37	Lucas di Grassi	Team ABT	Audi	R8 LMS Evo
51	Nico Müller	Team Rosberg	Audi	R8 LMS Evo
57	Philip Ellis	Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	Mercedes-AMG	GT3-Evo
99	Sophia Flörsch	Team ABT	Audi	R8 LMS Evo
Source:

• Numbers with a green background indicate an entrant in the Junior Championship.
• Numbers with a black background indicate a guest entrant.

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2021 Hockenheim Race 2 are outlined below:

2021 Hockenheim Race 2 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	3	Kelvin van der Linde	Team ABT Sportsline	1:37.392	—	169.073 km/h	1
2nd	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes Team Winward	1:37.479	+0.087s	168.922 km/h	2
3rd*	36	Arjun Maini	Mercedes Team GetSpeed	1:37.513	+0.121s	168.863 km/h	8*
4th	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull AF Corse	1:37.657	+0.265s	168.614 km/h	3
5th	8	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes Team GruppeM	1:37.746	+0.354s	168.641 km/h	4
6th	23	Alexander Albon	AlphaTauri AF Corse	1:37.761	+0.369s	168.435 km/h	5
7th	9	Mike Rockenfeller	Team ABT Sportsline	1:37.940	+0.548s	168.127 km/h	6
8th	4	Maximilian Götz	Mercedes Team HRT	1:37.986	+0.594s	168.048 km/h	7
9th	5	Vincent Abril	Mercedes Team HRT	1:38.015	+0.623s	167.998 km/h	9
10th	11	Marco Wittmann	Walkenhorst Motorsport	1:38.045	+0.653s	167.947 km/h	10
11th	57	Philip Ellis	Mercedes Team Winward	1:38.104	+0.712s	167.846 km/h	11
12th	10	Esteban Muth	T3 Motorsport	1:38.126	+0.734s	167.808 km/h	12
13th	51	Nico Müller	Team Rosberg	1:38.222	+0.830s	167.644 km/h	13
14th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	ROWE Racing	1:38.512	+1.120s	167.151 km/h	14
15th	16	Timo Glock	ROWE Racing	1:38.687	+1.295s	166.854 km/h	15
16th	26	Esmee Hawkey	T3 Motorsport	1:38.830	+1.438s	166.613 km/h	16
17th	99	Sophia Flörsch	Team ABT	1:38.853	+1.461s	166.574 km/h	17
18th	18	Marvin Dienst	Mercedes Team Mücke	1:38.889	+1.497s	166.513 km/h	18
19th	37	Lucas di Grassi	Team ABT	1:38.950	+1.558s	166.411 km/h	19
20th	12	Dev Gore	Team Rosberg	1:39.172	+1.780s	166.038 km/h	20
21st	6	Hubert Haupt	Mercedes Team HRT	1:39.272	+1.880s	165.871 km/h	21
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Maini served a five penalty for causing a collision with Lucas Auer in the 2021 Hockenheim Race 1.

Grid

The starting grid for the 2021 Hockenheim Race 2 in shown below:

		6	Hubert Haupt	1:39.272			37	Lucas di Grassi	1:38.950			99	Sophia Flörsch	1:38.853			16	Timo Glock	1:38.687			51	Nico Müller	1:38.222			57	Philip Ellis	1:38.104			5	Vincent Abril	1:38.015			4	Maximilian Götz	1:37.986			23	Alexander Albon	1:37.761			30	Liam Lawson	1:37.657			3	Kelvin van der Linde	1:37.392
						12	Dev Gore		1:39.172		18	Marvin Dienst		1:38.889		26	Esmee Hawkey		1:38.830		31	Sheldon van der Linde		1:38.512		10	Esteban Muth		1:38.126		11	Marco Wittmann		1:38.045		36	Arjun Maini		1:37.513		9	Mike Rockenfeller		1:37.940		8	Daniel Juncadella		1:37.746		22	Lucas Auer		1:37.479

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2021 Hockenheim Race 2 is displayed below:

2021 Hockenheim Race 2 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes Team Winward	34	57:33.498	1:39.757	252
2nd	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull AF Corse	34	+6.388s	1:39.857	18
3rd	4	Maximilian Götz	Mercedes Team HRT	34	+12.080s	1:40.060	15
4th	57	Philip Ellis	Mercedes Team Winward	34	+12.748s	1:39.703	12
5th	8	Daniel Juncadella	Mercedes Team GruppeM	34	+13.361s	1:39.948	10
6th	23	Alexander Albon	AlphaTauri AF Corse	34	+15.243s	1:39.550	8
7th	18	Marvin Dienst	Mercedes Team Mücke	34	+17.457s	1:39.930	6
8th	36	Arjun Maini	Mercedes Team GetSpeed	34	+19.418s	1:40.043	41
9th	5	Vincent Abril	Mercedes Team HRT	34	+22.115s	1:39.623	2
10th	3	Kelvin van der Linde	Team ABT Sportsline	34	+24.161s	1:39.915	13
11th	11	Marco Wittmann	Walkenhorst Motorsport	34	+27.260s	1:40.062
12th	51	Nico Müller	Team Rosberg	34	+28.110s	1:40.144
13th	6	Hubert Haupt	Mercedes Team HRT	34	+46.727s	1:40.839
14th	16	Timo Glock	ROWE Racing	34	+50.958s	1:40.782
15th	9	Mike Rockenfeller	Team ABT Sportsline	34	+52.116s	1:40.177
16th	26	Esmee Hawkey	T3 Motorsport	34	+58.142s	1:40.890
17th	12	Dev Gore	Team Rosberg	34	+1:01.886	1:41.014
18th	37	Lucas di Grassi	Team ABT	26	Engine	1:40.767
Ret	10	Esteban Muth	T3 Motorsport	16	Retired	1:40.091
Ret	99	Sophia Flörsch	Team ABT	4	Retired	1:42.078
Ret	31	Sheldon van der Linde	ROWE Racing	2	Retired	—
Source:

• ³ Indicates a driver was awarded points for qualifying in the top three.
• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

• Mercedes-AMG declared as the 2021 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship for Manufacturers' Champions.
  • This was Mercedes' fourth Manufacturers' title in the DTM, and first since 2018.
• Seventh victory for Lucas Auer.
• Third win for HTP Motorsport as an entrant.

Standings

Liam Lawson had returned to the top of the Championship with one round to go, the New Zealander having moved fourteen points clear as the trip to Hockenheim came to a conclusion. Indeed, Kelvin van der Linde had lost a potentially significant amount of ground courtesy of his penalties in Hockenheim, while behind Maximilian Götz and Marco Wittmann had just kept in the hunt in third and fourth with two races to go. In the Junior Championship Lawson's title winning lead had moved out to 146 points, with Sheldon van der Linde having held onto his fourteen point margin over Esteban Muth for second.

In the Teams' Championship AF Corse had inched closer to their maiden title in their rookie season as an entrant in the DTM, with the Italian squad 68 points clear with two races to go. Indeed, only Team ABT Sportsline and Mercedes Team Winward could deny AF Corse the title, with both needing to heavily outscore the Italian effort by a large margin in the first race at Norisring to keep their hopes alive. The Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, was over with two races to go, with Mercedes-AMG having established an unassailable 171 point lead.

2021 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Liam Lawson 206 ▲1 2nd Kelvin van der Linde 192 ▼1 3rd Maximilian Götz 180 ▲1 4th Marco Wittmann 165 ▼1 5th Alexander Albon 130 ◄0 6th Philip Ellis 127 ◄0 7th Lucas Auer 125 ◄0 8th Mike Rockenfeller 77 ◄0 9th Daniel Juncadella 61 ▲2 10th Sheldon van der Linde 55 ▼1 11th Nico Müller 52 ▼1 12th Esteban Muth 41 ◄0 13th Vincent Abril 30 ◄0 14th Arjun Maini 22 ◄0 15th Maximilian Buhk 11 ◄0 16th Timo Glock 9 ◄0 17th Marvin Dienst 6 ▲4 18th Sophia Flörsch 6 ▼1 19th Esmee Hawkey 2 ▼1 20th Christopher Haase 1 ▼1 21st Dev Gore 0 ▼1 22nd Markus Winkelhock 0 ▼1 2021 Junior Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Liam Lawson 206 ◄0 2nd Sheldon van der Linde 55 ◄0 3rd Esteban Muth 41 ◄0 4th Sophia Flörsch 6 ◄0

2021 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st AF Corse 336 ◄0 2nd Team ABT Sportsline 268 ◄0 3rd Mercedes Team Winward 252 ◄0 4th Mercedes Team HRT 208 ◄0 5th Walkenhorst Motorsport 165 ◄0 6th ROWE Racing 64 ◄0 7th Mercedes Team GruppeM 61 ▲1 8th Team Rosberg 51 ▼1 9th T3 Motorsport 48 ◄0 10th Mercedes Team GetSpeed 22 ◄0 11th Mercedes Team Mücke 17 ◄0 12th Team ABT 6 ◄0 2021 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Mercedes-AMG 507 ◄0 2nd Ferrari 336 ▲1 3rd Audi 325 ▼1 4th BMW 229 ◄0 5th Lamborghini 48 ◄0

References

Images and Videos:

• Liveries: byggxx, 'Rennwagen (2021)', dtm.fandom.com/de, (DTM Wiki/de, 2021), https://dtm.fandom.com/de/wiki/Kategorie:Rennwagen_(2021), (Accessed 29/05/2020)

References: