DTM weekend

[Sodemo]

Good race from the DTM boys, certainly better than the rest of the races on today.

Aiello spun on lap 1 or 2 exiting Fogartys esses and collected 2 other cars in the milé.

Apart from that the weekend was pretty dull. The sportscars looked and sounded great, but there wasn't much in the way of racing.

The Clios were good as usual though, 3 abreast into plenty of corners.

[Sodemo]

PS does anyone know what tyres Dunlop were giving away in the paddock?

I don't think they are DTM tyres, I managed to get one, but I haven't a clue what to do with it now.
Does anyone know from which series they are from?

[Sherman]

I sat at the Craner Curves-DTM was pretty dull from there. Clios and Formula Renault were amazing though. Perhaps it was where i was positioned but i couldnt wait for the DTM to end. Same old problems with wings and 0.4 second gaps.....

[Steve Wood]

I think they must have been DTM tyres, Monster, since they change all 4 twice during each race, plus qualifying, practice, etc. 21 cars x 4 tyres x 3 sets = 252 tyres at least. I don't think Dunlop would drag old tyres across the channel, and they must be glad they've got shot of today's problem. I discouraged my son from grabbing one, since tyres are absolutely the most difficult commodity, next to asbestos, to dispose of legally. If they'd had some sort of branding, like "Schneider left rear" I might have thought twice.
Did anybody notice how reasonably priced the corporate memorabilia was, particularly the Audi stuff ?. I imagine they did a straight euro/sterling conversion of their normal prices, which shows how we are ripped-off in the UK.

It was team-mate Abt, and Menu's Opel that Aiello collected in his off. Where you viewing there Ben ? So was I !

[Sodemo]

Yes me and my Dad were watching at Fogartys, we positioned ourselves so that we could just see down the Melbourne loop if we stood up, so we had a good view of Goddards as well.
That is the only place to view the DTM from as they just cant pass around the faster parts of the circuit.
The Aiello incident happened just infront and to the right of where we were.
Paffett went well, and was taking no prisoners.

We watched the rest of the races from Craners, as my Dad wanted to see the screen, we left before the Ferraris because they are usually pretty boring.

Not too keen on the new DTM format though, why can't they just have two 30 minute races without pitstops? I don't understand.

[flor]

no one does

[SALEEN S7R]

Personally I think the race format is better as it is. Its certainly better for a TV audiance, it also opens up chances for making up places, say a driver has a bad start because of either a stalled engine or just gets away slowly they can pit the following lap and then come out in clear air. Having made their mandatory stop they can then put in quick times while the others are caught up in traffic. Now thats just a example, and a fairly obvious one but its true. And I think its made the races exciting this year, as u can start the race light on fuel and make up places early on. Or fuel it to the max and run late into the race. It makes the races less predictable I think.

[flor]

maybe they should get rid of their carbon brakes, that would be a step towards more overtaking, though i have to say even in the old dtm they didn't have good races at donnington

[redshoes]

I thought the race was better than last year's, which was very processional. Didn't understand the pit stop lights in the side windows. Supposedly they were to indicate how many pit stops the cars had made but by the end of the race some cars had 2 lights on, some cars had none :confused:

Whatever anyone says these are NOT touring cars, they are much closer to GTs or Sportscars.

[CookieMonster]

Originally posted by The Monster
PS does anyone know what tyres Dunlop were giving away in the paddock?

I don't think they are DTM tyres, I managed to get one, but I haven't a clue what to do with it now.

Most common idea seems to be coffee table. Others include plant pot (for outdoors, obv.) or chair. I wonder how many of them will be put up on ebay in the next few weeks as people realise thay haven't got anywhere to put them...?

[BertMk2]

I thought the DTM race was very good (but it was the first time I've seen them so I don't have a lot to compare it to). There always seemed to be something going on - even if people weren't actually passing they were giving it a go, locking brakes, getting out of shape, giving each other a nudge etc so it made for a good race.

As has been mentioned the Group C machinery was pretty impressive to look at but the racing was non-existent.

Formula Renault was OK, I'm not a huge fan of single seaters but they were better than I thought they would be.

The Clios were pretty good, close fought door banging action all the way through. It has to be said that some of the lines the drivers took were very 'interesting'.

I wasn't impressed with the Ferraris, they really didn't seem to be that interested in 'racing' each other, they didn't appear to try too hard to defend their positions (probably scared of the repair bills) or make outrageous attempts to pass the car in front. I don't know what the lap times were for the Ferraris but they appeared to be the slowest things out there this weekend.

All in all though I had a great day. On the Tyre side of things one of my friends will be turning his tyre into a coffee table (glass top - DTM photos under the glass).

[G.Walker]

Also my first DTM experience, not sure whether id attend next year unless there are any drastic changes.

To see the cars was an experience, (still prefer the V6 format/ rules) but the racing could have been better, as well as the support package. Is the DTM in need of more manufactures, 3 just does not seem enough, but knowing the price of these cars, i can't see any other manufacturer willing to join in the near future!

[Sodemo]

I watched the DTM warm up from Craners as its great to see the cars bottoming out as they come down the hill striking up sparks like the old F1 cars pre-1995.
Though it seems the Mercs threw up the most sparks, maybe they have different skid blocks to the rest.

[BertMk2]

Originally posted by G.Walker
Also my first DTM experience, not sure whether id attend next year unless there are any drastic changes.

We've already decided we're definitely going back next year! The support package could be improved (lose the Ferraris for a start) but it was worth the trip for the DTM alone.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally posted by redshoes
I thought the race was better than last year's, which was very processional. Didn't understand the pit stop lights in the side windows. Supposedly they were to indicate how many pit stops the cars had made but by the end of the race some cars had 2 lights on, some cars had none :confused:

Whatever anyone says these are NOT touring cars, they are much closer to GTs or Sportscars.

Theres no way these cars are anything like GT or Sportscars. A Porsche 911 would simply destroy any of these cars. No a DTM car would be around 3 seconds a lap slower than a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. These cars are closer to being touring cars than GT cars, they arent even mid-engined either, so in my eyes and the eyes of the regulations they are tourers.

They arent any faster than the Aussie V8s as far as Im aware and these are considered touring cars..

[touringlegend]

You could say Aussie V8's are saloons though. Fair enough to the Astra and the CLK being Touring Cars, but the Audi TT? Go figure. :confused:

What I don't understand about the DTM is why is the race so early on in the day ? Why isn't it left to later on in the afternoon ?

[BertMk2]

Originally posted by touringlegend
What I don't understand about the DTM is why is the race so early on in the day ? Why isn't it left to later on in the afternoon ?

Not sure but I'd guess it was something to do with TV coverage? Do they show the races live? If so a lunchtime slot (europe being 1 hour ahead) makes sense I suppose.

[redshoes]

Originally posted by SALEEN S7R
Theres no way these cars are anything like GT or Sportscars. A Porsche 911 would simply destroy any of these cars. No a DTM car would be around 3 seconds a lap slower than a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

I'm not talking about lap times, I'm talking about the build/design/regulations. They are a racing chassis with vague lookalike body panels, almost in the same way as Tony Sugden's 'Skoda'.

These cars are closer to being touring cars than GT cars, they arent even mid-engined either, so in my eyes and the eyes of the regulations they are tourers.

Do GTs have to be mid-engined ? Does that make the Lister Storm a touring car?

Originally posted by BertMk2
Not sure but I'd guess it was something to do with TV coverage? Do they show the races live? If so a lunchtime slot (europe being 1 hour ahead) makes sense I suppose.

German TV was showing the final stage of the Tour De France live so the DTM race was moved to earlier in the day to avoid a clash.

[JMeissner]

Originally posted by SALEEN S7R
No a DTM car would be around 3 seconds a lap slower than a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Are you sure about that? During the 24h Nürburgring there were few Porsche 911's that could match the DTM cars pace...

[PaulSands]

I enjoyed the spectacle but lost track of race spending so much time trying to snap the sparks at the Curves
dunno if I manged yet either...overall it was a good day but it did lack a little racing
The first couple of laps for the Group C boys looked promising but that dropped off and I ghave to admit I find F.Renault as dull as ditchwater...perfect training for an F1 career

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally posted by JMeissner
Are you sure about that? During the 24h Nürburgring there were few Porsche 911's that could match the DTM cars pace...

I think u will find they are all Porsche Cup cars though, and none of the Porsches that raced there are from top line professional teams like ud find in FIA GT. Bear in mind the Nurburgring 24hrs is a very much amatuer race, with only a couple of professionals. Put any DTM machine into say the Spa 24hrs, which is also a round of the FIA GT championship and they would finish near the back.

[BertMk2]

Are the DTM cars Touring cars, GTs or sportscars?

I don't care - they look good, sound fantastic and go like sh!t off a chrome shovel.

I'm hooked!

[manicmarshal]

Loved it. I was marshalling at Goddards and got a great view of cars squeezing past each other or nudging! Also quite special when jean Alesi won again and did his victory donuts in front of us.

The Clio's were well naughty, Dan Buxton raced his socks off, one of the young drivers got a black and white flag for driving standards.I do enjoy the F. Renault. found the Class C cars a bit boring, we lost most of them during the race! but the Ferrari's were actually quite good. definitely looking for ward to it next year.

[rdjones]

I can't say I was that impressed with the DTM, sorry it just seemed boring thats all.

[bella]

the main thing that seemed to be missing from the dtm was another race. all that way for just the one race, and one that got terribly boring halfway through the race. couldn't fault the first few laps though!

support races would have been nothing without the renault series. and even though the sunday formula renault race wasn't up to much for anyone who wasn't supporting anyone specific, the saturday one was top notch. clios are great as always.