DTM 2000 - Hockenheim II - Highlights
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00:00We take you back to the future.
00:07This is the German Touring Car Masters 2000.
00:11Hello everyone and welcome to Hockenheim, Germany, the last race weekend in the German
00:16Touring Car Masters season.
00:18What a great season it's been.
00:20The champion has been decided, but the fans are here to see the rest of the drivers try
00:24to gain prestige as they look ahead to next season.
00:28Franz Beckenbauer, one of the major guests here today for the racing at Hockenheim.
00:35Before we get to the racing today, we'd like to take a look at one of the young drivers
00:38in the field.
00:43Marcel Thiemann has earned his place in the German motorsport scene.
00:46He's been a factory driver for Mercedes for four years.
00:49His driving skills and appearances for Mercedes are certainly his strength.
01:00He started racing late, in fact at 18, and he had to overcome the image of a rich family
01:05supporting him.
01:08He started that track by winning the German Formula Renault championship in 1994, but
01:13there were still a number of doubters.
01:23In Formula 3, it changed.
01:25He finished fourth in that championship and won the prestigious Formula 3 race in Monaco.
01:29He gained respect and the attention of Mercedes.
01:46He gained more respect in the GT World Championship.
01:48He became known as a fast and reliable driver.
02:04He worked on the development of the 1999 Le Mans prototype.
02:21He now needs a little bit of luck for the big breakthrough in the German touring car
02:26masters.
02:49He keeps pushing forward, and maybe that luck will be with him here at Hockenheim.
02:5420 cars ready to go over this Grand Prix circuit, 4.24 miles long, 15 laps per race, each race
03:02about 63 miles.
03:04It's a sprint, two of them on a race weekend.
03:07And there's your pole sitter, well actually on the outside pole.
03:11That being of course Uwe Ahlsen, Manuel Reuter is on the pole.
03:15The two top cars, Opels.
03:17In fact, the Opels have surprised everyone here qualifying the top three positions.
03:23In fact, here's how the lineup goes.
03:25On the pole position, for the second time this season, Manuel Reuter looking to clinch
03:29the points.
03:30Uwe Ahlsen, third time on the outside pole.
03:33Eric Ellery is getting his best start of the season, starting third.
03:37Bernd Schneider, the champ, is fourth.
03:39Joachim Winkelhock looking for his second win this season, his fifth.
03:42Next to him is Christian Menzel.
03:44Then Michel Bartels and Pedro Lamy.
03:47Two drivers trying to improve their image this season.
03:50Laurent Aiello matches the best start for the Audis this year, as did Darren Turner,
03:55his personal best.
03:56Klaus Ludwig, second time he's started 11th in the field, he's back a ways.
04:01Next to him was Timo Scheider.
04:02Then comes Peter Dumbrek and Marcel Fesler.
04:06And then comes the man we just talked about, Marcel Thiemann and Stefano Modena in the
04:11independent Opel.
04:12James Thompson from England in an Audi.
04:15And then Thomas Jäger, his worst start of the season.
04:18And then Christensen and Christian App.
04:21Those are the 20 cars that will be starting the first race of the day here at Hockenheim,
04:25the eighth race weekend in the German touring car masters.
04:33Reuter is on the left in the white and yellow as they get the green, and they're underway.
04:38Reuter gets a great jump.
04:40Uwe Ahlsen tries to pull inside, and that black and red Opel can't get by.
04:45And the cars work their way through the first corner, and it's very, very clean.
04:50But this is the exciting moment for all the drivers, this first long straight here at
04:54Hockenheim.
04:55Speeds during the race will get up over 175 miles an hour.
04:58But right now, they're bunched together trying to sort themselves out before they have to
05:02break down to a first-gear chicane.
05:06Heading out through the woods, and here's that first one right here.
05:09There's always plenty of action in this corner.
05:12Usually a little bit of bumping going on trying to sort themselves out, and we have a spin.
05:19We have a spin.
05:20Christian Menzel spun, and Laurent Aiello went outside to get by him.
05:27The cars now are sorting out more, though, and the Opels are up in front with pretty
05:32much the story to themselves.
05:34It's quite amazing, in fact.
05:36There comes Reuter, Olsen, Ellery, Winkelhock, and Bartels, and Timo Scheider had to use
05:42the emergency exit to get around the corner.
05:47Picked up some ground there.
05:48I have to wait and see what officials do about that.
05:50Meanwhile, the Opels show their dominance here in the opening lap at Hockenheim, and
05:54the German touring car masters.
05:56And it was Ellery that went just a little bit wide, and Jochen Winkelhock in that red
06:02Opel got by him, as did Bartels in another Opel, and Eric Ellery dropped way back.
06:08Let's see if we can see what happened here.
06:10It looks like Menzel was touched by Bernd Schneider.
06:15You can see how close it was for Laurent Aiello in that yellow Audi, but Menzel keeps on going.
06:24But Reuter is out in front, and he's picking up a little bit of ground on the field.
06:32This is a track for experience.
06:36The Grand Prix circuit with its drafting and its little nuances.
06:41The veterans have the advantage here, where in some courses earlier this season, the young
06:47drivers, and there are plenty of great ones in the field, have a chance to keep up, but
06:50right now you can see it's the veterans, with the exception of Timo Scheider, who is
06:54running 6th right now.
06:56It's the veterans that are up front.
06:59Manuel Reuter needs to finish in the points, and he guarantees him 2nd place in the championship
07:04this season.
07:05There you get another look at Menzel, bumped by Schneider, and it's Aiello who goes off.
07:13Get another look at it from Klaus Ludwig's car.
07:17He's back in the pack just a little bit, and as they head through, you get a good look
07:23at how the chicane is handled here.
07:29So Ahlsen and Reuter are pulling away from the rest of the pack.
07:33There they go, and then comes the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th place cars, and Bernd Schneider
07:39is running in 7th place it looks like right now.
07:42So the newly crowned champion, he picked it up at the Nürburgring, is running back
07:47in 7th.
07:48Right now it's an Opel Holiday here at Hockenheim.
07:53We're talking about the fact that Reuter could clinch the 2nd place.
07:56He has a 40 point lead over Klaus Ludwig.
07:59There are 20 points to win each race.
08:01Ludwig would basically have to win both races, and Reuter would have to finish out of the
08:07points for Ludwig to take over 2nd place.
08:12Right now Klaus is back in the pack a little bit.
08:14He's back in about 9th position, and Reuter is up in front.
08:19So all Manuel has to do is to bring the car home in the points, and of course he'd like
08:23to bring it home victorious, and he's got 2nd place in the championship.
08:27A typically great fall crowd here at Hockenheim.
08:32Winkelhock and Bartels in front of this huge crowd today.
08:39Nürburgring cars are a traditional event in the fall in Germany, and the renewal of
08:46this series after it lay dormant for a couple of years has brought the fans back.
08:52Once again you're riding with Klaus Ludwig, and we're going through the point where Schneider
08:58got a little off, came back on the course, you can see him to the right.
09:01There goes Menzel spinning, Klaus has to go off the course, comes back on, and Schneider
09:07gets up there in front of him.
09:09So Klaus was lucky that he avoided any contact in that little melee.
09:14Meanwhile you can see that everyone is now into the slipstreaming mode, and here the
09:21more experienced drivers certainly know how to use it.
09:23In qualifying they were using it with some of the younger drivers, in fact it was Opel's
09:29Manuel Reuter who used a Mercedes young driver to get a slipstream draft and gain pole position.
09:35Pedro Lamy has recorded the fastest lap so far here at the first race of the day in the
09:41German touring car masters at Hockenheim.
09:44Mercedes, Opel, and Audi winding up the first season of this brand new series.
09:50There goes Schneider with those yellow mirrors in that gray Mercedes, he was trying to move
09:54up a slot but couldn't do it.
09:57Marcel Thiemann with the original Teile car, the Mercedes, has the red mirrors, gray with
10:05the blue front, you can just see him to the right of your screen right there.
10:10Right ahead of him is Klaus Ludwig, you can just barely see the red mirrors of Ludwig's
10:15car.
10:16Here you get a good look at Thiemann coming through, and Pedro Lamy is right behind him.
10:25Manuel Reuter, your leader, Uwe Ahlson running second.
10:29Ahlson has one victory to his credit, that was at Oschersleben, made a mistake in the
10:33second race, Bernd Schneider got by to take that victory.
10:37Ahlson who had quite frankly a very miserable start to the season, couldn't get used to
10:41the car, couldn't get used to handling it, all of a sudden in the last three races Ahlson
10:46has become a force.
10:51He's also known for not being that gentle.
10:55He's not afraid to come up and say hello with a slight little bump.
11:01There you see Reuter, Ahlson, Reuter and Ahlson running nose to tail and pulling away from
11:07the rest of the field.
11:09But the Opels are in the top six positions, Bernd Schneider, the first Mercedes in seventh,
11:16Darren Turner, another Mercedes running eighth, Turner also in his first season in the German
11:20touring car masters, in German touring car racing.
11:28Take a look here with Christian Menzel, he gets up on two wheels, up on the back of the
11:34Thompson car it looks like, and Christian Menzel in the Ermscher Opel misjudged the
11:44braking point, jumped in the air and then went into the tires.
11:52That's a shame because the private team, the Ermscher team has done very well and has been
11:58improving every race and now to come to the last race and have that kind of an accident,
12:02that's too bad.
12:04What's happened here?
12:07Look at these two cars, something happened, Reuter is smoking and Ahlson is missing parts
12:12of the front of his car.
12:15Here's what happened, whoa, they collided, it's hard to tell what happened but they collided,
12:21Ahlson came up and bumped Reuter, Ahlson going into the runoff area to work his way back
12:27into the field, meanwhile, Manuel Reuter has smoke coming out of his car and Ahlson has
12:34passed Manuel Reuter.
12:38So two Opel drivers collide, Laurent Aiello, what a shame, he's out of the race, Aiello
12:47who's done some of the most magnificent qualifying for the Audi which has had to come from a
12:52two second deficit at the beginning of the year to qualify up in the top ten and finish
12:57in the top ten, he's out, at least for this race.
13:01The Frenchman though certainly has to be optimistic with the prospects for next year if Audi wants
13:06to come in and come back, this is a private team, the Audi team, and Manuel Reuter is
13:11coming into the pits, your leader who had lead comes into the pits, locks them up because
13:16that's where the speed trap is, once they're headed down the pit lane they have to keep
13:22their speed and they'll go in and see if they can fix the car.
13:27The crew goes to work, going to change tires, particularly that back one, evidently that's
13:31where Olsen bumped him, now Uwe Olsen has inherited the lead, he has a definite aerodynamic
13:37change, right behind him in that red Opel is Manfred Winkelhoff, then comes Michel Bartels,
13:43then comes Eric Allory, and Bernd Schneider, thanks to Reuter going out, has moved up another
13:49slot.
13:51Schneider has had no luck in the fall race on the Grand Prix course in touring cars here,
13:55he'd like to win one here, he hasn't done it yet.
14:01He's got the championship though, after dominating at the Nürburgring.
14:07Uwe Olsen, at Ostersleben he was in double figures on going off the course, totally unbelievable.
14:18Reuter is coming back out, they got the car repaired, reports are he's not a very happy
14:24driver right now, when one of your teammates puts you out of competition or out of first
14:30place in particular, you're not going to be a happy man.
14:38He doesn't have to worry so far about his second place finish in the championship because
14:44Ludwig is still back in the field.
14:48Klaus is running in seventh position right now.
14:52He has to win the race in order to make it close in the second place in the championship.
14:57And a battle going through the corner, Allory and Bernd Schneider, and Allory pulls out,
15:02but now they go into the draft.
15:06Bernd wanted to get by, Allory wouldn't let him do it.
15:11Let's see what happens as they come into the east curve.
15:14Another chicane that slows them down.
15:16Inside goes Schneider, no he didn't, he backed up, they line up and go through.
15:20In front is Winkelhock, then Bartels, then comes Allory, and then comes Bernd Schneider.
15:25This quartet really has to be aware of each other here.
15:32Take another look at this, Schneider gets inside going in, they're equal but no advantage.
15:37Schneider goes over the curbs, Allory holds position, goes over the curbs on the inside,
15:43they come out of the corner and Allory has the advantage.
15:46Schneider goes off just a little bit into the dirt, and Allory prevails.
15:50Here's another look at it.
15:56And while that was all going on, everyone was paying attention to that, you can see
15:59that Michel Bartels also trying to make a move and couldn't do it.
16:05And Bartels has slowed down a little bit, Winkelhock has pulled ahead of him, Schneider
16:10now has pulled in behind Bartels, and Allory has dropped back a position.
16:16And pieces are flying everywhere.
16:20This is only the first race of the day, and it's one of the toughest on the cars that
16:23we've seen all season long.
16:26There's Klaus Ludwig, Marcel Thiemann, and Eric Allory continues to drop back.
16:35Klaus Schietmelo being bent here today.
16:40It was one of the things that everyone talked about before the race, that there could be
16:44this situation develop, and it certainly has here.
16:49Mercedes goes off as Klaus Ludwig comes into the pits.
16:54Ludwig is coming into the pits, and he's coming in for a penalty, it looks like.
17:05They said the car was not jacked up properly at the start, and he is taking a penalty for
17:11it.
17:18And Ludwig is not happy.
17:20He shut it off.
17:22Klaus Ludwig has shut it off, he is mad.
17:26What has happened is, is that the car was not properly set up at the start for the start,
17:33and the mechanics or someone did not have it quite right, and Ludwig has been penalized,
17:39and he has just closed the door and said that's it.
17:46There you get a look at the Mercedes that went off the course.
17:52That was Dumbrek, who took a little bit of a different corner.
17:57But going back to Ludwig, the veteran driver in the field, he's the oldest driver in the
18:01field, the top touring car driver in the field, and to have something like that happen
18:05to him, where he was not under control of it but his crew was, Klaus's temper certainly
18:12exploded.
18:14He's out of the car, not a happy man.
18:19He's not a happy man.
18:27But now, with him out this early, there's a chance he could be in danger of losing his
18:33third place in the points to Fesler, his teammate.
18:43They're going to have to get Klaus out for the second race at least.
18:47Fesler is not up in the points that far yet, but he could pick up points that would get
18:52him nearer to Ludwig, and now Klaus would have a chance to lose third place.
19:00Who would have thought that possible?
19:03Fesler is 39 points behind Ludwig, so there's a chance there could be a change in third
19:15place in the points in the final standings.
19:17Reuter is not worried anymore.
19:19He's on the course.
19:20Ludwig is out.
19:21Ludwig would have had to win the race in order to take over second place, so that's gone.
19:27Now you get a look at Michel Bartels followed by Bernd Schneider, the Ayrton Senna chicane.
19:35Behind them is Winkelhoff, then comes Marcel Thiemann, and there is Fesler.
19:44Another three cars back, so it'll be interesting in the second race as Schneider gets inside
19:49of Michel Bartels.
19:51Bernd Schneider has pulled inside Michel Bartels and is now about to set up a chase for Uwe
19:59Ahlson, but Ahlson has a tremendous lead.
20:05Bernd Schneider, who dropped all the way back to seventh position at the beginning, has
20:12now worked his way into second position in the Mercedes.
20:18Schneider and that Mercedes have been known to become stronger as the race goes on.
20:24They don't run quite as strong up front, but as the race goes on, it gets better.
20:27He seems to have a knack with the tires and with the car, and he's always strong at the
20:31end.
20:32And right now, he's pulled into second place, but you can see that Uwe Ahlson is rolling.
20:40After the collision with another Opel teammate and Reuter having to leave, Uwe has just taken
20:48off and run.
20:50The battle between Marcel Thiemann, the blue and gray Mercedes, and that red Opel of Eric
20:56Allory continues.
20:57There, you get a good look at Bernd Schneider, the leading Mercedes in this group with the
21:03yellow mirrors.
21:05Ahlson's being challenged by Winkelhock as they head through the chicane.
21:14It's still pretty much of an Opel show, but Bernd Schneider has moved in and sandwiched
21:18himself up front.
21:20The Opels are looking good, though, and you get a great view of the east chicane here
21:27and how they use the curves.
21:30A lot of bumping going on.
21:33Fesler and Thiemann bump.
21:39Well, you can tell this is the last race weekend.
21:44People want to make a good impression and sometimes they're battling just a little bit
21:47too hard, and Marcel Thiemann is in the gravel.
21:51His first race is over.
21:53They won't get him out until the start of the second race.
21:57Take another look at it here.
21:59Fesler is that black Mercedes on the inside.
22:01Thiemann may not have seen him, drove right into him.
22:05They bump and bump.
22:06Fesler keeps going, and Thiemann spins into the gravel.
22:10Behind him was one of the Opels, and then comes Elrez Bartels.
22:15Now take a look at this.
22:16He gets into the gravel and it's over.
22:21So the field continues to change, but important for Fesler is that he'll have a chance to
22:25move up just a little bit in the points and have a chance to catch, possibly catch we
22:31should say, Klaus Lidwig for third place in the standings, which would be quite an accomplishment
22:35for one of the rookies in this series.
22:39Getting the Thiemann car off the track.
22:44As Baron Schneider, your second place car, continues to run ahead of Bartels, and then
22:49comes Winkelhock, and Winkelhock would like to get by Bartels.
22:56Winkelhock was another one that started off quite slow, then he won the race at the Norris
23:00Ring on the street course in Nuremberg.
23:07That was why you couldn't see the mirrors, the red mirror of Thiemann was off, that left
23:11one when you looked at the car.
23:12It's about the only way you can tell some of these cars apart are the colors of the
23:16rearview mirrors, like the yellow ones here of Baron Schneider.
23:24In comes Bartels, Winkelhock, that trio running second, third, fourth, with Fessler back in
23:32fifth.
23:33Ellery is running back in sixth position.
23:39As this first race heads toward conclusion, Uwe Ahlsen, the man that's looking to prove
23:51that he really belongs in touring cars once again, that he hadn't forgotten how to do
23:54it when he stepped into the Opels this year, Ahlsen way out in front, heading into the
24:06last lap, the battle right now is second, third, and fourth positions.
24:13Michel Bartels has a third place finish to his credit.
24:21He would love to have finished second, that would have been his best finish this season.
24:26He finished third earlier this year in the second race here at Hockenheim, but that was
24:31on the short course.
24:34But ahead of him is the strong Mercedes of Baron Schneider, and behind him is a tough
24:41competitor in Jochen Winkelhock.
24:45We're in the last lap of the first race of the day in the German touring car masters
24:49here in the Grand Prix course at Hockenheim, Germany.
24:55You're looking at the second, third, and fourth place cars as Winkelhock goes outside.
24:58Is he going to be able to use the draft to get by?
25:01Not here.
25:03Tries to get inside.
25:04It's not there.
25:07Winkelhock has not given up.
25:10He still wants that second place finish.
25:13If he can get it.
25:14Or third place, I should say.
25:15He'll never get up in time to catch Schneider.
25:22The long straight toward the chicane.
25:25Winkelhock moved outside.
25:27Bartels blocked him.
25:28Winkelhock goes inside.
25:29Has he got position?
25:30He does.
25:31Jochen Winkelhock has moved inside and taken over third place.
25:38Bartels is back to fourth.
25:41Fesler in that black Mercedes is running fifth.
25:44Ellery is running sixth.
25:46Can Bartels make one more move to get by Winkelhock?
25:49Winkelhock is making that opal as wide as he possibly can to stop Bartels from getting
25:53by.
25:54It's going to be hard.
25:55This is not an area that you can pass in on this track.
25:58Meanwhile, Uwe Ahlsund looking for his second victory of the season, although somewhat controversial
26:05after his bump with the leader, Manuel Reuter, Ahlsund brings opal victory here at Hockenheim
26:11in the first race of the day on the grand prix circuit and the last race weekend in
26:16the German touring car masters.
26:17Van Schneider comes in a very respectable second place.
26:20Winkelhock is third.
26:22And Bartels is running fourth.
26:26So the opals finish first, third, and fourth.
26:32A good day for them.
26:36And that's the man that brings them victory as you get a great view of the grand prix
26:39circuit here at Hockenheim.
26:42Peter Dunbrek came up to seventh, another of the rookie drivers this season.
26:47Pedro Lamy, also new to the series, was eighth.
26:50So some of the young drivers able to take advantage of the fact that there was a little
26:53bit of bumping going on in the early part of the season, of the race.
26:57Here comes the man that won it.
26:58You can see the aerodynamic change on that right front fender, and the fans certainly
27:04appreciate the driver's efforts here at Hockenheim.
27:08So now they go to work to get the cars ready for the second race of the day.
27:15That tent on top-like structure is VIPs, and it's an area where they have parties during
27:21race weekends.
27:22You get a great look here at the pit road at Hockenheim, and then the back of the stadium
27:28section of the racetrack.
27:29The fans going and taking a look at the cars as best they can.
27:33Another look at the course.
27:35Another 15 laps.
27:36You can see those long straightaways, very, very fast.
27:43It's overcast as the helicopter goes up and provides the pictures from in the car.
27:51Heads head out onto the warm-up lap, the pace lap, before the start of the second race
27:58of the day in the German Touring Car Masters here at the Grand Prix course in Hockenheim.
28:05This stadium course you're looking at right here, that green section to the left is one
28:08of the best viewing points you can imagine.
28:10You can sit there and watch all kinds of action.
28:13For a road course, it's one of those friendly courses where you do get to see an awful lot.
28:18There are a couple of other courses in Germany.
28:20The new course, the Euro Speedway in the Lausitz area, and Auschwitz-Leben, where you
28:23get a tremendous view from the stands.
28:26Time to go racing here at Hockenheim.
28:28Olsen gets a big jump.
28:29Schneider, way on the right, had dropped back to try to get a run here.
28:33Olsen has the lead.
28:35Schneider cuts inside, but inside of him is that red Opel, a Winkelhawk, and Winkelhawk
28:40takes over second place.
28:44And Bartels has bumped Schneider, who spins.
28:47And two more cars have gone off.
28:49Hessler is off.
28:50Ellery has gone off.
28:53That's the Eric Ellery Opel, and look at the gravel he's throwing on the track.
28:57That'll make things difficult when they come back around here.
29:01And Peter Dumbrick has lost the hood to his car.
29:05The Dumbrick car does not have a hood.
29:09Into the chicane.
29:11That's a natural hazard right there, with part of it just hanging off to the side.
29:19The Opels still out in front.
29:25And Dumbrick, who would have been the lead Mercedes, is certainly going to have to go
29:30to the pits very quickly here.
29:34Stefano Modena in the Opel now, because of all the pushing and shoving, has moved in
29:38behind Dumbrick.
29:40Modena in the independent Opel gets by, and more cars are spinning, and Klaus Ludwig is
29:47the result of one of those.
29:49Right there he is.
29:50Ludwig, who had problems in the first race, spins into the gravel, and as they go through
29:56the corner again, here's what, look at all the cars.
29:59It was Ellery involved, Ludwig involved, and now there are going to be cars all over the
30:08place to figure out who's in what position here.
30:13The difficult one is certainly for Klaus Ludwig, who went off and needs to finish.
30:20Heading back into the arena area now, Dumbrick, with that part still hanging out of his car,
30:25is going to have to pit.
30:32And the leader continues to be Uwe Ahlsen, but Bernd Schneider is also starting to make
30:37his charge.
30:38You see him right there to the right of your screen.
30:40Bernd Schneider spun by Bartels in the first lap, in the opening moments.
30:45So now it's Ahlsen-Winkelhoff, and Bartels is running third.
30:50Then comes the rest of the pack, and look at that, Stefano Modena is running fourth,
30:54Pedro Lamy fifth, Bernd Schneider has moved up into sixth position, Timo Scheider is seventh.
31:01So Stefano Modena is headed out for what could be one of his best finishes, if he can hold
31:06position.
31:08So there's the spin by Nissen, and he hits Ludwig, Ludwig goes off into the gravel, and
31:18Klaus is back on the track, but back in the pack.
31:23And more bumping going on as Tiemann and Darren Turner have their way about things.
31:36Nissen's car is now in the pits, they're going to work on it to see if they can get
31:41him to come out.
31:42Meanwhile Modena continues to run, Lamy behind him, Bernd Schneider is running third in that
31:48little group, followed by Timo Scheider, the youngest driver in the field in the Opel.
31:54And another car is taking the escape route to get around the corner.
31:59Chris Nissen's Audi is in the pits.
32:05Manuel Reuter, who is starting back in the pack, you get a good look at what happened
32:09as the cars are spinning left and right, he worked his way through and he missed Ludwig
32:14at the end.
32:16So Manuel Reuter had a front row seat to that accident, back out in the east corner.
32:22Uwe Ahlson continues to lead, Benko Haack is running second, then Bartels, behind him
32:27Stefano Modena, Pedro Lamy, Bernd Schneider, and Timo Scheider.
32:32Just the order here in the second race of the day in the German touring car masters
32:36on the Grand Prix course at Hockenheim, Germany.
32:40Plenty of excitement here.
32:42Keep everybody on their feet.
32:45Timo Scheider is going off that back rear wheel.
32:48He's got problems.
32:50His day is over for the young rookie.
32:52The 21-year-old has done a great job this season and certainly impressed everybody with
32:56his abilities.
33:00This is an expensive race.
33:01A lot of cars are damaged and several are already sitting on the sidelines.
33:07But the groups have sorted themselves out.
33:10Modena is running in that last group in fourth position.
33:13Here come your top three cars.
33:16Then comes Modena.
33:18Pedro Lamy, the former Formula One driver, now in his first season in touring cars.
33:25And behind them, the veteran, Bernd Schneider.
33:29Manuel Reuter has picked up the fastest lap.
33:33And you're riding with him right now.
33:35He was leading the first race when he was so unceremoniously bumped by an Opel teammate,
33:41Uwe Ahlson, had to go to the pits.
33:46Now he's starting in the back of the field, coming in to the last race of the season.
33:51Timon and Darren Turner are battling.
33:59Inside also is Jaeger.
34:04This is a group of young drivers, and behind the top of those three is Manuel Reuter.
34:12Get another look at Reuter as he tries to get by some of these cars.
34:15He pulls out.
34:17Timon is in front of him.
34:21They continue to head down toward the chicane.
34:24Oh!
34:25And Reuter has spun!
34:28Manuel Reuter crashes hard into the wall.
34:34He was moving up through the pack, doing so well, and then all of a sudden, he went into
34:39the wall.
34:44Track crews are there.
34:47They took a real shot.
34:50You can see that he really hit the wall hard.
34:54He looks to be okay, but evidently, that was a real slam.
35:00Manuel Reuter, moving up through the pack.
35:02He is spun, it looks like, by Jaeger, who bumped him.
35:07He goes off and hits the wall on the driver's side.
35:12The car comes back out, luckily not too far out of the track.
35:17Reuter tried to cut back into line, it looks like, and either he didn't see...
35:24Jaeger, or he just...
35:26Jaeger didn't see him.
35:29And Reuter took a tremendous jolt when he hit that wall.
35:38So one of the top Opel drivers, second place in the championship this season.
35:41There you see him right now.
35:42They'll take him in to have him checked.
35:45He's out of the race.
35:47What a disappointing last race weekend for Manuel Reuter.
35:52And what a great win it is for the leader of that little group right there.
35:55Stefano Modena from Italy in the Euro team.
36:00It's an independent team.
36:02They have also had to do their share of fighting to get up into position.
36:07And he's running up in the top five.
36:09Here comes Bernd Schneider.
36:12Schneider is right up behind him.
36:14He has passed Pedro Lamy.
36:15It's now Modena.
36:18You get another look at Manuel Reuter's car from inside as he goes off.
36:23Hits the wall.
36:26The car spins again and comes back around.
36:33And that's the end of the racing day for Manuel Reuter.
36:37Bernd Schneider goes outside.
36:43Stefano Modena.
36:44They've got the chicane ahead of them.
36:46The Jim Clark chicane.
36:48Are they going to stay side by side?
36:49Well, they are partially until Schneider gets by Modena.
36:54Pedro Lamy quickly pulls up behind Stefano Modena.
36:58And the trio continues to run as they head toward the next chicane at the east corner.
37:02Meanwhile, this man, Uwe Alsen, continues to roll.
37:07And now he's all by himself.
37:10And Bettsdorf, resident, continues to go looking for his second win as Lamy gets by
37:18Stefano Modena.
37:23And Fesler has lost the hood to his car.
37:28Fesler has lost the car.
37:30And because of the change in aerodynamics, he also lost control in the corner.
37:38We're looking at Ellery, followed by Jaeger.
37:46And an Audi.
37:47And now you're seeing something a little unusual, as an Audi is battling a Mercedes.
37:51In the beginning of the season, the Audi wasn't able to compete with anybody except themselves.
37:56They've come on very, very strong.
38:05As they head out into the chicane, the Audi on the inside, Mercedes.
38:13And he gets by.
38:14Can you believe it?
38:15The Audi coming on very, very strong.
38:20Thompson putting on a great performance here.
38:26And so the Audis, everyone didn't really have much respect at the beginning of the year.
38:31Everyone was looking for their diligence in preparing the cars, but it wasn't there
38:34with power.
38:35But now they seem to be catching up and really running well at the tail end of the season.
38:40The first cars weren't ready until the very first race, basically.
38:44Mercedes got theirs done early, and then they could do some testing, but Audi wasn't the
38:49same.
38:50Bernd Schneider is coming into the pits.
38:54Bernd Schneider comes into the pits.
38:58They're going to change some tires.
39:00They evidently have some problems on the car that they're looking at.
39:03He is still parked.
39:06The car is not down.
39:09It looks like he may have problems that are going to keep him out.
39:15So the champion may not be able to finish the last race of the season.
39:24But we can enjoy this nice battle between a Mercedes and an Audi, something you have
39:29not seen all season long.
39:33Jaeger and Thompson.
39:35What a great battle they're putting on for the fans.
39:40This is a decimated field of cars.
39:42It'll be one of the smaller finishing cars, fields of cars this season.
39:46Look at the leaves that have accumulated on the front of Bartle's car, and it's smoking
39:51a little bit up on the tires.
39:53This is the one time in the fall here, when they sail out into the woods, you can pick
39:58up a lot of debris.
40:03And Bartle's car certainly has picked up a lot of leaves.
40:06He's still running strong, though.
40:09Ahead of Vinkelhoek.
40:16It's almost now a battle of survival for these drivers.
40:19It has been a tough day.
40:20It has been a rough day.
40:23There's been more metal bent today than has been most of all season.
40:29Some drivers trying to prove that they should be here next year.
40:32Other drivers trying to gain prestige.
40:37And everybody not quite holding back as they might have when they're bending.
40:44That smoking tire is Michel Bartle's.
40:51And Vinkelhoek goes by him through the chicane.
40:54The two Opels continue to battle, but it looks like Michel Bartle has some problems.
41:02Heading back out toward the east corner.
41:06That's your battle for second and third.
41:09Uwe Ahlsen is way out in front.
41:13He took the lead from the start, and is just continually building.
41:19He certainly is one of those who's hoping that next year will not be as difficult as
41:22this year is.
41:24The 33-year-old Ahlsen is one of those drivers who did not start as most European drivers
41:29do in formula racing.
41:30He started in a manufacturer series, and has been in touring-type cars, hard tops, all
41:36his racing career.
41:39Truly unusual in Europe.
41:43There you have Pedro Lamy.
41:45And behind him, Stefano Modena.
41:52Modena continues to push.
41:55Another driver who's had an uphill battle with a private team this year.
41:59Christian Menzel, who went out in the very first race after that rather spectacular accident,
42:03is another of the drivers who's extremely talented, but he's had to work with an independent
42:09team that had to fight to get the cars respectable.
42:13And they did.
42:15But then he went out so unceremoniously here today in the first race.
42:24Pedro Lamy, also looking for a good finish here to mark his first season in touring cars.
42:32Stefano Modena, the veteran, 37-years-old from Italy.
42:39They're coming up the closing laps of the race.
42:41When you do an interview with Modena, you get a very thoughtful person.
42:51He gets kind of deep in his conversations.
42:55Interesting man.
42:57Right now, he's trying to bring the Euro Team Opel back up into the front.
43:06He right now is running in a position that is one of the best finishes that he's had
43:13all year.
43:14The question is, can he hold on and bring it home?
43:18He certainly would like to.
43:23He's holding positions with a couple of laps to go.
43:26And there's Klaus Ludwig.
43:28He did get back on the course.
43:30He has held on to his third place in the points championship after Fedsler lost the hood to
43:36his car and went off the course and had to go get the car fixed.
43:43So Ludwig has held on to third place in the points standing.
43:48Now the last couple of laps are strictly a matter of prestige.
43:53And Modena wants to get by.
43:55He can't do it here.
43:59Coming out, will he be able to?
44:00Let's see.
44:05Still hasn't been able to make the move yet.
44:09The second and third place cars are already by.
44:12Lamy ahead of him.
44:20There's Marcel Thiemann.
44:24And Thiemann, once again, has had to battle, as we've seen earlier in the program when
44:29you had a chance to meet him.
44:34He certainly has had to battle with his share of problems throughout the year.
44:39He's done fairly well for himself.
44:41He's made a good name for himself in the series, as have all the rookie drivers.
44:48He's come out very, very strong.
44:52And everyone has been very impressed with the way he has driven.
44:57Now he just has to come in and see if he can get that victory, which is so hard to
45:06come by.
45:07It's just not one of those things you get every day.
45:12And right now he's got Darren Turner in his rearview mirror.
45:19As they head out into the woods once again.
45:23Klaus Lidbeck back in 11th position.
45:27The touring car ventured ending up a season after he came out of retirement to come back
45:34and race one more time.
45:37And this is the battle that's left with a couple of minutes remaining in the race.
45:45Marcel Thiemann, Darren Turner.
45:50They can't get any closer than that going through the east curve.
45:57The battle for fifth continues to roll.
46:02And Modena has taken over fourth.
46:06Stefano Modena will bring his team home with their best finish of the season if he can
46:11hold on.
46:14Lamy has got definite problems.
46:15He is slowing down.
46:17Thiemann is getting by him.
46:22Something very, very wrong with that car.
46:25But all these cars, as you can see, have had a rough day.
46:33Turner cannot get by Marcel Thiemann.
46:35They head into the stadium area.
46:42Into a very deep dip.
46:45And they come out of it to a short chute, a small bend, and then they head right.
46:50And a right-hander finally to take him down the front straight past the pit area.
46:57You can see the fans.
47:00Touring cars, one of the most popular versions of racing in Germany.
47:06The most popular, of course, being Formula One in Europe.
47:10But the touring cars draw great crowds no matter where they are, and bringing back the
47:14German touring car masters after a couple of years hiatus has brought a lot of the touring
47:19car fans back to the racing business of touring cars.
47:24Lamy is going to have to go into the pits, and this will mark the end of the racing day
47:29for him as the season is winding down.
47:33The person that's going to be happy about all of it is this man, Uwe Ahlsohn.
47:39After such a miserable start at the beginning of the year, now he comes back with the verge
47:45of a double victory at Hockenheim, his third victory of the season.
47:50And certainly, he can look forward to some fine chances next year, and possibly finish
47:58up the ladder in the points race.
48:03If he finishes in this position right now, he will be sixth in the points for the year,
48:08which is a great finish after he dropped way down with no points at the beginning of the year.
48:13In fact, he had zero points in the very opening race of the year here at Hockenheim on the short course.
48:21He had a lot of did-not-finishes, more than he probably has ever had in his career in
48:26any kind of racing series.
48:28But right now, he's headed with a couple of more corners.
48:31He's got his second victory of the day here at Hockenheim.
48:35You can hear the fans, the noise, the flags, the fireworks, as Uwe Ahlsohn is about to
48:43pick up his second victory of the day here at Hockenheim, and winds up the 2000 season
48:50with a victory for Opel.
48:54Uwe Ahlsohn, your winner at Hockenheim.
49:01Manfred Winkelhock is second, Bartels is third, Modena comes in fourth.
49:08That Schneider car is the backup T-car.
49:10They let him out for the last lap because he is the champ to give him a victory lap.
49:15But he is a lap down.
49:18Tiemann finishes fifth, and Turner is sixth.
49:22There it is.
49:23What a great day for racing fans here at Hockenheim.
49:27The German Touring Car Masters season has come to a close with an exciting weekend of
49:33racing here at Hockenheim, and there they are.
49:36Uwe Ahlsohn, the man on top, got caught without the champagne, and he took a bath.
49:46There are your final points as the season comes to a close in the German Touring Car
49:49Masters.
49:50We hope you've enjoyed all our coverage of the racing today and throughout the season,
49:55and we'll be back to this again when the German Touring Car Masters returns.