DTM 2001 - Sachsenring - Highlights
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00:00🎵
00:30This is the home of Karl May.
00:33Hohenstein-Ernsthal.
00:35It's in the Chemnitz region of Eastern Germany.
00:39History abounds.
00:42Well, also, motor racing history.
00:46They started racing here in the Sachsenring back in 1927
00:49and it's been going strong ever since.
00:52And for the past two years, the German touring car masters
00:55has made an appearance here at the Sachsenring.
00:58Hello everyone. Welcome to the fourth event of the season
01:01in the German touring car masters.
01:03I'm Milt Fitzwater.
01:04They're racing today at the newly rebuilt Sachsenring in Eastern Germany.
01:08A great crowd on hand as there has been all weekend
01:11despite some questionable weather
01:13to watch the German touring car masters.
01:16The fans plan to see plenty of fast-paced action.
01:19They've taken away some of the chicanes.
01:22They've fixed the technology so that you have
01:24some of the most modern facilities anywhere.
01:26And they've taken the pit area
01:28and moved it to the opposite side of the track
01:30so the fans can see more.
01:32So there plans to be plenty of action
01:34here at the Sachsenring
01:36in the German touring car masters.
01:45We're ready to go in the fourth event of the season
01:47on this very, very modern circuit.
01:49The crowds have come prepared for just about everything.
01:53The new circuit runs 2.32 miles up and down hills.
01:57Top speed over 150 miles an hour.
01:59The pole seater Peter Dumbrick isn't worried about the start.
02:01Really I just have to make a good start.
02:03Get around the first corner safe without getting hit.
02:06And from there I just try to win the race.
02:09I think the most important race is the second race.
02:12We have a pit stop around sort of 40% of the race distance.
02:16And it's important that the team works well
02:19and I get a good stop
02:21and I can get nicely into the lead again.
02:25So here's how they start up front.
02:27As you heard, Peter Dumbrick on the pole.
02:30Outside for the first time, Matthias Ekstrom, 22 years old.
02:34And next to them, Christian Albers and Michel Bartels.
02:38The points leader, Bernd Schneider,
02:40is all the way back in 20th position.
02:43Especially in the qualifying race,
02:45I try to improve some places.
02:48In the main race we will see what strategy we can use.
02:51I hope I can collect some points.
02:54We're about to find out.
02:56But right now it's the new young drivers that are out in front.
02:59That is Dumbrick in the grey Mercedes on the left.
03:01Ekstrom on the right.
03:02They come up over the hill.
03:04This is down the front straight.
03:06There will be a right-hander.
03:08And Dumbrick gets a great start.
03:10Peter Dumbrick is off with a great start.
03:12Right behind him, Matthias Ekstrom.
03:14And Michel Bartels has pulled into third place.
03:17And everything is very tight going into the first corner.
03:20But everybody seems to know they don't.
03:22Michel Bartels has spun.
03:24Michel Bartels, who had a great start,
03:26one of the best for Opel yet up in fourth,
03:28spins here early on a very wet course.
03:32It's been raining off and on all weekend.
03:34In qualifying it was raining.
03:36A number of the drivers didn't get out in time on the dry track.
03:39And that's why the field is a tremendous mix
03:41of some of the veterans way in the back because they waited too long.
03:44But right now that means some of the young stars
03:46get a chance to be out in front in this qualifying race.
03:49Nine laps.
03:50This sets the starting field for the main event
03:53here at the Sachsenring in eastern Germany.
03:56Peter Dumbrick from England, actually Scotland, out in front.
04:01Dumbrick, the teammate from Schneider,
04:04leads on this new course.
04:07Ekstrom is running in third.
04:09And then comes Christian Abt.
04:11And behind him comes Christian Albers from the Netherlands.
04:18Down the long, fast straightaway, the fastest part of the course.
04:21A left-hander.
04:22But now you get to see this was all straightened out before.
04:24There were a couple of kinks in it.
04:26Now it was totally straight.
04:27There was a left-hander here.
04:29And out of the left-hander there's a short straight
04:31to a left-hander that goes down the front pit road.
04:34You see Michel Bartels coming down the back.
04:36That is the turn now that is leading back toward
04:39the start-finish line.
04:41Ekstrom is putting the pressure on Bernd Schneider.
04:45Albers, Thiemann, Huismann.
04:47How about that?
04:48He hasn't been up that far either.
04:49Peter Huismann in sixth position.
04:57Take another look at what happened in the start.
04:59That is the third car in there is Michel Bartels.
05:02He bumps at par ahead of him.
05:04And then he gets tapped from behind.
05:07Right about here.
05:09And then spins.
05:12And it's really too bad.
05:14Because Bartels was the Opel hope here at the Sachsenring.
05:17Opel having its share of problems.
05:19More than its share of problems this year.
05:21And with the qualifying and the fact that he was so far up in front.
05:25And then all of a sudden this had to happen.
05:29I got through the first curve just fine.
05:31Everything was going smoothly.
05:33And I felt the field had sorted itself out.
05:36Suddenly I got a push from behind.
05:38I don't know who did it.
05:40Either Marcel Thiemann, Christian Albers or even an Audi.
05:44I couldn't see who did it.
05:47But actually the field was lined up.
05:49But someone overdid it.
05:51And they had to give me a shove.
05:54And then I spun in the wet course.
05:58And so the Opels once again hope that they can get back to the front of the pack.
06:04But there's the man that's making the charge right there.
06:06That D2 Mercedes with the yellow mirrors.
06:09That's Bernd Schneider, your points leader.
06:11He started back in 20th position here in this 9 lap race.
06:15And right now he is up to 8th place.
06:19What happened in qualifying was he waited too long.
06:21He had hoped that they could go out after everybody else did.
06:24And before the rains came and get his time in.
06:27But the rains came.
06:29And by the time he went out there was no chance to match the times of the cars that had gone out immediately when the green flag fell.
06:37And so now Bernd Schneider has his hands cut out for him.
06:41He has his hands full actually.
06:43Because he's moving up now trying to get by Manuel Reuter, Tomczyk.
06:48Tomczyk in the Audi, Reuter in the Opel.
06:51And right now Schneider gets by him.
06:54Gets by Reuter and now moving up on Tomczyk.
06:58The 19 year old in the Audi that has done so well this season.
07:03Has Bernd Schneider full in his rear view mirror.
07:09Schneider seems to be a man possessed.
07:12What a great drive so far.
07:15He's gotten by Tomczyk but it looks like Reuter got by him again.
07:21It's tight in the corner.
07:23They're not giving him any room at all.
07:25And Bernd Schneider continues to press.
07:29Taking different lines.
07:30It's a wet course.
07:31There goes Tomczyk into a little bit of an outside line.
07:35It's wet out there and he comes back in and spins.
07:38He got out of what was a dry lane or close to dry lane and spun.
07:45Another learning experience for the 19 year old but he certainly has put on some great shows here.
07:51And finished well besides.
07:54But this is the man.
07:56They call him the dominator of the German touring car scene.
08:01You can see that the young Tomczyk had come out of a wet area of the track.
08:05Crossed over into another wet area and lost it.
08:08Too bad too. He was running right up in the top ten.
08:12The Audi is coming on so strong this year.
08:15A pleasure to see.
08:16Laurent Aiello won the race at the Nurburgring.
08:19Aiello incidentally not here.
08:21He's at Le Mans this weekend.
08:24Now Bernd Schneider continues to push.
08:27He gets by Marcel Thiemann in a Mercedes.
08:31Now he's working on Peter Husemann.
08:35Nothing seems to stop him here.
08:37You're riding with Marcel Thiemann and if you can look through the windshield you get a look at Bernd Schneider ahead of you.
08:44This is the very fast part of the course.
08:46Downhill.
08:48And Tomczyk has gone off and into the gravel.
08:50So his qualifying race is over.
08:54He's starting probably back in the pack a little bit for the main event.
08:59Meanwhile your leader Dumbrek.
09:02Followed by Ekström.
09:04A 22 year old.
09:06Christian Abt in another of the Audis.
09:09This trio has led and held the lead throughout.
09:13The question is who's going to be fourth.
09:15Look at this.
09:16Bernd Schneider has moved from 20th to 4th position.
09:20Behind him Husemann, Thiemann, Fessler.
09:22And then Reuter is the first of the Opels in 8th position.
09:29So Bernd Schneider has put on a show here.
09:31He had said before the race he had hoped to make up a few positions from the 20th.
09:36So he'd have a better starting position for the main event.
09:40He made up more than a few.
09:42He's come from 20th all the way up to 4th position.
09:45He most likely won't be able to improve much more on it because the leading trio is pretty much out in front.
09:53But the move himself has set him up into the second row for the main event.
09:58Here at the Sachsenring in Eastern Germany.
10:00A new rebuilt course.
10:02You get a great look at it here.
10:06Here's a little bit of a right kink that leads to the downhill section.
10:10Very, very fast.
10:11Then it's into a left-hand corner.
10:20Out of it there's a short shoot uphill.
10:23Working toward the start-finish line.
10:28It's a blind trip up the hill but then comes the flag.
10:32And now Peter Dumbrek.
10:34Coming toward the checkered flag.
10:36Here in the qualifying race.
10:38The Sachsenring. He takes it.
10:39Extra from his second.
10:41Finishing third, Christian Abt.
10:43The owner of Abt Sports Line.
10:45And now look at the difference here.
10:47Between 3rd and 4th.
10:49But this man, Bernd Schneider, takes 4th after starting in 20th position.
10:54What a great drive for him.
10:56Tremendous drive.
10:58And Mercedes once again.
11:00Dominating with the top Opel being Manuel Reuter.
11:05But the day belongs to Mercedes and Abt.
11:07But the day belongs to Mercedes and Audi in the first 7 positions.
11:11You're riding with extra room back into the pits.
11:14Another of the Audis did have a problem.
11:17And that, of course, was Martin Tomczyk.
11:23I drove very well and worked my way to the front.
11:26There were some good battles.
11:28There were also a couple of situations in which I'm not sure what happened.
11:32Someone hit me twice.
11:34I spun and then lost 6 places.
11:35And then the second time I went into the gravel and I couldn't get out.
11:40And so it was over for me.
11:42But now the main race is ahead and I have to make up for it.
11:47And for the fans, not during in-between races, but before the races and in special moments,
11:53they get an opportunity to meet the drivers up close and personal.
11:57It's autograph time in the German Touring Car Masters.
12:01And everybody takes part.
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24:35So he's already looking ahead to next year.
24:38Fessler continues to put on a good show here.
24:41Fessler's had a pretty good year.
24:47He has proven that he really belongs with the Mercedes team.
24:50He's teamed with Uwe Ahlsund.
24:52Ahlsund came in with all the publicity, but Fessler is the one that's done a great job.
24:57He's 25 years old, comes from Switzerland.
25:00Meanwhile, Bernd Schneider has recorded the fastest lap.
25:05There isn't much else he hasn't done today.
25:08Running in third place, Schneider has proven to everybody that if you want to win touring cars, then you've got to beat him.
25:20He won the race at Hockenheim and then came back and has done well ever since.
25:26And nobody, but nobody's been able to stop him.
25:29He just keeps tiling up the points.
25:32The rest of the field's sorting itself out here, working its way through, waiting to see as we come toward the very important pit stops.
25:38This is the time when everyone is going to have to say,
25:41OK, it's time for me to do my thing.
25:43And when everybody else does their thing, these guys are going to be in trouble.
25:47There you have it.
25:49You can see it's Schneider with the pit stop.
25:51That's at B. Fessler with the pit stop.
25:53So that means that Ekstrom, Dombrak, Abt and Scheider all have to pit, as does Jaeger.
26:00And the cars running in those positions with that little B right next to them are kind of smiling to themselves
26:05because it's going to be an automatic move to the front for them, it looks like.
26:16There's your leader.
26:18There's Dombrak.
26:19And there's Dombrak's partner, Bernd Schneider.
26:24It'll be interesting to hear what happens after the race is over.
26:31Who decided to send somebody in the pits and who decided not to send them into the pits?
26:35That's going to be the big question.
26:41We've got a long way to go yet, though.
26:45Ekstrom and Dombrak are still out in front, the Audi in front of the Mercedes,
26:49then comes the Mercedes of Schneider, an Audi of Abt, then Scheider.
26:55And after Scheider, Fessler, Thiemann and Jaeger.
27:00You're riding with Marcel Fessler and he is right behind Timo Scheider.
27:10So the Opel are sitting pretty good right now with Scheider up in the top five places.
27:19But pit stops lie ahead.
27:22Once again, you're getting a ride with Marcel Fessler.
27:27Fessler's had quite a season, he finished second at Hockenheim, he finished fifth at the Nürburgring,
27:32he won at Oschersleben, qualified here miserably at 18th, but did finish sixth in the qualifying race
27:40and has had a chance for a better finish here in the feature event.
27:45But if you look at the drive of Bernd Schneider, he fell back a little bit at the start,
27:49he's now pulling up on his teammate, Peter Dombrak, and Ekstrom is still out in front.
27:56Schneider has a way to catch him, you can get a comparison of lap times here.
28:01But the question now is, is when will Ekstrom and Dombrak pit?
28:05And is Schneider going to push Dombrak before Dombrak has to pit?
28:09Now they know that Dombrak will have to pit, so do you wait?
28:12Ekstrom, the young driver, doing a great job here, he's had a great season so far.
28:2022 years old, he comes from Sweden, he's one of the young stars of the series.
28:29He didn't even start the race at Hockenheim, he'd fallen out.
28:32At the Nürburgring he came in ninth, at Oschersleben he came in seventh,
28:37At the Nürburgring he came in ninth, at Oschersleben he came in seventh,
28:43and he qualified second here, and finished second in the qualifying race,
28:48and is now leading the main race.
28:51What a great start for the young driver from Sweden.
28:57Bernd Schneider continues to roll, it looks like he's kind of holding back and pacing himself just a little bit here.
29:04He actually is in the driver's seat, he really doesn't have to push as long as the competition doesn't catch him from behind.
29:12Kapp, Schneider, Fessler.
29:18These are the cars that are chasing, but right now seem to be a long way back.
29:23Once again you get this uphill section with Marcel Fessler,
29:26this is the corner that leads you into the start-finish line,
29:29you can see how you're going uphill, it's a blind corner coming uphill,
29:32still blind until you get over.
29:35And now the pits have started, here comes Ekström,
29:38which means he definitely is going to lose the lead, but how much, that's the question.
29:43Ekström is out,
29:46but he's not in the lead anymore.
29:49Let's see when the rest of them start to pit.
29:53Tough and tight in the back, looking for positions to reach the top five.
30:02There is Abt, Fessler, Timo Schneider.
30:10As the cars continue to roll here at the Sachsenring.
30:14The Sachsenring.
30:20Fourth race weekend of the season in the German touring car masters.
30:25Next stop after this will be the Norrisring, a street course.
30:29Another fast, but very short course.
30:32Good shot of the long straightaway.
30:37The new part of the course here at the Sachsenring.
30:44That was the uphill section you saw before.
30:47Now the uphill part.
30:50And it looks like that's Dumbrek going into the pits,
30:53and Bernd Schneider has taken the lead.
30:56Can you believe it?
30:58What a great performance.
31:00But this one belongs to his team as much as it does to him.
31:03They were the ones that got him in on the pace car lap.
31:06Dumbrek is in.
31:08Peter Dumbrek, who didn't pit when Schneider did,
31:11is going to lose several places.
31:17And Bernd Schneider has taken the lead.
31:20And what a lead.
31:22He is way out in front.
31:26Thanks to some great pit strategy.
31:29Way back on the pace car laps,
31:31when the safety car came out after the big crash.
31:36He ducked into the pits.
31:38Audi, quite frankly, made a mistake
31:41and didn't call in their leader, Ekstrom.
31:44They left him out there.
31:46And while the pace car was out going slow,
31:48Schneider was able to make the change, get back out,
31:52and then pick up ground on the field
31:54and simply waited until Ekstrom and his teammate,
31:58Dumbrek, went to the pits.
32:01A brilliant piece of work.
32:03Now it's a case of driving it home.
32:05Look at the difference here.
32:07He has got a lead that is just amazing.
32:11And with this will also, of course,
32:13come the advantage in the points,
32:16if he can drive it home.
32:18Mainly because Fessler is behind him.
32:21And Fessler was in second place in the points.
32:23Aiello isn't even here.
32:26Dumbrek, who was fourth in the points,
32:28is back just a little bit.
32:34So now the question is going to be,
32:36can the Opel move up?
32:40Reuter is sitting in eighth position.
32:44Timo Schneider is up in the fourth position.
32:51The rest of the field continues to work.
32:54There's Christian Albers,
32:56another of the young drivers in the series.
33:02Albers has done quite well for himself, actually.
33:08He's kept himself out of trouble.
33:09He's stayed on the track pretty much.
33:11He has not been one of those that has caused
33:13many problems for the other drivers.
33:15And he's done his learning.
33:17He finished 13th at Hockenheim.
33:19He was 12th at the Nürburgring.
33:2112th at Aschersleben.
33:23He qualified third here at the Sachsenring.
33:28But he had some tough times in the wet.
33:32And was in 21st position.
33:34Now look at this. He finished 21st in qualifying.
33:36And Albers now is in sixth place.
33:40Sixth position.
33:42What a great drive for the young driver.
33:46Twenty-one years old, from the Netherlands,
33:49Christian Albers.
33:51A number of the young drivers in the field
33:53and the German touring car masters.
33:55And today, it's a mix.
33:57The Dominator is out in front,
33:59which surprises a lot of people.
34:02But then, he's been out in front an awful lot.
34:05Christian Albers, who's been up in the top five,
34:08in the pits and out.
34:09But that's going to throw him back a ways.
34:12So the top cars have pitted.
34:15And now it's going to be, can they catch up?
34:17Or can't they?
34:19Bernd Schneider is your leader.
34:24He had started fourth.
34:26And then when the pace lap came out,
34:28he dropped all the way back to tenth.
34:31Got up into third position in the eighth lap.
34:34Took the lead on the fifteenth lap.
34:37So basically, he started 20th in the qualifying race.
34:40Got himself forward to a point where here,
34:42in the main race, he is way out in front.
34:47What a simply great performance by Bernd Schneider.
34:53Also doing extremely well is Marcel Thiemann.
34:58Thiemann, as we said, substituting for Mailander,
35:01has moved up into the second position.
35:10And this could be his last race for a while in the series.
35:14Because the man he's replacing should be coming back.
35:17Timo Scheider is running in fourth position.
35:21Huisman is fifth. That'll be his best placing
35:24for Peter Huisman in the Mercedes.
35:26Manuel Reuter is sitting in sixth position.
35:34So it looks like there's a chance here
35:37that the Opels will do pretty well.
35:41They've had a very disappointing year so far.
35:45Marcel Fesler.
35:47Again, working his way up into the pack.
35:50He's been putting on a pretty good show.
35:54He had dropped all the way back into the eleventh position.
36:00Had worked his way all the way up to about the
36:04fourth place in the, that was about lap fourteen.
36:09And then he's been bouncing back and forth ever since.
36:15But Fesler, another of those very strong young Mercedes drivers.
36:20He has Tomczyk ahead of him.
36:24And Tomczyk is right behind Manuel Reuter.
36:28Tomczyk has also done extremely well. Tomczyk with the yellow lights
36:32and the, or rather the green lights and the green mirrors.
36:36Tomczyk actually didn't start the race at Hockenheim,
36:39was ninth at the Nürburgring, seventh at Oschersleben.
36:44So he has done extremely well.
36:48He has led the race even.
36:50Not this one, but he has led others.
36:53And so the young nineteen-year-old has made a position.
36:56So you have the drivers that are in their late thirties
36:58and a couple are in their early forties
37:00having to battle for their lives against some of these young horses.
37:04And the young drivers, as the Germans say,
37:08they show no respect for the older generation.
37:12They want to move in and take over.
37:14Touring car racing in Germany, probably one of the most popular
37:17of the racing sports besides Formula One.
37:21And with the turn of this type of racing,
37:23which originally was called the German Touring Car Championship
37:25several years ago, went to the International Touring Car Championship
37:29and then changed and went out of business actually for a couple of years
37:32and then came back.
37:34And Manuel Reuter has gone off the track.
37:36Manuel Reuter dropped off.
37:38One of Opel's hopes continues to have bad luck.
37:42Reuter's had one of those seasons you just shake your head
37:44and wonder what's going to happen next.
37:50He's slowing down.
37:52Oh dear. Manuel Reuter.
37:55A former champion with problems.
37:58Tom Cech gets by him. He went off the course.
38:01Looks like it might be tire problems.
38:04Can't tell for sure.
38:07There's Michel Bartels.
38:10Opel's hope.
38:12Back in the beginning of the race weekend.
38:17Bartels having to work his way back up through the pack.
38:20He's had his share of problems right along with the rest of the Opel team.
38:23But today it would look like he had a chance and then he spun there
38:26in the very first race.
38:28Has been had a difficult time ever since.
38:31He's sitting back in what I believe is now ninth position.
38:37And hopefully we'll be able to bring some of the Opel colors
38:40to the front here at the Sachsenring in eastern Germany.
38:48Another look at some of the redone track
38:54at the Sachsenring.
38:56It actually is an area for testing cars and drivers
38:59that was made into a racetrack that has become extremely popular.
39:02They have a world championship motorcycle race coming up
39:05in about a month from now.
39:07There's your leader, Bernd Schneider.
39:10All by himself.
39:13Nobody is close.
39:15Another Mercedes.
39:17Marcel Thiemann is second.
39:19Christian Albers is third.
39:21Husman in another Mercedes is fourth.
39:24So once again Mercedes continues to dominate here.
39:30And see if Audi can come back and get into the picture once again.
39:33The Audis have been so strong this year after their miserable year last year.
39:37It's like Opel and Audi changed reputations here.
39:41Going off the course is Marcel Thiemann.
39:44He had been running extremely well.
39:46If he can keep it going he'll get back on.
39:48He had a pretty good lead on the rest of the field.
39:50He might be able to hold position if he gets out quick enough.
39:54Have to see where he ends up on that one.
39:58But this is the man that continues to roll, Bernd Schneider.
40:03A tremendous performance by Bernd.
40:05He has done just about everything you can imagine.
40:08Formula 1, he's done sports prototype racing.
40:11He's done just about everything that Mercedes has asked him to do.
40:14But where he has truly shown has been in the touring cars.
40:19Unbelievable performances.
40:21Year after year after year.
40:24And today was one of those performances people will talk about later.
40:29Starting 20th in the qualifying race and now leading the feature race.
40:35Martin Tomczyk, the 19-year-old, sitting in 4th position.
40:45Who would have thought at the beginning of the year
40:47that this 19-year-old would be one of Audi's main hopes in the year.
40:53But the Audi team has come on so strong.
40:56Christian Abt has done well.
40:58Certainly Laurent Aiello has done well.
41:01His performances are just amazing what Aiello has turned in.
41:05And then today it's Ekstrom's chance to lead the race.
41:10Amazing. Marcel Thiemann, you're riding with him again.
41:12He had just gone off the course.
41:15Now he's working his way back up.
41:19You kind of have to wonder what Mercedes is going to do
41:21after the fine performances that Thiemann has been able to come up with.
41:25They're going to have to make a place for him next year probably.
41:32Now you continue to see the battle here between the Audis and Mercedes.
41:39Thiemann sandwiched between the two Audis.
41:44Ekstrom, the one behind him.
41:49And here comes Peter Dumbrek.
41:50That grey Mercedes has joined the group.
41:52Dumbrek, who had won the qualifying race,
41:55did not pit when the rest of the teams did.
41:57Got caught, went in, lost a tremendous number of positions
42:02and is now having to fight his way back just about the way everybody else is.
42:09But Tomczak has been something that you kind of sit back
42:12and really hope that he does well.
42:15He kind of snuck up on people and now everybody has to pay attention.
42:19Nobody really dares not pay attention.
42:22And what's really nice is, and also in this group,
42:25is Peter Huisman from the Netherlands.
42:29Now Huisman is the blue Mercedes with the yellow mirrors.
42:33He is the teammate of Thiemann.
42:37There you can see going off the course is Christian Abt.
42:41Got just a little bit wide.
42:45He's the man that's co-owner of the Abt Sportsline Racing.
42:53And he's done a great job.
42:56They all can smile at Audi.
42:59Getting back quickly to Huisman, he had a very difficult start joining the series.
43:03He had a did-not-finish, then a 7th and a 9th,
43:06and he finished 5th in the qualifying race here.
43:10And so Peter Huisman, the cars leading this group right here,
43:15and the blue Mercedes ahead of Tomczak.
43:18He right now is holding up the Dutch colors for them.
43:22The cars will be going to the Netherlands this year.
43:25Racing in Zandvoort.
43:28And by after this performance, it'll be a bunch of fan clubs there
43:33waiting for their drivers to come when the German Touring Car Masters
43:37hits the Netherlands.
43:40With Christian Albers doing so well, it's really amazing.
43:43You've got two of the Dutch drivers today way out in front.
43:46But even further out in front is this man.
43:50It's an amazing, amazing performance here.
43:53He's well over 20 seconds out in front.
43:59Bernd Schneider, there isn't too much more he can do to prove how good he is.
44:04He is the type of racer that is going to be there every single day.
44:08No matter where he starts, obviously he's out to win.
44:12And you've got to get by him.
44:15Last year on the way to the championship, he only made one real bad mistake,
44:18and that was in Ossersleben and went off.
44:21Other than that, he was just as consistent as you could ever imagine.
44:25Meanwhile, back in the pack, here's Huisman, Tomczak,
44:30and the rest of the crew. There's Dombrek moving up.
44:32Tiemann is in that group with the yellow mirrors.
44:34Or green mirrors, we should say.
44:36It's about the only way you can tell the cars apart are the mirrors.
44:39Huisman comes up here with the yellow mirrors.
44:41There are the green mirrors of Tomczak.
44:43The green mirrors of Tiemann.
44:45The yellow mirrors are Ekstrom.
44:48And then comes Dombrek.
44:51And Tiemann gets by Tomczak.
44:56He kind of forced his way by, but he did get by.
45:01So Marcel Tiemann, the substitute driver for Bernd Meilander,
45:05continues to prove that he wants a seat next year.
45:09You get a good look at the crowd.
45:11Over 50,000 for the weekend.
45:16They had a good crowd on Friday when they had the test day.
45:20The fans here in the Chemnitz region love their racing.
45:26And the way the organizers continue to make this track better,
45:29they're going to have plenty of it to come in years to come.
45:33One of the names you're going to watch is this young Audi driver, Tomczak.
45:37Ooh, and Dombrek went off the course.
45:40Peter Dombrek, who I'm sure had better things as far as a finish is concerned
45:45in mind when he started today, particularly after the qualifying race.
45:49But then it was strictly a matter of strategy that has cost him his positions.
45:54Nothing more.
45:55It was plain strategy that took him basically out of this one.
45:58Right behind him is Fessler.
46:02And there you saw the apt Audi with problems.
46:09And there is Fessler.
46:11Here is Ekstrom.
46:17He is behind Tomczak.
46:20Going down section with the right-hander that swings back uphill again.
46:32Going through the left-hand bend. It's a long left-hander.
46:40Straightens out, comes down, and then off you go into the fast part of the course again.
46:47So back in the pack, the battle is going on, but it's basically of the Audis.
46:51It's which one is going to be able to do what.
46:53It doesn't look like Dombrek is going to be able to move up much.
46:56Michel Bartels makes a very tight move on Abt.
47:02And that's what took Christian Abt off the course.
47:06Abt held position. Maybe it's a little bit too long or tried to.
47:10Bartels had the slot and took it.
47:13Christian Albers goes by in the Mercedes.
47:17Albers from the Netherlands.
47:19One of the young drivers who promises to be one of the great ones.
47:23Here comes Huisman.
47:28Then comes Thiemann, Tomczak, Ekstrom.
47:33All new names with two laps to go.
47:36Here at the Sachsenring in the German touring car masters.
47:40You can see some of the test areas here that they use when it's not a racetrack.
47:45They continue to expand the property, but they only can go so far.
47:48But they have a lot of testing done here at various types.
47:51And of course, the racetrack is their pride and joy.
47:54And this latest version of it certainly has drawn rave reviews from drivers alike.
48:01Before it was a little tighter on the uphill section.
48:03That section you're looking at right now is much more wide open.
48:06The corners are a little bit more fluid.
48:08This corner is the key one coming up to the start finish line.
48:11You've got to come out of that one smooth or it just is not going to make it.
48:16And this is the man that's been smooth all day.
48:19What an amazing performance.
48:21Bernd Schneider.
48:23Started 20th.
48:26Made it to 4th position in the qualifying race in 9 laps.
48:31And then had to fight his way further forward.
48:35And this is the young Christian Albers.
48:37What a great performance today.
48:39Sitting in 2nd position with a lap to go.
48:41It'll be his best finish of the year.
48:45And what a great way for him to look ahead to his appearance up in Zandvoort.
48:50Husman running 3rd.
48:52Thiemann is running 4th.
48:53Ekstrom is running 5th.
48:54Dombrek is running 6th.
48:56We're in the last lap.
49:01Fesler is all the way back into 7th position.
49:06Actually in 8th as Tomczyk got by him.
49:12Right now enough space between everybody.
49:14Unless there's a mistake, everybody should pretty much hold position in this final lap.
49:21For Peter Dombrek, it has to be what would be a disappointing race.
49:27But for Bernd Schneider, oh boy.
49:29What a great performance.
49:30Here he comes.
49:32He takes the checkered flag to win his second major race of the season in the German Touring Car Masters.
49:38And he cements his points lead.
49:41An amazing performance.
49:44Truly an amazing performance for Bernd Schneider.
49:48He now has a huge lead in the points race.
49:53But there's your finish.
49:54Albers 2nd.
49:55Thiemann 3rd.
49:56Ekstrom 4th.
49:57Dombrek.
49:58Tomczyk.
49:59Fesler.
50:00So another day of Mercedes and Audi.
50:03They continue to be the two makes that dominate here in the German Touring Car Masters.
50:08Top Opel, Michel Bartels, running in 9th position.
50:11The new Mercedes driver, David Salins, is in 10th place.
50:16But this day belongs to Bernd Schneider.
50:19And what a great performance it was.
50:21Starting 20th, 4th after the qualifying race, 1st in the main event.
50:27What a great day for the Mercedes star.
50:30The qualifying race was quite exciting.
50:33A lot of overtaking from 20th to 4th was more than a surprise for myself.
50:38But the conditions were on my side.
50:40I really liked to drive in the wet.
50:42And the car was brilliant.
50:44And the main race was just perfect strategy from my team.
50:47I was doing the safety car.
50:51After the safety car, when I overtook Mini and Schneider,
50:56I was pretty sure to win the race.
50:58I had no failure in the car.
51:00And the car was just great today.
51:02I think it was really very impressive.
51:04The rain in the qualifying race certainly helped him.
51:07Because Bernd is certainly very special under these conditions.
51:10He came from 21st to 4th.
51:13And then in the race, we used the safety car to change tyres.
51:19From then on, I think he was the guy to beat.
51:23He did an outstanding drive.
51:25Probably his best drive ever.
51:29And now he is the man to beat in the points race also.
51:31He has a commanding lead.
51:33You can see that Laurent Aiello has dropped back to 4th.
51:36And so the race is ahead.
51:38The next stop, the Norrisring, the street course in the city of Nuremberg.
51:42This in the German Touring Car Masters.
51:44We hope you enjoyed the broadcast today from the Sachsenring.
51:47I'm Alt Fitzwater and we'll see you at the Norrisring.