DTM 2000 - Nürburgring - Highlights
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00:00This is back to the future.
00:05This is the German Touring Car Masters 2000.
00:10And this is the Nürburgring site of the fifth weekend of racing in the German Touring Car Masters.
00:20And as we have in most of our shows, we like to present to you one of the drivers involved in today's race.
00:26The German Touring Car Masters
00:43The theory, the present, the past and the future. They belong together.
00:56Christian Menzel is a factory-supported driver.
01:04While his son, Nico, is getting into karts.
01:08To get into Formula Racing in Europe, you start in the karts.
01:20Then it's a question of time before your talents are discovered.
01:24And you get the chance at the international formula scene.
01:35I hope that he has success in this Formula 3 season.
01:38That he'll get a chance then in the future as a test driver.
01:42Maybe in Formula 3 or Formula 1. That would be really a very good start.
01:49But it didn't happen that way. The financial support wasn't there.
01:53Formula Racing was a dead end.
02:04Christian Menzel renewed his driving career in touring cars.
02:08He had two successful years with BMW.
02:16He works with the BMW Formula Junior drivers.
02:24He gained respect in the Super Touring Cars and BMW.
02:30The German Touring Car Masters 2000 is a new challenge.
02:42Menzel was the last driver to receive a contract.
02:45He had to learn about his Opel as he raced it.
02:48He knows his team is behind him.
02:50They believe in his talent. And the success is near.
02:54And it might come here at the Nürburgring.
02:56The 2.83 mile circuit in the Eifel mountains of Germany.
02:59A new course to Peter Dombrek.
03:01I've done one test at the Nürburgring.
03:03So I get to see a bit of the track.
03:05It was a nice track to drive. Quite flowing.
03:10There was a very slow chicane at the end of the lap.
03:13Which means you have to hit the kerbs very hard.
03:16I think that's quite an important part.
03:18Because you can brake very late into there.
03:20And take a lot of speed through it.
03:22If you're very aggressive with the car.
03:24So I think that's quite an important part.
03:27And the first corner also. The kerbs are very high.
03:30So you can't hit the kerbs too high.
03:32Or else the car jumps off the road and into the gravel.
03:35So you have to be smooth through there.
03:37But at the same time you have to be quite attacking on that track.
03:41To try and find the final tense.
03:43That are going to put your grid position higher.
03:46And here's how they line up for the race today.
03:48Bernd Schneider, your point leader.
03:50On the pole position.
03:51Next to him, Uwe Ahlsen.
03:52Hoping to improve on his season.
03:54Peter Dombrek, who you just heard.
03:55Starting third in the Mercedes.
03:56The Opel of Manuel Reuters.
03:58Starting fourth.
03:59Christian Menzel.
04:00Best starting position of the year.
04:02He's coming in fifth today.
04:03Klaus Ludwig.
04:04Up there in the points.
04:05Right next to him.
04:06Then comes Michel Bartels in an Opel.
04:08And Eric Ellery in an Opel.
04:10Then comes Modena and Thiemann.
04:13Opel and Mercedes bound.
04:15And they're going to be facing a track today that has been hit by rain.
04:20The Eifel is known for its problems with rain.
04:23And here it is a major question.
04:26Most of the drivers have started on wet tires.
04:28But Menzel and Bartels, Modena, Turner and Scheider have not.
04:32They're going with slicks.
04:33It will be interesting to see who has it.
04:35On the right is Ahlsen.
04:37On the left is Bernd Schneider.
04:39They're going to go into a right-hander.
04:42As the cars line up, they come around the corner.
04:46They'll be waiting to take the flag.
04:48It's a blind corner until now.
04:49They cannot see the flag until now.
04:52Now it's up to the leaders.
04:54Bernd Schneider, the man who's looking to extend his point lead.
04:58Here they come.
04:59Down in front of the main grandstand.
05:01And we're underway.
05:02And Schneider gets a great jump.
05:05Bernd Schneider gets a great jump.
05:07And now it's a run down to this right-hander that separates the field.
05:11There you see Uwe Ahlsen pulling out immediately behind him.
05:13He'll take second place.
05:15And look at that.
05:16Moving up in that black Mercedes with the red mirrors is Klaus Ludwig.
05:19He's moved right up into a battle for fifth place with Manuel Reuter.
05:23Those two cars coming along as Schneider's out in front.
05:26A left-hander.
05:27And they head downhill now.
05:28There you see Ludwig with the black Mercedes and the red mirrors getting by.
05:32Manuel Reuter.
05:34So you have a Mercedes up front.
05:35Then comes an Opel.
05:36And then comes another Mercedes.
05:39You're riding with Manuel Reuter.
05:44As the cars head down the hill into the 180 that brings them back up the hill again.
05:49And you can see how wet it is.
05:53The leaders are on wet tires.
05:58It rained in practice on Friday.
06:00It was dry yesterday and today.
06:03Well, you can see what's happened.
06:05There goes Winkelhock getting by Menzel.
06:07Two Opel drivers.
06:11Jochen won a couple of races.
06:13Or at least won one race earlier this season.
06:16Was leading and then had a problem because of rain.
06:18This is the third event that's had an effect by rain on it.
06:21That would be the first race of the season.
06:24Hockenheim, then the Norris Ring, and then here.
06:26Rain certainly having an effect on the European style of racing.
06:31And right now the cars are settling into their routine already.
06:34Look at this.
06:35Bernd Schneider is out in front.
06:37Then comes Uwe Ahlson.
06:43Then comes Dombrak.
06:44And there goes Reuter off the course as Ludwig goes by.
06:49I hope that's not a sign of things to come at the Sachsenring.
06:51Opel had terrible problems with grip.
06:54And there's another Opel.
06:56Menzel has gone off the course.
06:59The Opels fighting for grip at Sachsenring had a terrible, terrible time at the last race.
07:03And they're hoping they've got the problem worked out.
07:05However, in the wet, we'll just have to wait and see.
07:08Schneider has opened up a lead already as Ahlson has gone off.
07:11Another Opel has gone off.
07:13Uwe Ahlson off the course.
07:16So now, Mercedes is taking control here in the opening moments of the first race of the day.
07:22Here at the Nürburgring in the Eifel Mountains of Germany.
07:25And the German touring car masters.
07:30As they go into the corner, Menzel got a little bit of help there.
07:34Thomas Jaeger was the one who helped him.
07:36And so his great qualifying has gone to naught.
07:40He's back in the pack and he's going to have to fight his way to the front once again,
07:43which is very hard in this series.
07:45The cars are all very equal.
07:47There you see Manuel Reuter.
07:48He is the lone Opel challenger right now in the points race.
07:53He's 27 points behind Bernd Schneider.
07:57And he's also behind Bernd Schneider on the track here,
07:59which means Schneider hopes that's where it stays.
08:02He can pick up some more valuable points.
08:08Klaus Ludwig now is moving up into what appears to be second place.
08:17Klaus Ludwig is running in second.
08:24Dumbrek is running third.
08:28And let's see who's running behind.
08:30Eric Ellery.
08:31And then comes Manuel Reuter.
08:34So Mercedes are one, two, and three.
08:38And then come the two Opels.
08:40And then there's a gap between these cars and the rest of the pack.
08:46There's Reuter.
08:47And now Winkelhock has moved up in another Opel.
08:51Marcel Fesler in the black Mercedes, the team car from Klaus Ludwig.
08:56Once again over the start-finish line.
08:58And we've had a major change here in the standings
09:00with Mercedes taking the top three.
09:02And then come three Opels with Ellery Reuter and Winkelhock.
09:06Fesler, the young rookie driver from Switzerland in seventh place.
09:10Pedro Lamy, another rookie from Portugal.
09:14He is running eighth.
09:15In fact, the rookie is also ninth.
09:16And Thomas Jaeger.
09:18Jaeger, the teammate of Bernd Schneider.
09:21And there you see Laurent Aiello, a former Super Touring Car champion,
09:26driving in the Audi this year.
09:28The Audi is not as competitive as they had hoped to be.
09:31In fact, they're one of the very few that have not scored any points yet this season.
09:35Aiello has been certainly one of the stronger drivers they've had.
09:38There was an 11th place finish earlier this season.
09:41But other than that, they certainly have had their share of problems.
09:44Probably more than they want to talk about.
09:48Here you see Uwe Ahlson working on Thomas Jaeger.
09:53Jaeger on the outside, Ahlson on the inside.
09:55Ahlson having one of those seasons you want to forget about.
10:01And Jaeger staying with him and gets by him back up the hill.
10:05Ahlson has to drop down.
10:06They go into the fastest part of the course now.
10:08It's a downhill segment with a kink in the straight.
10:11They'll get up to about 150 miles an hour when they hit the straight here.
10:15There goes Ahlson by him.
10:23Down the hill they go.
10:24And this is the fast part of the course.
10:26And Jaeger is not letting off.
10:29Thomas Jaeger is not letting off.
10:31And Uwe Ahlson, they head through.
10:33The kink has to drop back.
10:34The Mercedes is quicker than the Opel.
10:40The rest of the field sorting itself out.
10:42You can see the moisture hanging in the air.
10:47Manuel Reuter.
10:49Opel's hope in the championship right now.
10:51You're back with Uwe Ahlson.
10:54Ahlson has Thomas Jaeger ahead of him.
11:00Ahlson has just gone and fought his way through this season.
11:03It's been one of those, it's hard to describe.
11:07A man that was challenging for the title in the Super Touring cars.
11:10Has had more than his share of difficulties this year.
11:16And there goes Reuter off with a new line through the corner.
11:19Followed by Winkelhoff.
11:22You see the two corners there.
11:23This very sharp corner is what they built for the Grand Prix cars.
11:26And now their touring cars are using that same corner.
11:29This is Uwe Ahlson at work here.
11:31At the Nürburgring.
11:36It's a very fast course.
11:39The fans get a pretty good view all the way around.
11:43As once again, Uwe Ahlson moves up on Thomas Jaeger.
11:50First race of two this weekend in the German touring car masters.
11:53Four winners so far this season.
11:57Schneider, Reuter, Winkelhoff and Ludwig.
12:02And all the winners started on the pole in the first race.
12:07So Schneider, who won back at Hockenheim,
12:10taking the first two races out in front here.
12:12And his teammate right there, you're looking at him,
12:14Thomas Jaeger, is trying to hold off Uwe Ahlson.
12:22The competition's been tough in these first races of the day.
12:25Only one driver's finished in all top fives this season.
12:28And that happens to be the man that's out in front in Bernd Schneider.
12:31And only three drivers have finished in all top tens in this first race.
12:34That'd be Schneider, Ludwig and Thiemann.
12:37But you can see that when you figure that Ludwig is up there in the points,
12:40as is Schneider, these are the veterans.
12:42These are the ones who know how to get the points.
12:45However, there are some young drivers making a great name for themselves.
12:48And this right here is Bernd Schneider.
12:50And look at the lead that he is building up on Klaus Ludwig
12:54in the Barsteiner Mercedes.
12:56Then comes Dombrek, and then behind him
13:00is Eric Ellery from France.
13:05Ellery turned 33 a little earlier this month.
13:09Uwe Ahlson had a birthday on Friday,
13:12and they celebrated here at the Nürburgring.
13:1520 cars in the field today.
13:17That's the largest field that has started a race this season.
13:24Ahlson just continues to move in on Thomas Jaeger.
13:28Ahlson just wants to finish well and get his good name back.
13:32He has had more problems,
13:35some of which in the beginning was him trying to adjust to a new car.
13:39Some of it was just problems that the car had.
13:42Get a good look at the course here at the Nürburgring.
13:44As Ahlson goes inside Jaeger,
13:47they touch a little bit, Jaeger hangs on
13:50and drops in behind Ahlson.
13:53These two have been going at it regularly here.
13:55Meanwhile, up front, everybody continues to run their own race.
13:59There's Winkelhoff, and right behind him is Marcel Faesler,
14:02another of the fine young drivers this year.
14:04Faesler from Switzerland.
14:05He's one of two drivers that have run every single lap so far
14:09in the eight races run this season.
14:12Peter Dombrik is the other one.
14:15Very consistent for these two rookies.
14:19And more battling going on.
14:21This is Ellery now, trying to move up,
14:24and can't do it.
14:26Can't do it.
14:27New corners, thanks to this wet track here at the Nürburgring,
14:31heading back toward the start-finish line.
14:34Ellery swings outside, wants to move inside.
14:39He's pulling up on Dombrik.
14:45Here early in the running,
14:48everyone going to find the wet part of the course
14:51to preserve the tires.
14:52They have the wet tires on.
14:57They really don't want the track to dry out too quickly.
15:00And the tires will then go down.
15:02Here's Uwe Ahlsen, once again, taking on Thomas Jaeger.
15:09Maybe this time he can get by.
15:10They've been exchanging positions on a regular basis here.
15:14Jaeger's not giving up.
15:15You can just see his bumper up there in the left corner of the windshield.
15:19Did Ahlsen get by? It looks like he did.
15:21Once again, Ellery trying to move up on Dombrik.
15:27This is the battle right now for third position.
15:31There's Klaus Ludwig.
15:32And here's your battle for third between Ellery and Dombrik.
15:35Watching all this in the back in that yellow and white Opel
15:39is Manuel Reuter.
15:42Ellery, a very popular driver,
15:44but certainly had also his share of troubles this year.
15:48There's one real highlight.
15:49He has one of the fastest laps in one of the races,
15:52but that's just about it.
15:53He's had more than his share of problems
15:56and here they go again and both of them go off.
15:59Ellery spins.
16:01Dombrik keeps control, but went off the course.
16:04So Ellery drops back right in front of one of the other Opels,
16:07this being Benkelhawk.
16:09And now Reuter is running fourth
16:12and Marcel Fessler is running fifth.
16:17The course is drying out a little bit,
16:21but the drivers who started on slicks are so far back
16:24that they probably are not going to be able to take advantage of the fact
16:26that they started that way.
16:30The drivers with the wet tires in the beginning
16:33were the ones that are right out in front now.
16:35It looks like Dombrik cut inside a little too much.
16:39Ellery lost it in spun.
16:41Dombrik goes out into the gravel,
16:43comes back on the course.
16:45Ellery is the one that loses positions here.
16:49Now you're viewing it from Dombrik's perspective
16:52as he goes off the gravel.
16:55But he's able to keep it going, gets it on the course,
16:57does not spin.
17:00And actually moves up in position.
17:02Here comes Marcel Fessler working up behind Manuel Reuter.
17:06Reuter in fourth.
17:07Marcel Fessler right now is running fifth.
17:18Through the very tight and slow chicane
17:21which leads him to the short straight
17:23and the right-hander that takes him to the start-finish line.
17:26And Fessler is pushing Reuter.
17:29He's inside. Is he going to be able to get him?
17:31He does.
17:32Reuter will drop back.
17:37As you ride with Reuter,
17:39Fessler goes over to pick up moisture for the tires.
17:42Reuter stays outside.
17:44Fessler holds on and behind them is Eric Ellery.
17:47So the rookie Marcel Fessler has moved up
17:50another position.
17:52And you can see the rain coming down.
17:54And Michel Bartels has come in to change tires.
17:57Winkelhock has gone off the course with the rain coming down.
18:01They're going to have to go with the wet tires.
18:03The drivers have started on slicks.
18:05This is Turner, Darren Turner.
18:07He's come in.
18:09He had started on slicks.
18:11He has to come out with the wet tires.
18:15He cut right out in front of Scheider.
18:19Timo Scheider, another of the rookies.
18:23He had also started on slicks
18:25and has now gone through the wet tires.
18:28And there's your leader.
18:30So you see how much time they lost.
18:32Bernd Scheider has cruised since the opening moments.
18:35He started right up on the pole
18:38and has not been stopped ever since.
18:40It's an amazing drive for him.
18:43He has had a tremendous season,
18:45as has Klaus Ludwig,
18:47who started off very, very slowly
18:49and then came back the last three races.
18:51There is Dumbrek, who is now running third.
18:53Fessler is running fourth.
18:55And Reuter is running fifth.
18:58And Pedro Lamy.
19:00Pedro Lamy is running now in sixth position.
19:03Lamy, who is also a new driver.
19:05We have not heard much from him so far this year.
19:08All of a sudden seems to be challenging here,
19:10as Uwe Alsen has gone off the course.
19:14Uwe Alsen off the course.
19:16Lamy started back in 15th position
19:18and has moved up until sixth.
19:20And Fessler started in 11th.
19:24And he's now in the top five.
19:28Here comes Bartels in.
19:34And there you have Pedro Lamy right behind Manuel Reuter.
19:40No one has heard too much about Lamy this season,
19:42a former Formula One driver.
19:44There's what happened to Uwe Alsen.
19:46He took himself out.
19:50You just can't believe the misfortune he has had.
19:54Menzel is now in.
19:56They're changing his tires.
19:58He had started on slicks
20:00and it proved to be the wrong decision.
20:04And here comes Dumbrek with a new line through the corner,
20:07as does Marcel Fessler.
20:10That very tight chicane has seen people using all types of lines,
20:13not necessarily the ones on the track, to get through.
20:24There is Dumbrek.
20:26And right behind him, Marcel Fessler.
20:31Then Reuter, then Pedro Lamy.
20:37So the young drivers who are considered rookies this season
20:40certainly are making a name for themselves.
20:42They're running up in the top five, in the top ten,
20:45and they are being very, very competitive.
20:47So far, though, it's been the veterans that have been winning the races.
20:50And in this type of weather,
20:52you've got two of the best touring car drivers up running one and two,
20:55that being Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig.
20:59Although a number of these drivers, with the exception of Alsen,
21:02have a lot of experience on this track in the wet
21:04when they drove Formula Three
21:06and other Formula races that they were involved in.
21:09Alsen never started in Formula racing.
21:11He started right off in touring cars,
21:13and sometimes some of the experts say that that's one of the reasons
21:16he has trouble with this kind of weather.
21:18There goes Dumbrek again with a new angle through the corner.
21:21Fessler behind him. Then comes Reuter and Lamy.
21:29You can see how wet the course is.
21:31In some areas, there are puddles, particularly in the lower section,
21:34as they come across the start-finish line.
21:37As they head downhill here,
21:40they'll go through the chicane, come out of it,
21:42and then go down to a section that really has puddles in it.
21:45It's a 180, and you can see the water just laying in the corner.
21:51Well, Peter Dumbrek continues to roll here.
21:54Dumbrek has had a great season.
21:57He's made quite a name for himself,
21:59basically because of his consistency.
22:01He's done an extremely good job.
22:03He had two fifth-place finishes at Hockenheim
22:05in his very first outing in the Touring Cars.
22:07He was 11th and 5th at the Offschurzleben,
22:0914th and 9th at the Norris Ring.
22:12Then at the Sachsenring, he made a name for himself.
22:15He was second twice.
22:17So he is a man to contend with.
22:19But right now, Marcel Fessler,
22:21another of the rookie Mercedes drivers,
22:24has gotten by him.
22:26And Fessler is also having what you'd call a tremendous season.
22:31It's just one of those years
22:33when the young drivers have come on so strong.
22:36Fessler, 24 years old from Switzerland,
22:39he has just been a force to contend with.
22:43Manuel Reuter, the veteran,
22:46and right now the top Opel contender in this field,
22:49hanging on,
22:51running in fourth position.
22:56Reuter had the misfortune in the first race
22:58of picking up a time penalty.
23:00He had finished third at Hockenheim,
23:02but picked up a time penalty for a bumping incident
23:04and dropped out of the points.
23:06And that has hurt him ever since.
23:08He's not been able to make it up, really.
23:15And Reuter has given up a spot.
23:18Pedro Lamy has moved up one.
23:21Here's Laurent Aiello in the Audi.
23:24He is running in the top 15.
23:29So Laurent Aiello, a former super touring car champion,
23:33when he drove for Peugeot,
23:36has the Audi running very well here.
23:40Audi added Jason Thompson to his crew for this race.
23:44Thompson, from Britain, became the third driver
23:47from England to come here.
23:49He'll finish out the season in one of the apt Audis.
23:53Once again, you're with Manuel Reuter.
23:56Ahead of him is Pedro Lamy.
23:59So Pedro Lamy, who has also been sitting back
24:02and not really been that much heard from,
24:05all of a sudden has become a force here.
24:08Lamy was 14th and 11th at Hockenheim,
24:117th and 8th at Ostersleben,
24:139th and 8th at Norrisring.
24:15He didn't pick up any points at Sachsenring,
24:18or any finish there,
24:20and he finished 12th in the second race at the Sachsenring.
24:24So Lamy has had his time of adjusting
24:27from formula racing into touring cars.
24:30Looks like he may have found it here,
24:32in the wet, at the Nürburgring.
24:34First race of the day in the German Touring Car Masters 2000.
24:38The new return of the German Touring Car Masters,
24:42formerly called the German Touring Car Championship.
24:45Touring cars, one of the most popular forms of racing in Germany.
24:50One time the German touring cars were filling all the stadiums.
24:53It turned into the International Touring Car Championship,
24:56and then unfortunately dissolved.
24:58It went from that to super touring cars,
25:00which are not quite as spectacular as these are.
25:03And then this year, the German Touring Car Championships are back.
25:07Thanks in part to Volker Strzick and Norbert Haug,
25:10Strzick with Opel, Haug with Mercedes,
25:12who have backed this project right from the beginning.
25:15There's certainly a number of other people who have been working on it,
25:18but they became the front men of pushing it
25:20and getting the factory entries into the series.
25:22Let's hope that next year there'll be even more factory participation.
25:25And Pedro Lamy...
25:27Pedro Lamy has moved by...
25:29Dumbrec.
25:33Pedro Lamy has moved by Peter Dumbrec.
25:36He's out for his, probably what seems to be right now,
25:38the best finish of his season.
25:41Amazing.
25:45Manuel Reuter.
25:47Whoa, and Lamy gets a little squirrely there.
25:51There's Fesler.
25:53Then comes Pedro Lamy, fourth.
25:56Dumbrec is running fifth right now,
25:58and Reuter has dropped back to sixth.
26:00Reuter cannot afford to drop back much further.
26:02He's got to stay within some striking distance of Schneider,
26:05as Dumbrec once again goes off the course, way off the course,
26:08and Reuter gets by him.
26:10The wet conditions here making it difficult at the Nürburgring.
26:15But Peter Dumbrec,
26:17paying some dues here, driving a touring car in the wet,
26:20although this is the third race weekend
26:22where rain has certainly had an effect on the series.
26:26And here in the Eiffel Mountains of Germany,
26:28the weather is always a question.
26:30You never know what it's going to do.
26:36Back in the pack was Thomas Jaeger with Ellery.
26:39There you can see what happened to Dumbrec.
26:41He just went off.
26:43And Reuter stayed on the course.
26:45Dumbrec goes wide when he comes off,
26:47and actually gets off onto the curbing, it looks like, a little bit.
26:50And that's where Reuter took advantage.
26:52There he goes off.
26:55And Uwe Ahlson,
26:57there must be something wrong with Uwe's car.
27:00Ahlson has had a bad time this season,
27:02and he has certainly gone off the course
27:04more than what we've ever expected it.
27:06But this time here, this is not something that Uwe is doing, I'm sure.
27:09There's something in the car that's not cooperating.
27:11But for this man, everything is cooperating.
27:14Bernd Schneider.
27:16He will pick up a lead here in the points race
27:19as he works on his last lap here
27:22at the Grand Prix course at the Nürburgring.
27:25Schneider won the two races at Hockenheim.
27:28He had a third and a twelfth at Oschersleben.
27:30He crashed late in that race.
27:32At Norisring, he was fourth and then came back from fourth
27:35to win the second race.
27:37At Sachsen, he came back from eleventh and finished third.
27:39He was third twice at the Sachsenring.
27:42And now he's leading here at the Nürburgring.
27:44First race of the day.
27:48And the German Touring Car Masters.
27:50And there you see Norbert Haug
27:52watching his drivers.
27:54Ready to bring it home.
27:56We're talking about Pedro Lamy.
27:58Lamy really has come on very strong.
28:00His best start was seventh at Oschersleben.
28:03He started fifteenth today.
28:05Can you believe that?
28:06Pedro Lamy started fifteenth
28:08and is now running up in the top five.
28:12What a great race for him.
28:18But for Bernd Schneider, it's now to pick up points.
28:21They took advantage of Opel's difficulties
28:25at the Sachsenring
28:28and picked up big points.
28:30And now Bernd Schneider comes home to win
28:33his second first race of a race weekend.
28:37It's also his fourth race victory of the year.
28:43There he is, Bernd Schneider.
28:45Your winner here
28:48at the Grand Prix course at the Nürburgring.
28:50The first race of the day in the German Touring Car Masters.
28:54And Klaus Ludwig continues to pull up in the points.
28:59He probably will not pass Reuter after this race,
29:01but who knows, a good finish in his next race
29:03coming up in a few minutes
29:05could put him in his least second place.
29:08Reuter, who had been so promising in the beginning,
29:11now has been challenged by this man right here,
29:14the veteran, fifty-year-old Klaus Ludwig.
29:18A touring car legend in Germany
29:20continues to show the way.
29:22And his teammate, Marcel Fessler,
29:24one of the rookies from Switzerland,
29:26finishes right behind him.
29:28Then comes Pedro Lamy, another rookie.
29:31What a great day for the rookies.
29:32What a bad day for Opel.
29:34Mercedes takes four of the top five positions.
29:38Reuter, the Opel that keeps him in there.
29:40Amazing.
29:41The next Opel, Eric Ellery, came in eighth.
29:47But this is the man of the hour in the first race,
29:49Bernd Schneider, your winner here
29:53in the ninth race of the season
29:54in the German Touring Car Masters.
29:56Ludwig second, Fessler third, Lamy fourth.
29:59Look at this, Peter Denbrink, another of the rookies,
30:01along with Thomas Jaeger in sixth and seventh position.
30:03The Frenchman Eric Ellery in the Opel
30:05comes in eighth position.
30:08So Mercedes shows dominance in the wet
30:11here at the Nürburgring.
30:13And Opel continues to show they have some problems
30:15in the grip area.
30:16Winkelhock having a disappointing day for him
30:19coming in ninth.
30:20Uwe Ahlson battling literally to come in tenth.
30:23And look at that, Laurent Aiello in the Audi
30:25came in eleventh.
30:26That's the second time an Audi has finished that high up.
30:28Unfortunately, Audi still haven't picked up any points,
30:30but he did very well.
30:31Jason Thompson, second race in the touring cars.
30:34He didn't do too badly.
30:36Chris Nissen did not finish.
30:38He fell out early.
30:39Stefano Modena had problems right near the end of the race.
30:42You can see his car here.
30:43It went off.
30:44They're going to have to get it back to the pits
30:45so they can get it ready for the second race of the day.
30:47And while we're waiting for the second race to get started,
30:50let's take a look at another one of the drivers in the series.
31:02Ben Schneider is not one of the loud, publicity-seeking stars.
31:08He is confident.
31:10He's strong.
31:12And he is fast.
31:32It was always that way, whether it was in Karts, Formula 3,
31:36or Formula 1.
31:38Formula 1, a big disappointment.
31:40Three fruitless years.
31:42But Ben Schneider is not one of the loud, publicity-seeking stars.
31:46He is confident.
31:48He's strong.
31:50And he is fast.
31:52And he is fast.
31:54And he is fast.
31:56And he is fast.
31:58Three fruitless years.
32:08That time is now behind him.
32:10He's a proven star.
32:12Since 1991, he's led Mercedes in touring cars.
32:15He was the German touring car champion
32:17and the international touring car champion.
32:20He was the man of the hour.
32:29After the international touring car series dissolved,
32:31he moved to GT cars.
32:33Once again, he was champ.
32:35And runner-up, too.
32:49This year's Masters title seems to be headed toward Ben Schneider's pocket.
32:53But it won't be that easy.
32:59And when Schneider has a problem, the problems make him stronger.
33:04As we've seen here at the Nürburgring, and in this case, at Hockenheim.
33:18Ready to go.
33:20Second race of the day in the German touring car Masters
33:22here at the Nürburgring.
33:25And the full complement of 20 cars coming out for the start of the second race of the day.
33:31And once again, weather will play an important part.
33:33Here's how they line up.
33:34Ben Schneider, your leader.
33:35Klaus Ludwig finished second.
33:37He was second in the start row today here in the second race.
33:40You start according to how you finish in the first race.
33:42Fensler is third.
33:43Pedro Lamy, fourth.
33:44Two rookies in the second row.
33:47In the third row, Manuel Reuter and Peter Dumbrek.
33:50Reuter holding up the opal colors.
33:51Dumbrek holding up the rookie colors.
33:53Boy, they have been strong here.
33:56Next row, Thomas Jaeger.
33:58Another rookie with the veteran Eric Ellery from France in the opal.
34:04Further back in the pack, Jochen Winkelhoff.
34:06Still trying to find his way in his opal.
34:08Meanwhile, Uwe Alsen simply wants to get his car running and finish.
34:12And look at that.
34:13There are the apt Audis.
34:15Aiello and Thompson back in 11th and 12th positions.
34:18They can be very happy.
34:19It is wet.
34:21The drivers are on wet tires.
34:27Klaus Ludwig on the outside and the black Mercedes on the inside.
34:31Bernd Schneider.
34:32They come down, ready to make the run on the long straight before the chicane.
34:36That narrows the field down very quickly and we're underway.
34:41Ludwig stays way outside.
34:43Schneider inside.
34:44Everyone has held positions very well to get through the start here on a wet course.
34:48Ludwig way outside on the right.
34:50Schneider goes inside.
34:51Ludwig cuts inside of his teammate, Marcel Fesler,
34:55and they line up that way going through the chicane.
34:58And everybody seems to have gotten through pretty well here.
35:01Well, spoke a little bit too soon as one car has spun out.
35:05Otherwise, everybody seems to have gotten through.
35:08With all the moisture coming up, it's hard to tell who came out where there.
35:12Schneider first.
35:13Then comes Ludwig.
35:16So the two that finished 1-2 in the first race are running 1-2 here
35:19coming up the second race of the day.
35:23Fesler is running third.
35:25Lamy is running fourth.
35:27And it's Eric Ellery whose car spun in the mist.
35:32Lucky that nobody hit him.
35:34Benkelhock goes by him there.
35:37And Uwe Ahlsen bumps into Marcel Thiemann.
35:43Ahlsen just continues to battle his way through with his open.
35:48Baron Schneider, meanwhile, sets the pace.
35:51Ludwig second.
35:52Fesler third.
35:53Lamy fourth.
35:55Dumbrek is challenging Manuel Reuter.
35:57Reuter hangs on to fifth in that yellow and white Opel.
35:59Dumbrek is behind him, but he's being challenged by Thomas Jaeger.
36:07Heading down into the faster part of the course.
36:09Cars still sorting themselves out a little bit.
36:14But your leader remains the same.
36:15Your top four remain the same.
36:17Schneider, Ludwig, Fesler, Lamy, Reuter, Jaeger.
36:24And Peter Dumbrek drops back a little bit.
36:26Marcel Thiemann has moved up into this group.
36:34And there's Michel Bartels.
36:37He's had an up and down season so far.
36:39But so has Opel.
36:41So there you now get the cars as they sort out after the first lap.
36:44Marcel Thiemann got a good start.
36:46He's up into seventh place right now.
36:48Olsen back in tenth.
36:49Menzel in eleventh after his miserable first race
36:52with the wrong selection of tires.
36:54Ellery's dropped all the way back after his spin.
36:59Wow.
37:00Dumbrek went through.
37:01Spun.
37:03Everybody else is spinning.
37:06And Dumbrek had gone off the course.
37:07Had luck in the first race that he didn't spin when he went off.
37:10This time he did.
37:12And he's dropped way behind.
37:13He is at the end of the pack.
37:15He's got a long haul ahead of him.
37:21There comes Marcel Fensler from Switzerland.
37:23Finished third in the first race.
37:26Christian Abt brings his Audi back onto the course.
37:31Let's take a look.
37:32Well, it looks like back in the pack the drivers just went off
37:36because they went off.
37:37It was Dumbrek and he lost it as he came back on.
37:40He spun and everybody else got around him.
37:46So now everybody's just about happy.
37:47It looks like Ellery was the other one that spun in this case.
37:50Winkelhoff went way to the outside.
37:51Then come the Audis.
37:54So there's Dumbrek.
37:55You can see he got back on the course after coming off the grass.
37:57The car lost it and Menzel gets by him first.
38:01Then comes Modena.
38:03Then comes Winkelhoff going off to the right.
38:05Ellery has spun behind him.
38:10And that was quite a sorting out process of its own right there.
38:13Dumbrek, who had been running so well, has dropped way back now.
38:16He's going to have his hands full and move back up to the front.
38:20Meanwhile, Marcel Thiemann.
38:22He is in that Mercedes with that dark blue hood,
38:25which is actually a painting of the motor.
38:28He has the red mirrors.
38:30It's about the only way you can determine his car.
38:35But that one right there with the yellow mirrors, the Mercedes,
38:38of Bernd Schneider, the black car with the red mirrors,
38:41of Klaus Ludwig, black car, Mercedes, black mirrors,
38:44the Stanzler.
38:46Then comes Lamy, Reuter, Thomas Jaeger, Marcel Thiemann.
38:50And behind Thiemann, look at this.
38:53Uwe Ahlson goes off again.
38:56He definitely is having some sort of problems with that car.
38:59Ahlson has been fighting it all along and he had it under control.
39:03It went very, very well until the tires went out on him at the Saxon Ring.
39:07And now it's a case of something else is going wrong here.
39:11Once again, one of the apt-outies go off.
39:14It's Christian App.
39:17And the Opel Modena has gone off the course.
39:22You can see how wet it is.
39:23He just slides back onto the track.
39:28And this right here is the battle for third and fourth.
39:30Fessler and Pedro Lamy, two Mercedes.
39:35Right now, Mercedes is sitting one, two, three, and four.
39:40With Manuel Reuter running fifth.
39:42And there goes what happened to Modena.
39:45He just went off the course.
39:47Doesn't look like he had any help or whatsoever.
39:49He just went off.
39:50Got through the gravel, luckily, so he didn't get stuck.
39:54And keeps on going.
39:56Ahlson, Menzel, Timo Scheider.
40:00Scheider, another of the young drivers, the youngest in the field.
40:03And another driver goes off.
40:05This is just the day for everybody to have problems.
40:07You can see that.
40:08Darren Turner, the man that goes off there.
40:13He just keeps fighting his car.
40:15It's very, very difficult for him, though.
40:16Pedro Lamy is his teammate.
40:18Lamy's having a good day.
40:19He's running up in fourth position.
40:24There you see Timon battling with Jaeger.
40:27Both battling for grip.
40:29Here on a very wet course at the Nurburgring.
40:32Everyone started the second race on wet tires.
40:35In the first race, several drivers attempted to start the race on slicks.
40:39Then it cost them.
40:42What you can see is the battle right now is for third and fourth.
40:44Reuter has fifth pretty much to himself.
40:46Timon going inside of Jaeger and gets by him.
40:50That's for sixth and seventh position.
40:54It doesn't look like Jaeger is giving up position.
40:57He's not.
40:58And they're going over the curbs.
41:00They're bumping.
41:01Let's see who gets through this corner.
41:04It's a wet corner.
41:05They both get through.
41:07And Marcel Timon is the one that hangs on.
41:12There was some tight racing heading toward the hotel in the final corner
41:15before the start-finish line.
41:19Meanwhile, Uwe Alsen sits back there with Menzel behind him.
41:28So the action up front has sorted itself out.
41:30Mercedes running one through four.
41:32With Reuter running in fifth position.
41:34And right now the battle is back in the pack.
41:36See who can hang on.
41:37This is for sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth position.
41:41As Menzel is running ninth in the Ermshire Opel right there.
41:44Running behind Uwe Alsen.
41:46Then further back is Timo Scheider.
41:50And he's battling Bartels.
41:54And Bartels gets by him.
41:56Bartels one of the veterans of the series.
41:59And Scheider one of the brand new ones.
42:02It's been a great mixture of drivers this season.
42:04And the young drivers have certainly proven their worth.
42:08They're right up there in all the categories.
42:10They just have not won one yet.
42:13But their consistency is there.
42:14And they're certainly, some of them are paying quite a bit of money
42:16and learning how to handle one of these touring cars
42:19after most of them coming from Formula racing.
42:21And the changeover is not that easy.
42:24But even a driver like Klaus Ludwig has his share of problems.
42:30Ludwig had a couple of races before he could go on.
42:33Eric Ellery had passed Scheider.
42:35He lost it.
42:36Scheider comes back and passes him again.
42:40And Eric Ellery is willing to try again.
42:44Thomas Jaeger goes off.
42:47He's in a difficult position.
42:48Whether he can get back in or not, that's the question.
42:52Jaeger in the team car of Bernd Schneider,
42:56who's leading the race right now.
43:00Back in the pack again.
43:02Timo Scheider and Eric Ellery.
43:05And Ellery gets inside.
43:08And Olsen goes off again.
43:09Something really has to be wrong with Olsen's car.
43:11And that was tight.
43:15That cannot all be a driver problem.
43:17Something is wrong in the car.
43:24But Uwe certainly has put his car to a test here.
43:27There goes Jaeger.
43:28He went straight off.
43:29There was just no reason for him to go off.
43:31He didn't have any help whatsoever.
43:33The car just took off and he was gone.
43:37And he got it slowed down enough before he hit the tires.
43:40Doesn't look like any real damage was done.
43:41The question is, can he get back in again?
43:45Ellery now has gotten by Timo Scheider.
43:47Here comes Uwe Olsen.
43:50And parts of his car are flapping in the breeze.
43:53That front spoiler is broken.
43:57And the man up front, Bernd Schneider.
43:59And look at the difference between him
44:01and the second place car, 50-year-old Klaus Ludwig,
44:03the veteran touring car star of Germany.
44:07Marcel Fensler.
44:08Then Pedro Lamy from Portugal.
44:10Followed by the Opel of Reuter.
44:13And then Marcel Thiemann in a Mercedes.
44:17Followed by one of the Audis.
44:19How about that?
44:20The Audis are still running right up there.
44:22But Christian Opp, well, he's been left.
44:24That's not one of the ones running up front.
44:26Aiello had been doing extremely well.
44:28Uwe Olsen once again off the course.
44:33Something is wrong with the car, obviously.
44:36It just is going off at places it shouldn't.
44:38It's like a gear is stuck or something.
44:42Marcel Bartels with a new line through that corner.
44:44He'll have to get back on the course
44:46and hope he can get back headed downhill
44:48and get up to speed.
44:54The weather here at the Nürburgring
44:56always a contentious matter.
44:58Uwe Olsen goes straight off.
45:03And then comes back on again.
45:07The man is being put to the test this year of his patience.
45:11The frustration level has been extremely high.
45:16He just has not had a competitive season.
45:19A couple of times he's looked very, very good.
45:21Other times, well, that's one of those you want to forget.
45:24Those are the things that nightmares are made of.
45:28And that's another nightmare.
45:30Whoa, he's that close.
45:31Modena spun on his own
45:33and one of the Audis just missed him.
45:36Stefano Modena in the ATS Opel.
45:40Whoa, he almost got hit by another one.
45:43In a very dangerous corner,
45:45leading up to the start-finish line,
45:48he almost took care of two of the apt Audis.
45:53So Stefano Modena gets his car running again,
45:56but he's way back in the pack.
46:00There's Christian Menzel, followed by Eric Ellery.
46:03These two drivers have had their share of problems
46:05here in the second race.
46:08They had big problems in the first race.
46:12Now they're battling for position
46:14in the second race of the day
46:15in the German Touring Car Masters
46:18here at the Grand Prix course at the Nürburgring.
46:21And Ellery gets by the two Opel drivers
46:24going at it here.
46:26Whoa, and Menzel gives him a bump from behind.
46:29Menzel gave him a bump.
46:30This is where Menzel is at home.
46:32This is his home track.
46:33He knows it as well as anybody.
46:35He gets inside as they head downhill.
46:38Two Opel drivers going at it.
46:42But they are farther back in the pack
46:44than they certainly would like to be.
46:54And there's Uwe Ahlson,
46:56part of the car rubbing against the tire.
46:59What else can go wrong for this man?
47:02It's not what you'd call a great birthday weekend.
47:05He celebrated the birthday on Friday,
47:06but he's had his problems ever since.
47:08Timo Scheider goes off
47:09and certainly gains an advantage here.
47:12That's worth a penalty.
47:13Well, it won't be.
47:14Maybe not.
47:16Maybe not.
47:17Bartels will get by.
47:18Therefore, Scheider did not gain a position.
47:22If he'd gone through the corner like that
47:23and kept the position,
47:24then there probably would have been a time penalty.
47:28But in this case, he gained no advantage.
47:32And so there won't be any.
47:34And there comes Uwe Ahlson behind them.
47:37These drivers back in the pack.
47:42Battling for simply to get into the points.
47:45They're around 11th, 12th, and 13th positions.
47:50Scheider actually has had a pretty good season.
47:52He started off very strong
47:53and surprised just about everybody.
47:55And then it went downhill from there.
47:56He had two 4th place finishes at Hockenheim.
47:58And Uwe Ahlson goes off again.
47:59Something definitely wrong with the car.
48:02Something's just wrong
48:03and he's just trying to bring it home.
48:06You said Scheider had two 4th place finishes at Hockenheim.
48:09He had a 5th and a 7th at Ossersleben.
48:11And then it's gotten a little difficult.
48:1212th and 11th and two 7ths.
48:14He was 16th here in the first race of the day
48:17here at the Nürburgring.
48:18But you have to remember
48:20that he started on the slick tires
48:22hoping that the track would dry out.
48:24It didn't.
48:25He changed tires and dropped way back.
48:27But this is the man that's out in front.
48:29This is the man that's dominated.
48:30This is the man that's on his way
48:32to a second sweep of a race weekend.
48:35Bernd Scheider in Mercedes.
48:39Scheider won the two races at Hockenheim.
48:41He won the second race at the Norris Ring.
48:44He finished 3rd at the Sachsenring
48:46to gain in points over his opal contender Manuel Reuter.
48:50He won the first race of the day here at the Nürburgring
48:53and is on his way to the second race win.
48:56And quite frankly, he'll have a big point lead.
48:59His only contender will probably be
49:01his own Mercedes colleagues.
49:04And that would be Klaus Ludwig.
49:09But we're not there yet.
49:10Although we are in the last lap.
49:15Bernd Scheider.
49:17One of the top touring car drivers in Germany.
49:20And this is the man that puts the Mercedes together.
49:24Hans-Werner Albrecht.
49:28And this is his top driver.
49:30Or one of his top drivers.
49:31But right now, this is the man that's out in front of the points.
49:34And with this finish today and Manuel Reuter
49:36finishing down the list,
49:38Scheider will have a commanding lead.
49:40No doubt about it.
49:42His nearest contender will be Klaus Ludwig
49:44as long as Klaus brings it home again
49:46second here in the second race.
49:48Heading through the tight chicane.
49:50Nobody near him can take his time, bring it home.
49:54Heads toward the hotel
49:56and then makes the right-hander down the start-finish line.
50:00And the crew will be waiting for him as he heads down, out.
50:03He'll swing over toward the wall.
50:05And Bernd Scheider has won the second race of the day
50:08here at the Grand Prix course at the Nürburgring.
50:12It's his fifth victory this season.
50:15The seventh for Mercedes.
50:17And this is the man that brought home two victories before for Mercedes
50:20finishing twice today, Klaus Ludwig.
50:22Finishing second.
50:23Then Fesler, third, and another Mercedes.
50:25And then Pedro Lamy, fourth, and another Mercedes.
50:27And there is Manuel Reuter.
50:29The top Opel finisher of the day.
50:31The best he can do with two fifth-place finishes.
50:33He's going to drop back in the points by big numbers.
50:38And Ludwig should be moving into second place in the points race.
50:41Right now, it's a very happy Bernd Scheider
50:44on a very wet day at the Nürburgring.
50:48A great look at the course here and the crowd.
50:53There you see the Mercedes dominance.
50:55Marcel Thiemann in a Mercedes is sixth.
50:57Alaric Alary in an Opel is seventh.
50:59Turner in a Mercedes is eighth.
51:02So Mercedes had a great day here in the wet.
51:04And Opel still has a lot of work to do
51:06when it comes to setting up the car under these conditions.
51:10The Opels finishing nine, ten, and eleven.
51:12Then comes Dumbrek, who had a very difficult second race.
51:15Uwe Ahlsen managed a thirteenth.
51:17Aiello, after an eleventh-place finish in the first race,
51:19came in fourteenth. Not bad for the Aptaudis.
51:22Jochen Winkelhock, you just soon forget the day.
51:25He was back in nineteenth position.
51:28So now it's time to celebrate.
51:30Bernd Scheider on the top of the podium.
51:33Fessler is on the right.
51:35Klaus Ludwig on the left.
51:36And the celebration begins.
51:38And what a Mercedes celebration it is.
51:40Fourth sweep this season by the drivers.
51:43Three times by Mercedes now.
51:45And they've won both races.
51:47And today it was a major one because they had taken a big lead in the points.
51:50And now look at this.
51:51Scheider is way out in front.
51:53He has a forty-two point lead over Klaus Ludwig.
51:57Manuel Reuter drops all the way back to some fifty-one points behind in third place.
52:01So Bernd Scheider on his way to a title in the German Touring Car Masters.
52:05The next stop on the tour will be a brand new course in Germany.
52:08The Lausitzring.
52:09It's an oval that they use part of the oval and part of a road course.
52:12Promises to be a lot of action in the German Touring Car Masters.
52:15Hope you enjoy the broadcast today and will join us at the Lausitzring.
52:38.