DTM EuroSpeedway Lausitz - Analysis part 2

For the second consecutive time, the young guns were outclassed by their experienced rivals. Just as it had been the case in the season opener, at Hockenheim, Bernd Schneider once again prevailed. Prior to his champagne shower, the crowds witnessed a thrilling race with the pit stops turning out to be a key factor. We took a close look at the performances of every single driver and summed them up, for you.

Frank Stippler (3rd / 10th / 13th / 14th / 11th / 11th): In the qualifying Frank already complained about the oversteer of his S line Audi A4. He made a careful start into the race - and had to find out that the problems experienced in the qualifying session weren’t gone. On Friday, in difficult conditions, ‘Stippi’ proved that he can do better. Grade: 3
Throughout the weekend, Stefan failed to meet the expectationsStefan Mücke (9th / 14th / 14th / 16th / 12th / 12th): A disappointing home event for the local hero. Throughout the weekend, Stefan failed to meet the expectations. In the qualifying he delivered in particularly moderate style and had to settle for 16th position, hence, points were virtually out of his reach. In the race, Stefan benefited from the retirements but 12th position was the best he could do. Grade: 4

Heinz-Harald Frentzen (10th / 11th / 11th / 10th / 16th / 13th): Heinz-Harald never really arrived at the EuroSpeedway. “Throughput the weekend I failed to get at racing speed.” No matter if it came to practice, qualifying or race: we expected Frentzen - third in the season opener - to do clearly better. Now, the team has to analyse what’s gone wrong as the former Formula One ace has clearly higher goals. Grade: 4

Mathias Lauda (16th / 17th / 15th / 15th / 14th / 14th): A consistent race weekend of Mathias. In nearly all the sessions, he prevailed against the other 2004-spec car drivers - particularly when it counted. There were no particular highlights, but Mathias stuck to his strategy: to improve step by step. Grade: 2

Susie Stoddart (18th / 20th / 18th / 18th / 18th / 15th): At the EuroSpeedway, Susie failed to repeat her remarkable Hockenheim performance. In difficult and changeable weather conditions, she never made the vital step forward. Following the qualifying session, the Scot announced that she would give her very best - but that wasn’t enough. In the race, she gained three positions as three of the drivers ahead of her had to retire. Grade: 4

Vanina Ickx was involved in a collision with Olivier TielemansVanina Ickx (19th / 16th / 17th / 20th / 20th / 16th): Although it all started in promising style, Vanina was just unlucky, this weekend. For the very first time, she had been quicker that Susie Stoddart, in the second test session on Friday. In the race however, a lot of things went wrong: she was involved in a collision with Olivier Tielemans, was penalised with a Drive-Thru Penalty and made a poor pit stop. Just a weekend to forget. Grade: 5

Olivier Tielemans (20th / 19th / 20th / 19th / 19th / 17th): There’s still a lot Olivier has got to learn regarding DTM - and he’s aware of this fact and doesn’t look for excuses. In the qualifying, he forgot to bring his brakes to working temperature, thus spoiling a fast lap. In the race, his start was anything but perfect and his collision with Vanina Ickx was followed by a misunderstanding with his conning bridge. Grade: 5

Daniel la Rosa (17th / 15th / 19th / 17th / 7th / -): Daniel made for a highlight in the warm-up on Sunday morning by setting the seventh fastest lap time. In the qualifying session, however, the rookie gambled and failed to set a fast lap, thus having to settle for 17th position. In the opening stages of the race, he delivered in reasonable style but on lap 32, a steering problem forced him into early retirement. Grade: 4

Christian Abt (15th / 18th / 9th / 9th / 17th / -): Throughout the weekend, Christian completed only a limited number of laps and made a lot of set-up changes on his Playboy Audi A 4 DTM. This seemed to pay off and in the second leg of the qualifying session, he finished ninth, thus just missing the third leg. In the opening stages of the race, Christian was involved in a collision with Margaritis, and when he wanted to leave the pits following his first pit stop, his race came to a sudden end. He drove off too early and lost his right front wheel before even having left the pit-lane. Grade. 4

Mattias Ekström (1st / 3rd / 6th / 3rd / 15th / disqualified): In the difficult Friday conditions, the amateur rally driver really enjoyed himself. Mattias secured the promising third grid position and together with his team, he had found a good strategy. For the major part of the race, the Swede was holding second position, but in the closing stages, he stranded due to an empty fuel tank. Truly annoying, as the second race with no points scored represented a major blow for his title ambitions. We may look forward to the brilliant chase ‘Eki’ is expected to begin at Oschersleben. Grade: 3