Bottom post of the previous page:
quite entertaining race todaya shame ARD didn't show the first 15 Laps Live
Justice is served!Hulkenberg gets Zandvoort win back
By Charles Bradley Friday, August 29th 2008, 10:45 GMT
Nico HulkenbergPre-season Formula 3 Euro Series favourite Nico Hulkenberg has taken the lead of the championship after the Dutch motorsport governing body, KNAF, reinstated his Zandvoort victory ahead of this weekend's round at Brands Hatch in England.
The ten points he receives is enough to push the ART Grand Prix driver nine ahead of Edoardo Mortara.
The court ruled two weeks ago that the mid-race deployment of Hulkenberg's fire extinguisher was the only reason his car was underweight after the Zandvoort race, after the team proved a new fire extinguisher put him 0.6 kg over the 540kg limit.
KNAF then had to decide if it was safe that Hulkenberg had chosen to carry on and finish the race, and as the extinguisher had not deployed properly in the cockpit. It did not approve of Hulkenberg's actions, which it called 'careless', but still agreed to give him the victory back.
The ruling is also dependent on ART not appealing the results of the Sunday race, for which Hulkenberg would have started eighth rather than at the back of the grid. In Gary Paffett's German F3 title year of 2002, a race was once retrospectively annulled due to an erroneous black flag incident, which set an alarming precedent in this area.
ART chief Frederic Vasseur told autosport.com that he has agreed not to appeal the Sunday race.
Hulkenberg's Brands Hatch weekend didn't get off to such a good start, however. He was only 14th fastest, three places behind Mortara in free practice this morning.
Renger van der Zande topped the times for Prema, but less than a tenth of a second covered the top six going into this afternoon's crucial qualifying session.
Source: Autosport
Djeez and that guy is supposed to be a champion. Looking back at 2007 I was surprised that Audi not pulled all their cars in, they seem to do that when they start running Merc's off the road.Metzo wrote:decent race today, Ekström sucks
Can't see what Jamie did wrong, they must not have shown it on TV.Ekstrom excluded, Green penalised
By Glenn Freeman Sunday, September 21st 2008, 16:24 GMT
Mattias Ekstrom has been excluded from Sunday's DTM race at Barcelona, while Jamie Green has been given a 30-second penalty after the pair clashed on the final lap.
The two made contact several times on the final lap of the race while fighting over fifth position. The first incident happened at the first corner, where Ekstrom tried to pass Green but tagged him into a spin.
However, Ekstrom's car was damaged as well, meaning that Green was able to catch him before the end of the lap. The pair went side-by-side through the final chicane, making contact several times, and the move ended with Ekstrom forcing Green into the gravel before the final corner.
The stewards had already penalised Ekstrom 50 seconds for the Turn 1 incident, dropping him to ninth, but they later decided to exclude him from the meeting for his second offence, and fined him 5000 euros.
Green did not escape the wrath of the officials either though, as he was also judged to have caused an avoidable collision just before the chicane, and his 30-second penalty drops him from seventh to eighth.
A statement from the stewards said: "The whole situation was prejudicial to the image/interests of DTM."
Source: Autosport
Autosport.com wrote:Schneider to retire after Hockenheim
By Steven English Tuesday, October 21st 2008, 10:30 GMT
Bernd Schneider will retire from racing after this weekend's DTM season finale at Hockenheim.
The 44-year-old Mercedes stalwart has won five DTM championships with the marque as well as one International Touring Car and one FIA GT crown. He also started nine grands prix between 1988 and 1990 for Zakspeed and Footwork.
His retirement at the end of the season has been rumoured since half way through the year when he won the race at the Nurburgring in July, but Mercedes finally confirmed today that he will no return to racing in 2009. Although he will stay on with the manufacturer as an ambassador.
"I've been active as a racing driver for more than 30 years and my aim has always been to continue racing for as long as I enjoy the sport and am still able to remain competitive," said Schneider. "The time to leave has now come and it gives rise to conflicting emotions.
"On one hand I'm sorry to be saying goodbye to the many friends I have made in motorsport, above all in the AMG, HWA and Mercedes-Benz teams. But on the other hand I'm looking forward to facing my exciting new challenges."
Schneider will work as a brand ambassador, instructor and test driver for Mercedes at the AMG Driving Academy.
"I see my decision to work for AMG following my career as an active racing driver as absolutely logical," said Schneider. "I was able to celebrate most of my victories in the AMG Mercedes team and now I'm looking forward to the new challenge."
Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug added: "Bernd and Mercedes were partners on the track for 17 years - one of the longest and most successful partnerships between a driver and a brand in the motor racing world. Mercedes-Benz has much to thank Bernd for and he has put his stamp on the DTM like no other driver.
"He is also an example to many young drivers but for me he is also a friend, and one I will miss behind the wheel when there are races to be won."