2019.10.05

DTM Hockenheim - The Long-awaited Start of SUPER GT X DTM Competition!

October 4 (Fri.), 2019, saw the first day of Official Practice for Round 9 of the 2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series take place at Hockenheim. Making their debut in DTM competition from Japan were three GT500 class SUPER GT racecars, the No. 1 Honda NSX-GT (TEAM KUNIMITSU / driver Jenson Button), the No. 35 NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 (NISMO / driver Tsugio Matsuda, Ronnie Quintarelli) and the No. 37 LEXUS LC500 (LEXUS TEAM KEEPER TOM’S / drivers Ryo Hirakawa, Nick Cassidy).

 

The first free practice session (FP1), which started from 13:00 on Oct. 4, was held in wet conditions with chilly rain and a track surface temperature of 10-degrees C. For the three SUPER GT GT500 class cars it would be a difficult session, as their first time competing on the wet-use tires from the DTM official one-make supplier, Hankook Tire.
Driving the No. 37 LEXUS LC500 in the early stages of the 45-minute session, Nick Cassidy would lose control in the last section of the track and run off into the gravel and crash. This accident caused damage to the front end of the car, after which the rest of the session was spent in repairs. After that, in conditions that also saw DTM cars also run off the track, the No. 35 NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 driven by Tsugio Matsuda would also run off into the gravel at the same turn as car No. 37 and come to a stop. This time there was no serious damage to the car, and after returning to the pit once, car No. 35 was able to return to the track to continue the session.
Meanwhile, the third GT500 car, the No. 1 Honda NSX-GT driven by Jenson Button, finished the 45-minute session without mishap, recording a best lap time of 1’50.489 that put No 1 in 16th position overall. In terms of time, car No. 35 recorded the 19th place time and car No. 35 the 20th place time. The fastest lap time of the session was recorded by the No. 16 BMW Team RMR car driven by Timo Glock.

 

 

 

For the FP2 session that began from 16:30, the track surface temperature had risen to 15-degrees C. but there were still wet patches on the track, making for half-wet conditions at the start. By the time the running lines had dried out, all of the cars were running on slick tires. The No. 37 LEXUS LC500 car that had crashed in FP1 had now replaced the damaged bonnet area to run with an uncolored bonnet. The No. 35 NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 had changed drivers to Ronnie Quintarelli for FP2 and the No. 1 Honda NSX-GT continued to run with Jenson Button at the wheel.

As the rubber from the slick tires made traction on the track better, and the cars began running faster times, the cars began running faster times, the No. 3 Aston Martin R-Motorsport 1 driven by Paul di Resta developed machine trouble that caused it to run off the track at the last corner and crash. This brought out the Yellow Flag and caused things like the Japanese cars to having to abandon flying laps likely to improve their times. All of the cars returned to their pits at this time. After the track had been cleared, the cars again took to the course to resume the session now shortened to 30 minutes, with time also allotted for Safety Car practice. This made it difficult for the teams to time their flying laps to improve their time, and some teams were unable to get in any good laps at all.
In the end, the fastest time among the Japanese cars was the same as in FP1, with Jenson Button in car No. 1 recording the 15th fastest lap time of 1’31.986. Driving the No. 37 car that had crashed in FP1 and was feared to be hampered by lack of replacement parts, Ryo Hirakawa managed to record the 17th fastest time, while Ronnie Quintarelli in car No. 35 came home with the 21-placed time. The fastest time in the FP2 session was the No. 11 BMW Team RMG driven by Marco Wittmann, which meant the BMW teams had been fastest in both the FP1 and FP2 sessions this day.

 

 

 

The Safety Car entrance practice run in FP2

 

The GT500 drivers taking on the DTM teams

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