2019.10.05

DTM Hockenheim - GT500 Pilot Jenson Button Enters the First Page of SUPER GT X DTM Competition History as a Top-10 Finisher

The Official Qualifying was run in unstable conditions with rain falling on and off. Starting at 10:35 local time, the 20-minute session was run in wet conditions throughout. The No. 1 Honda NSX-GT driven by Jenson Button, No. 37 LEXUS LC500 driven by Ryo Hirakawa and No. 35 NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 with Tsugio Matsuda driving all took to the track early at the start of the session. As with the FP1 session of the previous day, all three drivers struggled to get used to running on the unfamiliar Hankook rain tires.

With 10 minutes remaining in the session, Button in car No. 1 returned to the pit to make adjustments to things like the pressure in his tires. Also, Matsuda brought his car back to the pit to change tires. Getting back on the track, Button soon recorded a time of 1’46.206 that immediately moved him up among the leaders and eventually saw him finish the qualifying in 7th position. However, due to the disqualification of another car’s time, Button would start the ensuing race from 6th position on the grid.

As for Hirakawa in car No. 37, a Yellow Flag prevented him from running his last timed lap and thus he ended the session in 20th place. He was followed by Matsuda in car No. 35 in 21st place. Pole position went to the 2019 series champion team, the No. 33 AUDI SPORT TEAM ROSBERG driven by René Rast, with a time of 1’45.552.

=The track condition was dry for Race 1 held that afternoon. The historical first official race between SUPER GT and DTM teams started at 13:30 local time with a formation lap, but to everyone’s surprise, the No. 35 NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 machine of Tsugio Matsuda failed to start. It had to be towed off to the pit lane.

Unlike the rolling starts of SUPER GT, DTM uses standing starts. Starting from sixth position on the grid, Jenson Button’s start in the No. 1 Honda NSX-GT was clearly slower than the cars around him and he initially lost ground, but after that he recovered to finish the first lap in 7th position. Meanwhile, Ryo Hirakawa in the No. 37 LEXUS LC500 got a good start and moved forward in the field, but the team’s strategy was to have him make the required pit stop at the end of the first lap and then run clean after that and pick up the pace.

Perhaps due to a concentration on tire management, there was little change in position after that as the race entered its middle stages. After the race entered its 17th lap, the drivetrain trouble that had kept car No. 35 from starting was finally repaired and it could enter the race. This late recovery was greeted by applause from the spectators.

On the following lap, Button returned to the pit while running in 8th position. About seven seconds of time was lost, however, in change the machine’s left rear tire, which dropped Button back to 17th position once he was back in the race. Just after that, a BMW slowed and came to a stop at trackside on the 19th lap, thus bringing out the Safety Car. Hirakawa took this opportunity to make his second pit stop and subsequently return to the race in 15th position. Amid the confusion that followed the rush of pit stops, Button managed to return to the race in 13th position.

When the Safety Car left the track on the 22nd lap, the race was restarted with a two-column rolling start, and despite incidents of cars running off the track at the first turn and others colliding with each other, Button was able to steadily work up through the field to move into 11th position by the 31st lap, after which he showed his strength by passing an Audi on the 34th lap before eventually finishing the race in 9th place, top among the teams from Japan. Having opted for a two-stop strategy, Hirakawa in car No. 37 finished the race in 13th place, while Matsuda in car No. 35 that had entered the race late was only able to finish 21 laps and thus failed to be classified as a finisher.

The race winner was the champion car, the No. 33 AUDI SPORT TEAM ROSBERG driven by René Rast. After taking the checkered flag, Rast showed his joy by doing a donut turn at the first corner before getting out of his car and throwing his driving suit into the stand to the delight of the fans.

Tomorrow will see the running of Race 2, in which Jenson Button will once again drive the No. 1 Honda NSX-GT, while Ronnie Quintarelli will take the wheel of the No. 35 NISSAN GT-R NISMO GT500 and the No. 37 LEXUS LC500 will be driven by Nick Cassidy. The 20-minute qualifying session will start at 10:35 local time and the race at 13:30.