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Two days of testing at Mugello

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After the long off-season, the air is filled with the smell of racing fuel, once again. In the 2005 season’s first official DTM tests, three of the four manufacturers involved in DTM experience their first clash prior to the season kick-off, taking place at the Hockenheimring Baden Württemberg, on 17th April.

At Mugello, in clearly better weather conditions than in Germany, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Opel completed the first of a total of four testing days, today. During the course of the day, the conditions at the Italian circuit offered the team the opportunity of dealing with a broad spectrum of air and track temperatures. Early in the morning, the track temperatures were as low as 0 degrees C, but in the afternoon, they rose to some 22 degrees, while the air temperature (-1 in the morning) reaching 13 degrees C.

After eight hours of testing, Opel ace Heinz-Harald Frentzen set the first fastest lap of the test. The German had been the fastest already in the morning, and at the end of the day, his 1:43.667-minute lap at the 5.245-kilometre circuit – set behind the wheel of the 2005 spec test car – turned out to be unbeatable. “We experienced a problem-free first day of testing and succeeded in completing our scheduled programme”, revealed Frentzen. And Swiss Marcel Fässler, who had the first chance of driving his new racing car, added: “Quite obviously, the first laps behind the wheel of my new car were something special. But it is just as obvious that you don’t take a new car to its very limits, during the roll-out.”

The positions behind Frentzen were secured by two DTM rookies: in last year’s AMG-Mercedes C-Class, Jamie Green and Alexandros Maragaritis finished second and third respectively, with both of them entering their inaugural DTM season. “I’m gaining more and more experience, thus making consistent progress”, said Green, the reigning Formula 3 Euro Series Champion who made it to DTM. While his brand-mate, Margaritis, proved his stamina by covering a total mileage of 84 laps, more than any other driver. Last year’s runner-up, Gary Paffet, tested a 2005 spec test car and was also happy with what he achieved. “The development of the car is making good progress”, said Paffet, “And I was able to set fast times all day. Now I’m looking forward to the forthcoming three days of testing.”

DTM rookie Pierre Kaffer finished fourth in his first competition with his DTM opponents. “I’m really happy with my first day of testing”, said Kaffer. “Team Joest has made a fantastic job. Given the result of today’s tests, I’m confident regarding the forthcoming three days.” Rinaldo Cappello, who already drove an Audi A4 DTM in the 2004 Shanghai invitation race, completed 59 laps, at Mugello. “The circuit suits me well and the tyres offered a very constant grip level”, said the Italian who hasn’t been driving at Mugello for nine long years. “Today, we tested some things with the Audi A4, but from tomorrow, we will extensively focus on the performance.”

Results day one

Day Two

In his Opel Vectra GTS V8, Heinz-Harald Frentzen succeeded in also dominating the second day of testing, at Mugello, Italy. At the 5.245-kilometre circuit located in the heart of the Tuscany region, the Opel works driver set a 1:43.242-minute lap, thus improving his fastest Tuesday time by more than four tenths of a second, with Christian Abt in the Audi A4 DTM (1:44.958 minutes) setting the second fastest time of the day. The fastest Mercedes-Benz driver, Stefan Mücke (1:44.072 minutes), came in third.

The teams completed their testing programmes in sunny but chilly conditions, with the air temperatures rising to a maximum of 13 degrees C and the track surface reaching similar temperatures, at noon. In the morning, Mercedes-Benz’ new signing, Mika Häkkinen, completed just four laps behind the wheel of his racing car for the forthcoming season. In the afternoon, however, the Finn worked truly hard, completed 45 laps and at the end of the day, he had set a personal fastest lap time of 1:44.459 minutes, thus securing fifth place on the time sheets. While three-time DTM Champion Bernd Schneider wasn’t quite that fast but even busier. The Monaco based driver from the Sauerland covered a total mileage of 96 laps and finished sixth fastest, directly behind Häkkinen.

Audi’s new signings, Frank Stippler, Rinaldo Capello and Pierre Kaffer, experienced a day of testing without any particular incidents. Just as the other drivers, they didn’t focus on setting top times but on extensively testing the car in cooperation with the engineers. ‘Stippi’ completed 63 laps and set the fourth fastest lap (1:44.391 minutes), with Kaffer (65 laps, 1:44,669 minutes) and Capello (47 laps, 1:44.769 minutes) finishing eighth and ninth respectively.