Hockenheimring: Mercedes preview

The DTM will start with a new race format into its fourth season. The most important new rules are a single lap qualifying, only one race and two compulsory pit stops with refuelling allowed. The event at Hockenheim, too, features the debut of the Formula 3 Euroseries, which emerged from the French and German championships.

Nine DTM drivers from five countries are entered by Mercedes-Benz: three-times Champion and least year's runner-up Bernd Schneider (38/D), Christijan Albers (23/NL), Jean Alesi (38/F), and Marcel Fässler (26/CH), all four in the new Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM; Patrick Huisman (34/NL), Thomas Jäger (26/D), Bernd Mayländer (31/D) and Stefan Mücke (21/D) as well as newcomer Katsutomo Kaneishi (34/JAP) in last year's models of the Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM.

Bernd Schneider is the most experienced of the Mercedes-Benz DTM drivers with 168 starts, he has won 35 races and will be tied with Klaus Ludwig at the top of the record list after his next victory.

Qualifying consists of a 20-minute session for all drivers with a maximum of nine laps per driver, followed by a single lap qualifying of the ten fastest drivers. The qualification race is abandoned and Sunday’s race will now be about 160 kilometres long (instead of 100). Two pit stops with tyre changes are compulsory, and the teams are allowed to refuel, too.

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:

"The new race format with one race and two pit stops, the same start times at all events, and the increased efforts of our TV partners ARD and ZDF will contribute to present great sport to the spectators. Moreover, we are happy to continue our traditional junior driver promotion activities in the new Euroseries and to demonstrate the capabilities of our Formula 3 engine, derived from the new generation of four-cylinder production engines, at the same time."

-mercedes-