The premiere was promising: in the second round of the DTM season kick-off at the Hockenheimring, the race was restarted following a safety-car period in the Indianapolis style, the so-called Double-File restart, with the field approaching the home straight in two lines. The positive conclusion: it’s an asset. The spectators are provided additional action and a bigger show. Furthermore, it’s somewhat unpredictable, thus adding to the excitement.
The new restart is a great tool,” DTM Race Director Sven Stoppe said in a conversation with DTM.com and added: “In the run-up to the Lausitzring weekend we will subject the new restart format to some fine adjustment.” In the tests held in April at Hockenheim, the 18 DTM drivers already practiced the so-called Double-File restart but as usual, the difference between practicing something new and executing it in anger was big. The practice on Sunday demonstrated that there have to be made some minor changes – despite the well deserved delight due to the additional excitement provided by the new element. “The leader must be the leader,” Stoppe stressed, “And the drivers have comply with the speed stipulated in the driver briefing.”
And although the fun factor was high this didn’t really work on Sunday. Jamie Green received a five-second pit-stop penalty due to an irregular grid position. What exactly happened? Stoppe explains: “Green demonstrably didn’t make a jump start. He only accelerated when the lights were switched off. So this was okay. But Green already was a metre ahead of the actual race leader, Timo Glock, when the lights were switched off. Therefore, the penalty was appropriate.” In the case of a jump start Green would have received a drive-thru penalty. Furthermore, the Briton didn’t break prior to the prestart as it was claimed by some people. “He accelerated constantly,” added the DTM Race Director.
Stoppe also underlined that some of the drivers are more experienced regarding this kind of restart than others. For some, he said, it is virgin soil but others, such as Rene Rast, have executed the Double-File restart countless times. “If cars are driving in this formation you can’t see the driver next to you,” Stoppe said, thus explaining an addition problem. .
Generally, the safety car is supposed to take the field to the home straight at the speed determined in the driver briefing. At Hockenheim, this speed amounted to 70kph but the analysis showed that all the drivers already accelerated slightly to 100kph and more. Race leader Timo Glock should have been the one to set the pace and Green should have oriented himself towards Glock. Incidentally, Glock was the only one still driving in first gear when the ‘lights went green’. He afterwards accelerated too hard and had his problems when it came to switching to second speed.
Stoppe also underlines that the drivers may accelerate as soon as the lights have been switched off and not only when they have reached the finish line. The latter was wrong but partially hawked around by some media, stressed Stoppe. Meanwhile, the DTM Race Director is no fan of a flying start without starting signal as used in the NASCAR Series. “I still want to have the opportunity to interfere should the formation not be as specified.“
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