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00:00This is the German Touring Car Masters, today the seventh race weekend, coming to you from
00:12the historic Nürburgring.
00:15They won't be running the Grand Prix course though, they're going to be running the tight
00:18and fast short course.
00:20Plenty of action ahead.
00:31The historic Nürburgring overlooks the Nürburgring, a course that's been rebuilt over the years,
00:38most recently the pit area has certainly been improved, and now everyone is waiting to see
00:44how the German Touring Car Masters attacks the short course.
00:49The crew is getting ready for the course, it's 1.89 miles long, the qualifying race
00:54ten laps, the main race will be 33.
00:59Everyone wonders, will Bernd Schneider be able to almost wrap up his title, or will
01:03the Audis continue to dominate?
01:07The Audis won the first two races of the season here, after Bernd Schneider had won the first
01:11two at Hockenheim.
01:13The Audis' big return was announced at the Nürburgring, Bernd Schneider's competition
01:17was there.
01:18For the fans, a circus, and all kinds of possibilities to meet their favorite drivers.
01:25The facility was ready.
01:31Bernd Schneider the point leader, with a 43 point margin over Peter Dumbreck, and we're
01:36about ready to go racing if the fans have one opportunity first to go into the museum
01:41and take a look at the history of the Nürburgring.
01:51These are the cars that have raced on this historic track.
02:06The fans are ready for the qualification race, ten laps around this 1.89 mile circuit.
02:12Hi, I'm Milt Fitzwater, welcome to the German Touring Car Masters, plenty of action promised
02:17here for all the fans that have gathered, some 60,000 today, over 69,000 for the weekend,
02:23a great race weekend here at the Nürburgring.
02:26There's the short course, you can see in grey the long course, that little short connector
02:29makes all the difference in the world, making this one of the fastest circuits that they'll
02:33be racing on all season long.
02:36Racing on the pole will be Laurent Aiello in his Audi with some simple plans.
02:40To finish the race, first of all, and to try to stay in the same position that I will start
02:46that race, and then we will see for the second one, here today is very hot, and I think we
02:55will have to play with the tires because it's going to be a real problem here, so maybe
03:02if we have a gap in between ourselves and the others, maybe we will slow down to make
03:07sure that everything will be ok until the end of the race.
03:12Ok, here's how they're going to start, Aiello is on the pole, next to him is his teammate
03:16and boss Christian Optitz, his best start of the season for the Audis.
03:20In the next row, the points leader in the grey Mercedes, Bernd Schneider, next to him
03:25another Mercedes of Uwe Janssen.
03:28In the next row, Matthias Ekstrom, the young driver in an Audi, next to him Bernd Meilander,
03:33and so we're ready to go here on the short course.
03:37Aiello is on the left, Optitz is on the right, and here we go!
03:45They're coming up into the chicane, they'll drop downhill, you can see that on the left,
03:49Bernd Schneider has been trying to get by the Audi of Aiello, he can't do it, but look
03:54at Janssen, Uwe Janssen has moved up into second place, pushing Christian Optitz back
04:01into third, and everybody got through that first chicane ok.
04:04Now they go into the connector section, the very short connector section as you ride with
04:08Peter Dumbrek.
04:10He is starting back in the pack a little bit, back in 8th position is where he qualified.
04:15The field is sorting itself out pretty well here.
04:19As we have a car spinning in the back, a car is spinning in the back, parts are flying
04:23just about everywhere.
04:26A couple of cars evidently involved in that one, we'll have to wait and see what exactly
04:30happened.
04:31Meanwhile, Laurent Aiello jumps out in front, Uwe Janssen is running second, Christian Optitz
04:38is running third, and then comes the rest of the field through the motorcycle chicane.
04:44There you see the spin, it's Jaeger that has spun, and his car seems to be the most damaged
04:51of them all.
04:52It was very, very tight as I came out of it, Alain Meunier made a little bit of a mistake
05:00and went over the curbs.
05:02In the next corner, I had a clear line, but he drove right into my side and I spun.
05:07Another car hit me and that car is badly damaged.
05:10I just hope our car is ready for the main race.
05:16So the crew has got their work cut out for them during this qualifying race, and it'll
05:22mean that Thomas Jaeger, one of the fine Mercedes young drivers, is going to be starting way
05:27in the back of the pack in the main event.
05:30It was back in the beginning of the year, whoa, look at this, Peter Dumbrek has made
05:36a mistake, something wrong with his car, and Dumbrek has gone off the course.
05:42Dumbrek was currently second in the points race, but is now seemingly out of it.
05:49That will not help his chances whatsoever.
05:56Something happened to his car and he went off.
05:59Not exactly sure what happened, but there certainly is some sort of damage, but he was
06:02second in the points at that time.
06:05You're riding with Fesler right now, Marcel Fesler, and he came right up on Dumbrek, just
06:10missed him when Dumbrek slowed.
06:15Meanwhile there you're at second, third, fourth cars, and in the fifth position right now
06:22is Bear Mylander, all right, Mylander came back after missing three events because of
06:28a foot injury, did pretty well in his return event, but here he's running fourth, or fifth
06:33rather, so he's doing very, very well.
06:38You see Timo Scheider here in the black and red Opel, one of the top Opels this year,
06:44also the young driver is being courted for Formula One it looks like.
06:50He's 22 years old and one of the top talents in Germany right now.
06:56The camera remains on Uwe Ahlsen right there, your second place car back in the pack as
07:00the race is waning down.
07:03Ahlsen, who has come on strong here in the end of the season, is certainly making up
07:09for what was a very slow start for him, and Aiello of course, making up for some difficult
07:13times this season for Audi and for himself.
07:17As they head toward the start-finish line, you're riding with Christian Abt, Aiello is
07:21way out in front now and is already evidently crossing the finish line as the camera stays
07:26with the second place car, Uwe Ahlsen, here we go across the finish line, Ahlsen takes
07:31second, Christian Abt is third, Bernd Schneider is fourth, though Laurent Aiello becomes the
07:36second two-time winner of qualifying races in the German touring car, masters winning
07:40on the qualifying race here at the short course at the Nurburgring.
07:48And there he is, your winner in the qualifying race, right from the pole, Laurent Aiello,
07:52very popular Frenchman and making a very happy team from the Audi crew.
07:57There you are, Aiello, Ahlsen, Abt, Schneider and then Meilander fifth, great finish for
08:02him as he makes his comeback from his injury.
08:06Again another difficult day for the Opels, they've had their share of problems and they
08:11continue to have them here, Timo Scheider right now the best Opel, coming in 11th, Manuel
08:15Reuter in 12th, another Opel driver, so the Opels still struggling here, trying to get
08:21back into the winner's column.
08:25While we have a few minutes between the races, this is some of the activity that was going
08:28on here at the Nurburgring.
08:31There was a circus, a circus of all kinds, and it did involve a number of the German
08:36touring car master drivers.
08:40There was fun for just about everybody, and the competition, well, it was a little bit
08:46different for the drivers than you might expect.
08:52And the other drivers who want to go against them, you can see their hands up, they all
08:55want to compete here.
09:00There's Joachim Engelhock on the outside with a young competitor, Engelhock's not going
09:04to be able to catch him it looks like.
09:07The German touring car masters wants this to be a family-oriented circuit, and so this
09:15is just a part of a full presentation weekend for all the fans, young and old.
09:32It wasn't just Engelhock, though, who had to compete.
09:35Several other drivers decided to get involved, such as the Netherlands Patrick Huisman here.
09:42He might be just a little bit too big, and it doesn't look like he's going to be too
09:47successful according to the young competition.
09:59Then there's Martin Tomczyk, one of the youngest drivers in the field, having his share of
10:04problems on a scooter.
10:10These are the pros in that area, not Tomczyk.
10:13And of course, there was plenty of time for autographs.
10:21But close and personal, the German touring car masters.
10:48And who said German touring car master drivers couldn't perform in a circus?
10:52That's Christian Opt, not bad, huh?
10:55But now it's time to get serious once again, back into the racing scene.
11:01Aiello on the pole, Altson on the outside pole.
11:07Two tough competitors, it'll be interesting to see who gets the jump.
11:12There's Christian Opt on the inside.
11:14On the outside is Bernd Schneider.
11:19Then the rest of the field starts to work its way around, but the big battle is going
11:22to be among those top four to see who's going to get into the corner the quickest.
11:26Will they be able to do it?
11:28Well, we're just going to have to wait and see.
11:32This is the race that's going to tell it all.
11:35Schneider, if he can finish well, will have an opportunity to pick up serious points toward
11:39his title.
11:40He cannot clinch it here, but he certainly can put everybody so far behind that it will
11:44be virtually impossible to catch him.
11:47There you see the top Opals in the field so far, they've had their problems, they're hoping
11:52to do much better here.
11:54Altson is on the right, Aiello on the left.
11:57Aiello tried to block on the inside.
11:58Let's see what happens again on this race.
12:01Aiello stays inside trying to cut off Schneider.
12:04Schneider swings outside, Altson's got the lead.
12:07Look at that, starting from the outside, Uwe Altson has taken the lead.
12:10Aiello has dropped into second place, Schneider is third, Abt is all the way back into fourth
12:16position.
12:17So Uwe Altson has jumped out into the front here and spoiled a start by Aiello in the
12:25Audi.
12:26Aiello seemed to be concentrating more on Bernd Schneider and Altson slipped by on the
12:31outside to move in and take the lead.
12:34And the lead he has, but it isn't much.
12:37There isn't much space left.
12:39Hubert Haupt went off the course, a little bit of a different line there, but look how
12:43tight they are here, one, two, three, and four.
12:46That being Altson, Schneider, or rather Altson, Aiello, Schneider, and then Abt.
12:53And then behind them is Matthias Ekstrom, and behind him comes Bernd Meilander and the
13:00rest of the field.
13:01They're going to use there the motorcycle chicane coming into the hill, it's a little
13:04easier to get through for touring cars, not as sharp as the Formula One corner.
13:08Marcel Fesler, back in the pack, you're riding with him right now.
13:13Fesler riding back in the eighth position at this moment.
13:19Once again, heading into the chicane after the start-finish line curve.
13:25Everyone working their way through carefully right now, but it looks like Altson and Aiello
13:30have taken over the race to themselves.
13:33The question is going to be, how is Bernd Schneider going to handle this?
13:36Bernd Schneider sitting back there in third place.
13:39Then comes Ekstrom and Meilander, and right behind Meilander is his teammate, Patrick
13:44Huisman, from the Netherlands.
13:48Huisman certainly has come on strong here over the last few weeks, gets better and better.
13:53Started off quite slowly, but he's somewhat of a veteran of touring car racing.
13:59He's 32 years old and has done his share of racing, but all of a sudden he's gotten used
14:03to his car, and he's right up there with the leaders.
14:13The cars have sorted themselves out very nicely as they head down now the start-finish line.
14:21There's your leader, Uwe Altson, Aiello, Schneider, Kristian Abt has a little bit of distance,
14:27then comes Ekstrom.
14:30Behind them is Meilander and Huisman.
14:36One driver to watch here is certainly going to be Jaeger.
14:42He has made a tremendous start.
14:44Thomas started back in 22nd position, way back in the pack, and in one lap moved up
14:50to 14th.
14:51What a great start for him.
14:57One of the best starts so far this season, as you get a look at that motorcycle chicane,
15:02had to be Bernd Schneider, who started the day way back in the pack and ended up finishing
15:06right up near the top.
15:08Schneider with the fastest lap here so far in the main race of the day, 33 laps around
15:15the short course here at the Nürburgring.
15:17Aiello incidentally had the fastest lap in the very first race of the day.
15:24Right now, Uwe Altson continues to roll, and Schneider made sure that Aiello knew he
15:30was there.
15:33There's your top trio right there.
15:36Your points leader, Bernd Schneider, certainly would like to pick up as many points as he
15:39possibly can with the three races that are remaining.
15:46Now you have to understand that there have to be mandatory pit stops here, and they're
15:55going to come at lap 11, or about the 33 percentage mark of the race.
16:01The drivers have to make the pit stop, and they have to make it from the 11th lap on.
16:08So these have become quite crucial.
16:10There you see Bernd Schneider going outside, nope, can't do it.
16:13He wanted to get inside rather on Aiello before the chicane, couldn't do it.
16:17This chicane is much faster than the Formula 1 chicane, and it's a little harder to out-brake
16:22somebody going into that chicane as compared to into the Formula 1 chicane, which really
16:26is a heavy braking corner.
16:28But look at Schneider, right up on the back bumper of Aiello.
16:33This time he's going to go on the inside again.
16:35They've got the right-hand chicane coming up, is Schneider going to make it?
16:39No!
16:40Oh, and they bump!
16:42That's some serious racing here for second place.
16:46Now the connector, is Schneider going to get inside again?
16:50This time he makes it!
16:51Bernd Schneider has taken over second position.
16:56They bumped a little in the chicane, and then on the connecting segment on this Grand Prix
17:00course, Schneider got inside, so he has taken over second place.
17:06Aiello had held second place for four laps, and now has dropped back into third.
17:16And Alston seems to be putting some space between himself, Schneider, and then that
17:20trio of Audis.
17:25Aiello in the first yellow Audi, then Abt, and then Ekström.
17:33Schneider now is in second place, looking to go after a Mercedes colleague.
17:38Not in the same team, but they're all part of the factory operation here.
17:43Here's Christian Abt, you get a look at that pass of Schneider getting by Aiello.
17:54And one of the Audis is coming into the pits, Martin Tomczyk, coming in early, you can see
18:00a tire problem there.
18:02This is not a regular pit stop, it would be a couple of laps too early before he should
18:10pit, so they're going to have to fix that one, and then he's going to have to come in
18:14again in order to take care of the obligation of the mandatory pit stop.
18:22Bernd Schneider continues to pull up on Uwe Alston, Aiello has settled into third place.
18:32Schneider not letting up, for somebody this far out in the points race, and who could
18:37drive for points if he wanted to, is certainly pushing here for victory, but he always says
18:41I go for the win.
18:44And so Uwe Alston continues to lead, and look at that, the Audis 3, 4, and 5, as the field
18:52continues to work its way around here on the short course, and Jaeger is in 12th position
18:56after starting in 22nd, so the young driver doing very well here, 24 years old, in his
19:05Mercedes, and he's had a difficult time after being involved in an early wreck in that qualification
19:14race, and now he's having to fight from the last place in the field, he's up to 12th position.
19:19Great drive so far for him.
19:22And 5 settling in, 2 Mercedes, and 3 Audis, and look at this, Ekstrom, the young Audi
19:35driver with the fastest lap so far, and now everybody's looking toward the pit stop time,
19:45who is going to go in first, if you're Aiello you probably will want to get in and get out
19:51because you haven't been able to move up, and see if he can gain some time here.
19:57Then again we have to wait and see how the rest of them deal with it.
20:00Is Alston going to come in before Bernd Schneider?
20:05That's the tactic for Mercedes, of course the drivers can have some say in that matter.
20:12The pit stop now becomes the key here at the short course at the Nürburgring, 7th race
20:17weekend in the German Touring Car Masters, and it's a Mercedes-Audi duel so far today.
20:29Bernd Schneider has dropped back just a little bit from Alston, and Aiello pulled right up
20:34on his bumper very, very quickly.
20:38Aiello seems to like this course here in the Eifel, winning earlier this year on the Grand
20:44Prix circuit, and certainly doing extremely well here.
20:47He dominated the test sessions, the practice sessions, he took qualifying, he won the qualifying
20:52race and now though he's running back in 3rd position here in the main event.
21:00Alston certainly is looking to improve on his year so far.
21:04Uwe was 4th at Hockenheim, 19th at the Nürburgring, 3rd at Auschwitz-Leben, he had a did-not-finish
21:11at the Sachsenring, riding with Christian App once again.
21:16He's back in 4th position, you can see Alston way out in front.
21:23Alston picked up a victory at the Norrisring, he beat Bernd Schneider in the main event
21:27there after finishing 2nd in the qualifying race.
21:30He had a very bad race at the Euro Speedway, his worst finish of the season was 20th, so
21:37he had a 2nd place in the qualifying race, and right now here at the main race, he is
21:41out in front.
21:45Can he hold on?
21:46Well, the key points are coming up in just a few moments.
21:49And here they go.
21:50No, this is early.
21:52This is early.
21:53And it looks like Christian Apt has gone into the pits.
21:57This is only the 9th lap.
22:01So Christian Apt is coming in.
22:03Now is this going to be a problem or is this going to be a regular pit stop or have they
22:10miscalculated?
22:11They weren't ready, I don't think, for a pit stop.
22:20For the tires.
22:21They're making a tire change.
22:22Well, we're going to have to wait and see on this one.
22:30Hubert Haupt is coming in.
22:32His wing door came open.
22:35I guess that was the only problem.
22:37What happened?
22:38Oh, he went off the course at the chicane.
22:42A little bit airborne there.
22:43And that's where the door starts to open up.
22:45So he had to come in and get the door shut.
22:50Haupt coming back to the German touring car masters after racing in the United States
22:53for a while.
23:00Bernd Schneider once again closing up on Uwe Ahlson.
23:03Is he going to be able to get by?
23:06Does he want to get by or does he want to wait until the pit stops?
23:09This will be interesting to see how this tactic goes.
23:12It's now a three-car race up front with Ahlson, Schneider, and Laurent Aiello.
23:20Mercedes, Mercedes, and Audi.
23:27All of these drivers have won races this season.
23:36The race room is in the pits.
23:41And the motors killed.
23:44Something's wrong.
23:45It's more than tires.
23:49Nürburgring starting to take its toll here.
23:52The short course.
23:53Very demanding.
23:54Very, very fast.
23:55In fact, the first race, the average speed was 101 plus miles per hour, which is the
24:01fastest race so far this season for a qualifying race.
24:07So Exrum still in the pits.
24:09Here comes Bernd Schneider.
24:11Bernd Schneider coming into the pits.
24:17This is in the regulatory time.
24:20So this will count for him as his pit stop, the mandatory pit stop.
24:27He pulls in.
24:29Everybody's ready.
24:30Here we go.
24:32Quick pit stop will get him out and hopefully get an advantage on the rest of the field.
24:39Something's wrong.
24:40Something's not right.
24:41That back tire.
24:42Something is not right on the back tire.
24:46It is not sitting properly.
24:49Something is wrong.
24:50Either the lug nut.
24:53Something is not working here.
24:56This must be a frustrating moment for Bernd Schneider.
24:59There he was hoping to pick up valuable points.
25:01Instead, he's losing valuable time.
25:04They're still working on that back tire.
25:07Now he is out.
25:09That probably cost him the race.
25:12Unless everybody else has severe problems, that will hurt him.
25:17There he goes.
25:19You saw that Olsen was coming into the pits.
25:23And there's your leader now, Laurent Aiello.
25:25Here comes Olsen into the pits.
25:32Olsen will want to get out as quickly as he can because now he has to hope that he can
25:36make up time before Aiello comes in.
25:42Looks like everything is going very smoothly here.
25:44It did.
25:45Oh, he's out fast.
25:47So Olsen is out.
25:48The question now is, when will Aiello pit?
25:59You get a look at Uwe Olsen as he works his way around the course.
26:04He's now going to go as quickly as he can to make up as much time as he can as this
26:08man here is out in the lead.
26:12He started on the pole but hasn't let it lap until now.
26:17Laurent Aiello still has to pit.
26:19Here comes Olsen out of the pits.
26:22The reason that's being shown is there's a rule about the tires going over that white
26:26line.
26:28That one there seemed like it was right at the end of the line, not really a problem.
26:32They've been worrying about the drivers cutting out too soon into traffic.
26:35They have to wait until they're past that white line.
26:37That was the key to that one.
26:39Laurent Aiello continues to roll out in front for Audi.
26:44A pit stop definitely is going to throw him back.
26:47The question is going to be, how far back?
26:52So coming into the pits now, Marcel Fesler.
26:58His crew working hard here, a teammate of Uwe Olsen, and he's out almost as quickly
27:04as Olsen.
27:07Manuel Reuter right behind him in the Opel.
27:10Reuter's had his battle to fight here too.
27:15So there is Fesler, then comes Reuter, and here's your leader.
27:23And here comes Laurent Aiello.
27:26He's coming in.
27:27The question's going to be, will he be able to get in and out before Olsen can get around?
27:38This is going to be tight.
27:39They've made up a little bit of time on the track.
27:43Here we go.
27:46Into the App Sportsline pits.
27:49Crews go to work.
27:50And he is out, and he got out quicker than Olsen, but where's Olsen?
28:01Here comes Aiello.
28:02Here comes Olsen right there.
28:06Can you believe that?
28:08Uwe Olsen made the time up on the track that Aiello made up in the pits.
28:13So your two first cars throughout the first half of the race are back near the front.
28:17The actual leader right now, though, is Darren Turner.
28:21He is not pitted yet.
28:24And running second right now is Olivier in the Opel.
28:30That's him right there.
28:33So Olsen, who you see here, is actually running what I would think would be third or close
28:38to a third, with fourth being Aiello.
28:41And here he comes.
28:42You can see how close it was.
28:43And whoa, Aiello actually went out too quick.
28:45Now the question is what the officials are going to do about it.
28:48He went over the white line too fast.
28:49He was supposed to come down further, straight ahead, and then pull out.
28:54That's going to be up to the officials to decide that one.
29:01There you see Olivier, and he is now out in front.
29:08Olivier is out in front, because Turner has gone into the pits.
29:21No, Turner's not.
29:22Well, according to the scorecard, he hasn't gone in.
29:24He has gone in.
29:25So that leaves Olivier out in front, Olsen, Aiello, Mamouro, who also is not pitted.
29:30The independent is running fifth, according to that scorechart.
29:34But it's about to change when the others have to come into pit.
29:37Boy, Olsen's got a problem.
29:39He wants to get by Olivier, but he's got Aiello right in his back bumper.
29:44Olsen blinking to Olivier, saying, hey, let me by.
29:47Olivier's saying, I got the lead.
29:49I don't have to pull over.
29:50I can defend my position.
29:51And that's exactly what he's doing.
29:53Here comes Olsen.
29:54Can't make the move inside.
29:55Not at the chicane.
29:58Aiello stays right on his back bumper.
30:02And he's going to go outside.
30:03But can he cut back inside here?
30:05Nope, can't do it.
30:07What's interesting is, you'd think that these cars could slipstream.
30:12But as yet, they have not shown that ability, the way these aerodynamics on these cars are
30:16right now.
30:17It doesn't show.
30:18Here goes Olsen.
30:19He gets inside.
30:20Oh, Yves Olivier.
30:21Olivier goes outside.
30:22Goes in the dirt.
30:23Aiello stays with him.
30:24And oh, wow.
30:25Yves Olivier went off the course, slid back in, but right behind Laurent Aiello.
30:31That could have decided the race itself right there.
30:36So Olivier was going to have to pit.
30:39And Uwe Alsen now out in front.
30:43The app crew now has to start to worry.
30:47Can Aiello get by him?
30:50Aiello is going to put the pressure on, no matter what he's going to do.
30:52He's going to be looking for Uwe Alsen to make a mistake, any kind of mistake.
30:59Looking back in the pack, you can see everybody going over the curves, using every bit of
31:03the course they can.
31:04That's Albers coming around, losing a position.
31:07But the drivers using just about every part of the race track they can.
31:13And this is a pleasure to watch.
31:15Aiello right up on the black bumper.
31:17Now can he get by?
31:19He's quicker in some of the chicanes than the Mercedes.
31:23Alsen, on the other hand, is one of the top touring car drivers in Germany.
31:27He's been around a long time.
31:29In fact, all he's ever driven are hard tops, basically.
31:34And here comes Laurent Aiello.
31:37The Frenchman wants to go outside, but he's not going to get it here.
31:42Uwe made a mistake coming out of the chicane.
31:45Aiello literally had to go outside, but there was no room to get by.
31:50Alsen started out in the different manufacturer's cups, never did go to open wheel racing to
31:56start his career.
31:57He's been racing some sort of touring car or sports car all his career.
32:07He's also known as a driver that can be very, very difficult to pass and also can be difficult
32:11when he wants to get by.
32:14He can be as hard as the next man if he wants to get by and you're holding him up.
32:19He has calmed down a little bit from his earlier days, but he's still one of those type you
32:24really have to figure, well, I'm not sure what he's going to do.
32:31And right now the question is going to be, will his car be able to handle it?
32:38They've got 15 laps to go and they're pushing.
32:43It's a hot day.
32:44The course is tight.
32:47Olivier, in and out, in his short moment of fame in the year that's been a little bit
32:55difficult for him too.
32:56He's come into the German Touring Car Masters for the first time as a teammate from Manuel
33:00Reuter in the Opel, and of course, Opel has had its share of difficulties as the fans
33:04of this series know.
33:06And they've been working their way forward, but they still haven't had the big breakthrough yet.
33:13Aiello knows he has to keep pushing.
33:18He has to hope that something happens to Olsen's car.
33:22Oh, here are the teammates.
33:24Whoa!
33:25They're getting a little bit tight.
33:27Mailander and Huisman.
33:29Whoa!
33:30That'll give a team manager fits.
33:37They are still battling out here.
33:40Huisman now goes to the inside.
33:45Is Huisman going to get by his teammate?
33:48Of course, Mailander has a lot to prove.
33:50Well, he was gone the three weeks.
33:52Marcel Thiemann stepped into the car and did extremely well, so Mailander, after his injury,
33:59has to come back and make sure he deserves to keep the seat.
34:04Pressure being put on by Albers.
34:09But right now, it's Huisman that was able to step up and take the position, and moves
34:16away actually from his teammate just a little bit.
34:18It's kind of amazing how far he's gone.
34:23Huisman right now is running in fourth position.
34:30You're riding with Fessler, who has dropped back a couple.
34:39Fessler running back in the eighth slot right now.
34:45Back in the pack, everybody continues to roll here.
34:48Let's see where Jaeger is right now.
34:50Jaeger is up into what seems to be after the pit stop.
34:54He is now in sixth position.
34:58So Thomas Jaeger, who started 22nd, is doing extremely well as you ride with Marcel Fessler.
35:06Those, incidentally, are kilometer that you're seeing on that tachometer there.
35:12200 is about 125 miles an hour. 250 is 155 miles an hour.
35:20So the battle back in the pack continues.
35:29As Huisman is having a great race here. He's moved into third place.
35:40Look at this. Meilander is fourth. Reuter with Opel, his best finish.
35:46And one of the best finishes yet this season for Opel, if he can hold on to it.
35:51So the Opel crew can smile just a little bit because Manuel Reuter has brought his car up into fifth position.
36:01What a great race for them.
36:06Meanwhile, back up in front, Aiello has not let up.
36:10Aiello has stayed on the back bumper all the way through this event.
36:16Uwe Ahlsen. No, Uwe's getting a little loose here.
36:22Uwe's got his foot to the floor. He doesn't let up.
36:28As long as he doesn't develop problems, he's going to be alright.
36:30Here comes Reuter trying to go another position and can't make it.
36:39Reuter wanted to move up, couldn't do it.
36:46He's running actually in sixth position. I had him in fifth. I think he's dropped back one.
36:59Here comes Aiello again. This is the battle for the lead.
37:03Uwe Ahlsen is holding on. Aiello is right back there. He can't get by.
37:09But Aiello now is starting to push harder and harder.
37:14Looking for Ahlsen to make a mistake.
37:17Looking for a weakness in the Mercedes.
37:20Something to let him get by.
37:24Ahlsen has made that car as wide as he possibly can.
37:30He's not going to let him by unless he has to battle for it.
37:34He's not going to let him by unless he has to battle for it.
37:39Uwe can be as hard to pass as anybody in this field.
37:44Here comes Aiello again. This is his fast point. These chicanes.
37:48He picks up a lot of ground here.
37:52So we're headed toward the start-finish line once again.
37:54These two have been battling since the pit stop.
38:00Olivier, his race is over.
38:04He had his moment in the sun when he took the lead.
38:07It was his first lead of the season.
38:11The countdown continues.
38:14Uwe Ahlsen uses the curves, uses every way he can to stay ahead of Laurent Aiello.
38:22Aiello seems to have at least, a little bit anyway, a faster car.
38:27He's just not enough to get by.
38:29Ahlsen seems to be having some small problems.
38:33Could be a setup, could be a brake problem.
38:36And Aiello is not letting him breathe.
38:39If Uwe is having to battle with something inside the car,
38:42he also has to keep his eye on the mirror because it's full of an Audi.
38:48Heading toward the motorcycle chicane.
38:54And then comes the short chute before the start-finish line.
38:58The short chute before the start-finish line once again.
39:02And they continue to battle.
39:05Oh!
39:08Manuel Reuter was off the course.
39:11He's been running so well. Hope he gets back on in Holst's position.
39:15Opel needs a good finish here.
39:19But right now the fans are all watching this battle right here.
39:23They can't be any closer.
39:24These two have been going at it now since the 17th lap.
39:30Oh! A little bit of a bump. Hello!
39:32I'm going to get by. No I'm not. Yes I am.
39:35Oh dear. Is he going to be able to make it or not?
39:41Here he comes again. Aiello on the right.
39:45Goes over to the opposite side.
39:48Ahlsen has got to play defense.
39:50Obviously something's not working in his car properly.
39:54And Aiello knows it. But Aiello still can't get by.
40:04Oh! There was the mistake.
40:07And Laurent Aiello used it.
40:12Aiello has gotten by. Uwe Ahlsen.
40:17Ahlsen had a little bit of an oversteer. Aiello got by.
40:19There's the Mercedes crew.
40:22And Laurent Aiello has the lead.
40:26Now let's see if it was Ahlsen's car that slowed down a little bit.
40:30If Aiello starts to pull away, which he is, then Ahlsen's had some problems with the car.
40:35And if that's the case, he drove a great race to hold him off. This long.
40:42So Laurent Aiello, persistently staying on the back bumper of Uwe Ahlsen, has taken the lead.
40:50Hoosman, from the Netherlands, running third. What'll be a great race for him.
40:55And look at Jaeger, in fourth. He had started 22nd today.
41:0022nd in the race, and the young driver's up into fourth position.
41:04Manuel Reuter is in sixth position.
41:08A great run here so far for Opel.
41:11Fantastic.
41:15Bernd Schneider, well, he's continuing the battle.
41:18He had that very, very long pit stop, and he's running back in 11th position right now.
41:27Here's Christian Abt.
41:30You're looking at him, going through the connector session.
41:42And Abt is starting to move up also, going by Mamereau, a lap car.
41:47Oh, Albers and the Opel of Manuel Reuter spin. Are they out of the way? Yes, they are.
41:54Reuter keeps going. Albers kept his going.
41:58Oh, wow. That was a little bit of ballet.
42:03And that's going to affect the standings here. Look at that. Christian Abt has moved up one.
42:10Abt is now running in fifth position.
42:13Right ahead of Reuter.
42:19So Reuter, despite the earlier trip into the sand, and here this little ballet action with Christian Albers,
42:29has been able to hold on to, it looks like, sixth position.
42:35Albers continues to roll as he goes off the course a ways.
42:41He's running way back in 11th, 12th position right now.
42:46Coming into the pitch is Ekström. This is his mandatory pit stop. He'd come in earlier.
42:53So he had to make that pit stop if he wants to be counted.
43:00And there's Manuel Reuter.
43:03The Opel driver.
43:07Carrying the banner high, hoping that they can do
43:11well here at the Nürburgring.
43:17It will certainly be a great day for Manuel Reuter. He has had to battle with just about everything you can imagine so far this season.
43:26The best Opel finish was Joachim Winkelhock. He came in fourth.
43:30That was at the Norris Ring. That was in the Opel.
43:34So now Reuter would like to better that. Reuter is also doing his best right now.
43:38He's had a very difficult season and he's doing much better here in this race.
43:42Christian Abt. Abt is right now running in the
43:49fifth position. There is the Abt Sportsline crew.
43:54He continues to roll.
43:59Now he made a pit stop before the regulation 11th lap.
44:05So the question is, did he make another one since? Right now we don't have the notes on that one.
44:10We never saw it, so we don't know for sure.
44:14This is Mamereau coming by here underneath.
44:18There is Christian Abt. Then comes Reuter.
44:22There is Christian Abt. Then comes Manuel Reuter in the Opel.
44:27That car has got the motor. It just hasn't quite got the setup yet.
44:32The motor is definitely strong enough. They just haven't got that car sorted out.
44:36They've had a tough year all year. They're having the year that Audi had last year.
44:43Audi is very happy, but they can probably sympathize a little bit with the Opel crew
44:48and the difficulties they're having this year.
44:51There is Christian Abt.
44:54He and his brother run the Abt Sportsline to take care of this operation.
44:58It basically is a private racing organization. Abt is running in 5th position.
45:02Reuter in 6th. But look at that Jaeger. What a great performance for him.
45:0622nd to 4th.
45:09And who knows how much further he can go. Bernd Schneider is up into 7th position.
45:12So Schneider, who had that very bad pit stop, dropped way back in the pack.
45:16All the way back to 16th.
45:18Has fought his way back up into 7th position.
45:21So there are going to be points here, but not a big number of points that he was looking for.
45:2520 points for a win. 15 for 2nd and 12 for 3rd.
45:29But he's going to be down a ways. He was looking for the big doubles.
45:35There's Bernd Schneider.
45:38He's been the dominator this season.
45:41However, in this race, because of an unlucky pit stop, has dropped out
45:45and is not really in contention as far as the front place is concerned.
45:50But what a year he's had.
45:53No one can deny that he's the man of the year so far.
45:561st at Hockenheim in the main race. 2nd at Nürburgring earlier this year.
46:012nd at Ostersleben. 1st at Sachsenring.
46:04He finished 2nd at the Norrisring. 2nd at the Euro Speedway.
46:08So he has certainly earned his position in points, but he's having to battle here
46:12to get back up into where he needs to be.
46:15We're taking a look at the pit stops.
46:20And those are the fastest ones so far.
46:27As we head now down toward the waning moments of the main race of the day
46:32here in the German Touring Car Masters on the short course at the Nürburgring.
46:37Laurent Aiello won the qualifying race.
46:40Olsen took the lead from him right on the very first lap in the main event.
46:45Aiello got the lead back until he had to pit.
46:50When he came out he had to work his way back up into 2nd place.
46:54And then he and Olsen had a battle that will be one of the most remembered this season.
46:58They have gone as long against each other as you can imagine.
47:01They just have kept pushing.
47:04And then it was a case where evidently something a little bit off on Olsen's car.
47:08He made a mistake.
47:11Laurent Aiello, this man right here, took advantage of it and sailed by.
47:22And now he's looking for the victory as they go into the last lap here on the short course.
47:29Aiello this season was 7th at Hockenheim.
47:32He won at the Nürburgring here earlier as we've mentioned.
47:34He was 5th in Ostersleben. He did not compete at Sachsenhausen as he finished 2nd at Le Mans that same weekend.
47:39He came back and went 12th at the Norris Ring.
47:42Oddly enough the car that he had been driving was wrecked by Chris Nissen in that race at Sachsenring.
47:47He wasn't there and they never got it really sorted out and he came back into 12th position at the Norris Ring.
47:52He had a Euro Speedway. He also had a more sorting up process for that car.
47:56And then here at the Nürburgring, he's back. Big time. Amazing.
48:04And the rest of the field continues to work its way through but this is the man right here.
48:09Laurent Aiello, the very popular Frenchman.
48:13Has his family with him at every single event.
48:17The 32-year-old, a very popular driver with the fans.
48:21Always willing to sign autographs and now he's going to have even more reason to
48:26as he takes the chequered flag here at the Nürburgring in the German Touring Car Masters for the second time this season.
48:32A great race for him. Alsson is second and Huisman is third.
48:37But what a great day for the Audi crew and particularly for Laurent Aiello.
48:43It was a very tough race as we expected. Very hot in the car, very hot on the track.
48:49It was quite difficult for us because we've been overtaken by the Mercedes in the straight, in the pit straight.
48:57And I couldn't do anything about it.
49:00And then afterwards, even if I was quicker in some parts of the circuit, it was quite difficult to overtake them.
49:07But then in the second half of the race, I had a better set of tyres and the car was much faster, much easier.
49:14And then I think that Uwe started to have problems with the brakes or the tyres.
49:19And then I saw that I backed off a little bit just to try to cool down a little bit my tyres and wait for the big fault.
49:27And then it happened and then I passed him and then I had only to control the race.
49:34And there you have it. You can see that Christian Opp's name is missing.
49:38He was disqualified because he did not make the mandatory pit stop at that time of the event, which was in lap 11.
49:44He made it at lap 9, so he has lost his position in the field.
49:48He has been disqualified, which means everyone else moves up.
49:52And that means for Manuel Reuter a fifth place for Opel.
49:55But Mercedes-Benz can also smile here at the Nürburgring.
50:01I think it was a fantastic weekend, really. Audi won, congratulations. They did a good job.
50:06It was, I think, a dramatic race. Very, very close fought at the top of the field.
50:11It was very fair. It was close, tough, but still fair and I think that's how racing should be.
50:16We saw a lot of spectators. 60,000, which is a new record for touring car races at the Nürburgring.
50:22And so I think everybody is pleased with the outcome of the race weekend.
50:27And certainly Bernd Schneider has to be a 49-point lead in the championship.
50:32But somebody else that has to be happy is Patrick Kuzman.
50:35For me it's a fantastic result, being third, coming from 12th position on the grid.
50:40On a track where it's very difficult to overtake, I didn't count on that.
50:44My car went very, very well in the sprint race already.
50:47And my team boss, Olaf Mantheid, just told me to keep my head cool during the main race, which I did.
50:54I got a good pit stop, but I killed the engine when driving away, so I lost two or three places.
50:59And it cost me some time because I had to pass a few competitors.
51:02And once I passed my team colleague, Bernd Meyler, I was able to make a gap.
51:05And I was very much surprised to find myself back in third place.
51:09And it feels like a win coming from that position.
51:12And now I just hope for the next races that we have a better qualifying session.
51:16And from there on we can start a little bit more to the front.
51:19And maybe we'll see, maybe we'll get to the top of the podium.
51:22And that next podium, well, that's going to be in Austria in a couple of weeks.
51:27Hope you enjoyed the racing today from the Nürburgring in the German Touring Car Masters.
51:30This has been Milt Fitzwater reporting.
51:32See you at the Austrian Ring.
52:05You