While all the eyes between the McLaren teammates Timo Glock and Ben Dörr were directed to solve the problems of the season opener at the DTM test day on the Lausitzring, Champion Mirko Bortolotti got the best time in perfect conditions with sunshine and temperatures.
The Abt Lamborghini driver, who had a moderate start to the season with two ninth place with his new team, was in second place in the morning with a 1: 20,799 faster than Landgraf-Mercedes-Pilot Lucas Auer. Glock teammate Ben Dörr, who won the best time of the afternoon session shortly before the target flag at 6:00 p.m., provided a surprise.
With a 1: 20.904 and 0.105 seconds behind, the 20-year-old landed in third place in the overall classification. In places four and five, the Manthey Porsche pilot Thomas Preining (+0.226) and Ayhanancan Güven (+0.274) joined. How did Glock happen?
Glock increases in Ben Dörrs McLaren
This does not reveal the times 100 percent, because the timing only shows the racing cars – but not which driver was at the wheel. And the Dörr team has also proven to be less happy to provide information regarding the test. According to the observations of Motorsport-Total.com, the 43-year-old ex-formula 1 pilot came to a personal day of the day of 1: 21.111, which results in sixth place in the overall classification.
However, Glock drove the round in the morning session in his teammate’s racing car! With the former emergency vehicle of predecessor Clemens Schmid, with which the five -time DTM racing winner at the start in Oschersleben did not cope with the unpredictable driving behavior, in our opinion it would only have been enough – with 0.885 seconds behind.
Glock’s vehicle in the McLaren plant in Woking had been checked out exactly last week and, according to information from Motorsport-Total.com, was given new parts in the front and rear area. In the Lausitzring test, the racing car now wanted to compare the racing car with Ben Dörr’s vehicle, which is new and worked excellently at the start.
Vehicle exchange: How the direct comparison fails
How did the vehicle exchange ran? Thanks to a special permit from the German Motor Sport Bund (DMSB), Glock and Dörr were allowed to start in the racing cars of the respective teammate shortly before noon. Apparently it was the plan that you first shoot yourself with used tires and then carry out a qualifying simulation with a new set.
Before that, Ben Dörr, with his McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, drove a best time of 1: 21.217 – and was therefore 0.590 seconds faster than Glock, which came to a 1: 21,807 in his checked use car.
Based on the information that Motorsport-Total.com is available, the vehicle exchange provides an interesting result: In the first stint, when the two, with apparently used tires, joined their new racing cars were at a similar level. Glock came to a 1: 21,726 in Dörr’s car, the teammate on a 1: 21,834, was only 0.108 seconds slower.
Lower deficit for Dörr in the Glock-Boliden
In the qualifying simulation, Glock then increased significantly, but Dörr was much closer to the teammate as a Glock in the same vehicle: Glock drove his personal day of 1: 21.111 with new tires in the ninth round of a ten-round boot. His young teammate, who at the same time sparkled a similar program in Glock’s operating car, drove a 1: 21,394 in the sixth of eight rounds, so it was slower in a direct comparison under qualifying conditions.
How much fuel the two had on board is not known. However, it can be assumed that the Dörr McLaren duo was sent on the route at least during the vehicle exchange under similar conditions so that the performance can be compared.
If you compare the times of the two pilots in Glock’s use car with the #16, it can be seen that Dörr was 0.590 seconds faster than his prominent teammate during the vehicle exchange. At least at first glance, it looks as if the youngster with the racing car with the #16 could get along better than Glock, at the same time Ben Dörr’s use car with the #25 in the hands of both pilots in the Lausitzring test was the faster.
In the afternoon, the two of them sat exclusively in their respective emergency vehicles. The comparison was clear: Ben Dörr drove a 1: 20.904, Glock a 1: 21,684. So is the problem still not solved? It will now be interesting to see how the actors comment on and how things will go on in the matter.
Result of the DTM test on the Lausitzring:
1. Mirko Bortolotti (Abt-Lamborghini) 1: 20.799 (129 Rd.) 2. Lucas Auer (Landgraf-Mercedes) 1: 20.805 (79) 3. Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren) 1: 20.904 (136) 4. Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) 1: 21.025 (148) 5. Ayhanancan Güven (Manthey-Porsche) 1: 21.073 (148) 6. Timo Glock (Dörr-McLaren) 1: 21.111 (116) 7. Ricardo Feller (Land-Audi) 1: 21.122 (137) 8. Jules Gounon (Winward-Mercedes) 1: 21.137 (115) 9. Nicki Thiim (Abt-Lamborghini) 1: 21.161 (123) 10. Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) 1: 21.269 (108) 11. Morris Schuring (Manthey-Porsche) 1: 21.394 (134) 12. Gilles Magnus (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin) 1: 21.876 (114) 13. Fabio Scherer (HRT-Ford) 1: 21.938 (109) 14. Nicolas Baert (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin) 1: 22.013 (144)