After the DTM weekend at the Nürburgring, Grasser-Lamborghini driver Clemens Schmid made a lot of noise on “Motorsport-Total.com” with his harsh criticism of race director Scot Elkins and his rival David Schumacher, whom he accused of “rioting” every race dust up. Now the Austrian relativizes his choice of words, but not his opinion.
“In retrospect, I think my choice of words was a bit too harsh,” says the 32-year-old from Tyrol. And justifies himself by saying that he gave the interview “immediately after the incidents”. In the DTM, however, he “expected better driving standards from some drivers,” said Schmid. “And if the race director gives us a free hand, it won’t get any better.”
The Grasser driver also counters the accusation that he is doing Schumacher an injustice because he was not involved in the incident with the Winward Mercedes driver himself: “Personally, I have no problem with him, but there was at the opening race in Portimao Contacts with him – and also on Saturday at the Nürburgring.”
Clemens Schmid: “I stand by my criticism”
He also noticed Schumacher’s driving behavior in a duel with other drivers. “We saw his crash with Dev Gore at Saturday’s race,” says Schmid. “And for me that was an example of how the driving standards in the DTM shouldn’t be.”
With a few colleagues it is “really difficult to fight with them or to try to overtake them. They first brake through the ABS and hope that everything will go well, even if the track is still wet in certain places.”
Only the race director can get this aggressive driving behavior under control with tougher penalties, says Schmid: “I stand by my criticism. I think the race director should say clearly what is allowed – and what is not. And then assess every incident exactly the same – and don’t even give it five seconds even if the car doesn’t finish. And next time it’s going down the grid by five places. That should be more consistent.”
Rast also remains of the opinion: “We should behave better”
Schmid is not the only driver who vented his anger after Sunday’s race and criticized the race management and his colleagues. Rene Rast also found clear words on Sunday – and, like his Austrian colleague, stands by his opinion.
“Nothing has changed in my opinion,” said the Abt Audi driver, who was involved in numerous incidents on Saturday and was pushed into the gravel bed by David Schumacher on Sunday. “During the races at the Norisring and also at the Nürburgring, we saw a lot of contact and collisions, many cars didn’t finish. There was also a lot of damage.”
The three-time DTM champion, who slipped down to fourth place in the championship, doesn’t believe “that the teams, manufacturers and drivers – and maybe the fans too – want to see that. That’s why I still think we’re doing a little better have to behave.”