Timo Glock runs nervously up and down the pit lane wearing his helmet and gloves. When will he finally get in? He runs up to the pit wall and would love to hold the "BOX" sign in front of Marc Hessel's nose. What's going on?
The ex-F1 driver is allowed to take a seat in the 20-minute qualifying session of the Touring Car Classics in the M3 E30 from the golden era of the DTM, driven by Christian Menzel and Marc Hessel, and is looking forward to Christmas like a little child. The time has finally come and the 37-year-old takes over the 1988 BMW and drives off.
The regular drivers watch Glock's drive on the screen with excitement. Christian Menzel threatened beforehand: "I'm warning you, if you make even a single scratch on this original car, then Sunday's DTM race is over for you."
Not a scratch
Timo casually hangs his arm out of the side window and brings the M3 back to the pits undamaged. "That was mega. That was definitely the coolest experience in what has been a difficult season for me," said a beaming Glock as he threw his arms around Christian and Marc's necks in thanks.
With a time of 2:02.184, he recorded the eighth-fastest lap of the field. He is around 30 seconds faster in the current car, but the old car is much more tiring to drive. There is no power steering and the gearshift is a standard H-shift instead of a paddle shift.
"This is pure driving. You have to change gear, you have to use the clutch, all with intermediate throttle, the car dances, you can try a lot in the corners and drive different lines. The car has no downforce, only mechanical grip. It's like night and day compared to the racing cars we drive in the DTM today," enthused Glock.
And which car is more fun now? "Each in its own way. The sound of the M3 E30 is incredible, I didn't put any earplugs in specially. And you can influence the car much more as a driver. The current car is of course much faster, including in the corners, and that's also fun."
Reverence for the performance of the drivers of yesteryear
Finally, he tipped his hat to the old DTM warhorses: "The guys used to race around the Nordschleife in these cars, on a knife's edge and wheel to wheel. They had to work really hard and were always at the limit. It's an art to move the car quickly."
Bad luck again in the DTM
On Sunday, Glock was again very unlucky in the DTM: "I'll be glad when this season is finally over. I think my bad luck is so bad this year that even if I could start from pole, the starting lights would probably still fall on my car."
Victory for the Capri Turbo
The Zakspeed Turbo Super-Capri was entered by Peter Mücke for the first time.
Mücke put the car on pole and won the race ahead of Ronny Schär's Opel Astra with a clear start-finish victory.
Stefan Rupp in the Alfa Romeo 155 TI had to settle for fourth place behind the K3 Porsche of Daniel Schrei.
Bad luck again for the Wittmanns
Marco Wittmann's father Herbert and brother Nico made their first race appearance in their M3 E30 at the second attempt after the Norisring (no race start due to technical problems).
However, engine damage stopped them on the ninth lap after Herbert spun on his own oil.
