Audi squad Abt Sportline has called on the DTM to ensure “equality of opportunity” in next month’s Hockenheim finale after feeling it was let down by BoP at the Red Bull Ring.
Abt endured one of its toughest weekends of 2024 in Austria, with its pair of Audi R8 LMS GT3s struggling for speed in both qualifying and race trim.
The outfit’s lead contender Kelvin van der Linde went from leading the standings by seven points to trailing Lamborghini’s Mirko Bortolotti by 15 over the span of the weekend, putting him on the back foot for the final two races in Germany on 19-20 October.
Qualifying a distant 17th out of 20 cars in a wet session on Saturday, van der Linde could only recover to eighth in the opening race as he watched Bortolotti snatch the championship lead from him with a maiden win of the season.
The South African fared marginally better on Sunday as he finished inside the top five after qualifying 11th, but with Bortolotti finishing ahead of him he lost more ground to the SSR Performance driver in the title race.
The thin air at the Red Bull Ring, which is located 670 metres above sea level, puts the naturally aspirated Audi GT3 car at an inherent disadvantage over its turbo-powered rivals.
The DTM tried to compensate for that by allowing Abt to run its cars with a larger 37mm air restrictor at the start of the event, which was 0.5mm bigger than what was allowed at the previous round at the Sachsenring.
Kelvin van der Linde, Team ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3, Marco Wittmann, Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
More BoP changes followed over the weekend, with Audi given a 10kg break after Saturday’s race and Lamborghini being hit with a total of 25kg of additional ballast under two separate adjustments.
However, Bortolotti, who had to do with another 20kg of added weight after his victory in the opening race of the weekend, was still able to finish fourth and one spot ahead of van der Linde on Sunday after qualifying on pole.
Contrasting the fortunes of the two title contenders, Abt Motorsport director Martin Tomczyk expressed his frustration at what he believes was an unfavourable BoP for Audi at the Red Bull Ring, before ‘requesting’ the ADAC to make amends for it in the title decider next month.
“Unfortunately, from a sporting point of view, this was not a DTM weekend as we would imagine it,” he said.
“There was no equality of opportunity among the different brands. For us, this is very annoying because we have lost a lot of points in the title fight.
“With a 15-point deficit, Kelvin is now in the role of the pursuer, and it will be very difficult for him at Hockenheim.
“I would like to make a clear request to the promoter to ensure equality of opportunity and a fair sporting basis at the finale.
Kelvin van der Linde, Team ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
“A big thank you to the whole team for the great work under what were extremely difficult conditions for us.”
Bortolotti himself was unhappy with the BoP after Saturday’s running, saying the fourth place which he achieved in opening qualifying was down to the changing weather at Spielberg.
“I was hoping for exactly these conditions because we have no chance in the dry anyway with the current constellation,” he told German broadcaster ran.de.
“The direct competition from Mercedes and Audi had more power before the weekend. The Audi in particular is extremely light compared to us and has a huge advantage in that regard. Winning here is worth twice, three times as much.”
Those remarks particularly annoyed van der Linde, who claimed that the Lamborghini has enjoyed a strong BoP throughout the season.
“Did he really say that? “I can only laugh!,” he told Motorsport.com’s sister website Motorsport-Total.com.
“Mercedes and Lambo have been in the top 5 or top 3 for the last six weekends. On the last four weekends that weren’t completely wet, we were completely screwed on Saturday. You can see the results.
“Our consistency is a real disgrace. Either you’re racing for victory or you’re in no man’s land.”
Source : Motorsport.com