After 21 years, the DTM returns to the Sachsenring: What makes the circuit so unique and why the triple left-hander is a real challenge
For 21 years, the DTM stayed away from the Sachsenring, but this weekend, the 3.645-kilometre motorbike cult circuit in Hohenstein-Ernstthal celebrates a comeback in the traditional series. And the anticipation for the fast mountain-and-valley track, which is also known as the little Nordschleife and challenges the drivers, is huge.
“The track is one of the best on the calendar – it goes up and down like a rollercoaster,” enthuses BMW champion Sheldon van der Linde. He is alluding to the 38-metre difference in altitude with a maximum gradient of 12.8 and gradients of up to ten per cent. He is particularly fond of the second sector with its triple left-hand bend.
“It goes almost flat out in the GT3 car,” knows the South African, who has his work cut out for him there. “It will be a challenge in qualifying to stay fully on the gas. We’ll be pushing the limit because that’s where you can get a bit of time. It’s my personal goal to take the triple left full. “
“Problem when you lose car at 230 mph “
However, he is aware of the balancing act. “Hopefully it will work out, otherwise you have a big problem if you lose the car there at 220 or 230 km/h,” says van der Linde, who made his GT3 debut alongside his brother at the circuit in 2017 in the ADAC GT Masters with Audi Team Aust.
Kelvin van der Linde also clearly identifies himself as a fan. “The Sachsenring is my favourite circuit on the DTM calendar,” says the Abt Audi driver, who also has an excellent record. “In the ADAC GT Masters, I am the record winner with five victories. I always feel comfortable there.”
The circuit is “pretty unique”, thinks Bernhard-Porsche driver Laurin Heinrich, who knows it from last Thursday’s test and from the Porsche Carrera Cup. “I think it’s cool that we don’t race on similar tracks all season. “
What makes the Sachsenring unique
But what makes the Sachsenring so special? “The track goes anti-clockwise, which is not usual,” the Porsche youngster digs out. “There are mainly left-hand corners – and only two proper right-hand corners, which makes it interesting. And it’s really fast.”
This also makes for a special peculiarity when it comes to the tyres. “Tyre degradation is quite high, especially on the right-hand side,” Heinrich explains. “One side is loaded significantly more than the other.” The right front tyre in particular has to withstand more than on any other circuit on the calendar.
Abt Audi driver Ricardo Feller also speaks of a “brutal” load for the right side. “It will be important not to break the tyres in the race. “
Set-up as a challenge: How to achieve the compromise?
As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge in the set-up work, there is also the fact that the first sector with its slow corners is very different from the fast second and third sectors.
“The set-up work is really important because it’s not easy to set up the car properly here,” says DTM leader Mirko Bortolotti, who sits in the SSR Lamborghini. “Sector 1 is very different from Sector 2, so it’s not easy to hit the window – at least for us.”
What exactly does he mean by that? “It needs a lot of stability because the corners are so long and the apex is late. It goes up and down for that. Sometimes it’s difficult to find the right stability because if you focus too much on that, the rotation suffers.”
Being able to rotate the car quickly and get it through the angled corners is especially important in the first part of the track. “That’s where I think you can get the most time,” says Sheldon van der Linde, for whose long-wheelbase BMW M4 GT3 that becomes a challenge.
Overtaking difficult: “I think it’s going to be a nightmare “
This also applies to a good qualifying performance. “We have to manage that, even though it wasn’t exactly our strength this year,” says Sheldon van der Linde, referring to good grid positions. Because that’s what you need at the Sachsenring, as overtaking is more difficult than on most circuits.
“You can actually choose a tighter line everywhere to defend without losing a lot of time,” Feller explains why it’s so difficult to “get out of line”. On top of that, you lose downforce in the rear of a rival in the fast corners. “Even in the Cup it was very difficult,” says Heinrich “I can’t imagine right now how difficult it will be to chase someone in a GT3 car. I think that will be quite a nightmare.”
But there is also an overtaking opportunity on the 800-metre start-finish straight. “If you come out of the last corner well, you can maybe get alongside in Turn 1 from the slipstream,” Feller says.
“Then you drive side by side in the first sector and are on the inside before it goes down into the high-speed corners. But with our Audi that will hardly work because we are not that fast on the straights at the moment,” shrugs the Swiss, who is third in the championship.
