Multiple penalty laps instead of drive-through penalty: Race director Sven Stoppe wants to revolutionise the penalty procedure in the ADAC GT Masters
Sven Stoppe calls the shots in the ADAC GT Masters. The 51-year-old has been race director of the German GT Championship since 2021 and is responsible for the sporting procedure at every tour stop
Whether it’s a safety car deployment or a drive-through penalty – the trained tax official from Gebersreuth has the final say. However, he relies on the advice of his staff when it comes to the sometimes difficult decisions, because teamwork is a top priority in Race Control of the ADAC GT Masters.
Sven Stoppe grew up at the Schleizer Dreieck, a temporary race track in Thuringia. From an early age, motorsport was his passion.
“Our house was ten metres away from the racetrack and according to my parents, even as a one-year-old I couldn’t get away from the window when the engines were humming. Even mealtimes were adjusted to what was happening on the track,” says the race director.
As a teenager, he remained true to his passion, first as a marshal and was eventually put in charge of track safety at the Lausitzring. Since 2005, he has been responsible for different series as race director.
Since Sven Stoppe did not have the opportunity to actively pursue motorsport, he completed training lessons with Christina Tomczyk in a bolide. “Even though this doesn’t replace a competition, I wanted to recreate the cockpit perspective. In addition, I often had Race Consultants like Bernd Mayländer, Dirk Adorf or Bernd Schneider – to name but a few – by my side from whom I learned a lot about the race driver’s point of view. “
After “taking office” in the ADAC GT Masters 2021, Sven Stoppe introduced innovations with a modified starting procedure, Full Course Yellow or the Penalty Lap, which proved successful straight away.
His current project: the drive-through penalty should be abolished if possible. “Seen over the season, this penalty is unfair in a way, because depending on the race track and the length of the pit entry, the pilots lose different amounts of time. “
“We want to change that in the future by issuing penalty laps instead – even several if necessary. This penalty hits the drivers just as hard, but is the same for everyone and therefore fairer. Otherwise, we are in a good position with the current regulations and are focusing on consistency after the changes last season.”
During a race, many different situations have to be assessed and judged. “Some things are clear, for other things we first have to gather info or other perspectives from onboard or track cameras.”
“Then, in our permanent team, we assess the whole thing; in the end, I am responsible for the decision. If we cannot conclusively assess an incident with certainty during the race, the stewards will be called in to evaluate data that is not available to us in Race Control during a race,” said Sven Stoppe, who will look at every race again on Monday after a Tour stop.
His relationship with the drivers is excellent, even if the race director sometimes has to be the “spoilsport”. “It’s in the nature of things that drivers are not happy with a penalty and sometimes feel unfairly treated.”
“That’s why I always seek the conversation and tell them my view of things. After all, it’s about their safety and a fair conduct of a race. It works very well because at the end of the day it’s very simple: without the pilots there is no motorsport and no race director.”
“Drivers, teams, organisers and the race director are all in the same boat and have to rock the boat together. Because we all want motorsport to live on in a similar form for many years to come. “