DTM and SUPER GT won't equalise cars for Hockenheim race one
The DTM and SUPER GT will not use a Balance of Performance for the first qualifying and race of the Hockenheim weekend, Autosport has learned
Autosport understands the two series met on Friday night to discuss the potential implementation of a BoP, with the Hockenheim weekend initially planned to help equalise the cars for the Fuji joint-races on November 22-24.
After the SUPER GT entries from Nissan, Lexus and Honda undertook two hours of testing on Thursday, wet conditions on Friday made the competitive picture difficult to read.
TOM'S Lexus driver Nick Cassidy and Nismo Nissan's Tsugio Matsuda both crashed in free practice one, while Jenson Button ran untroubled for Honda.
The 2009 Formula 1 world champion then set a time good enough for 16th in the second practice - 2.6 seconds off Timo Glock's benchmark as the three SUPER GT entries averaged a best lap time that was within 103.0433% of Glock's.
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The wet conditions are set to remain during the weekend and potentially worsen.
The weather, along with SUPER GT organiser GTA and DTM counterpart ITR taking a longer-term view of the joint-racing, meant the decision was made to run without a BoP on Saturday.
Autosport understands that conclusion could be reviewed following Saturday's action depending on how the SUPER GT and DTM machines match up.
Speaking before practice began on Friday, Button explained the tyre learning curve was the key aspect for the SUPER GT runners to overcome at Hockenheim.
The SUPER GT squads are running with Hankook engineers embedded in the team to help adaptation.
When Autosport asked Button what his expectation for BoP was ahead of practice running, he said: "We're trying to get the tyres working, which is a big thing - I don't think any of us are there yet with the tyres.
"I wouldn't say we're quicker than a DTM car. When you look at the car, we're more technically advanced in terms of the aerodynamics and what we are allowed to do, and that's not showing on the track. So, we have to see.
"I think the inexperience with the tyres outweighs the downforce benefits of a SUPER GT car, which is great because it makes the racing good, and I feel if we were out with the DTM cars in the test we wouldn't have been quicker than them and maybe now we could have caught up."
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