The DTM has mandated a larger distance between pit stop stations at the Norisring to prevent unsafe release incidents and collisions in the pit lane. However, the teams themselves have also found ways to guard against an unsafe release - using clever markings.
Already at the Lausitzring, numerous luminous strip stickers were noticeable, placed clearly for the mechanics on the pit lane boundary - the DTM teams in the upper area, and the ADAC GT Masters teams in the lower area. But how does the system work in detail?
"The lollipop man sets references," explains Steve Buschmann, team manager at Mercedes-AMG Team Winward. "These are those stickers, those tapes that are attached to the pit wall."
Team determines unsafe release corridor
The location where the two markings are placed is precisely calculated, according to Buschmann. "We define a corridor in which the lollipop must be down," the team manager continues. "Within this corridor, a normal release would guarantee that we would drive into that car when exiting - and we mark this corridor."
This means: If the approaching vehicle of the competition is between the first and second markings in the pit lane, releasing their own vehicle would, according to Winward calculations, guarantee an unsafe release. Specifically according to DTM criteria.
Because the racing series is the only one in the world in which the fast lane does not have priority if the car is fully ahead of the rival when crossing the white line between the working lane and the fast lane.
Why the lollipop does not indicate when the driver starts
And another thing is important: The so-called car controller with his lollipop is exclusively responsible for indicating to the driver when a start would result in an unsafe release. "That is why we also call him the traffic manager," says Buschmann.
The lollipop is therefore only down if another vehicle is in the unsafe release corridor. It is not intended to show the driver when to start, because the driver sees his pit crew and feels when the stop is finished and he can accelerate through the drop of the car - triggered by the pneumatic jacks - anyway.
"That is the big advantage of our system"
But how does the Winward team calculate the two points for the corridor? "You can calculate that relatively easily by taking the average reaction time of the drivers, because every release is different," explains Buschmann. However, there are also teams that go to the limit in this regard.
"You could push it to the extreme by calculating it down exactly to that unsafe release point when the car crosses the line. That means you always keep the lollipop up except for the short moment when this overlapping occurs and the car crosses this line. Some teams do that. We, however, prefer to play it safe."
This also prevents the Winward team from two vehicles driving parallel in the pit lane. "That is the big advantage of our system," says Buschmann not without pride. However, unsafe releases cannot be completely ruled out even for the Mercedes-AMG squad.
"As mentioned, these are average values," he says. "If the car drops and the driver is asleep - or the clutch does not work or whatever - then it is all for nothing."
