A word from ... Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich

Dr. Ullrich: Can we say that Hockenheim was entirely marked by the four rings? Absolutely. The four rings really made a grand appearance at Hockenheim – on all three days. On Friday, we presented the Audi Sport TT Cup, a new racing series to be held in 2015 as part of the DTM. On Saturday, we had six cars in the top eight in qualifying and three at the very front.

That happens very rarely in the DTM. On Sunday, Audi first showed ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ with the world’s sportiest piloted driving car and subsequently with an impressive performance in the DTM finale. It was a perfect weekend for Audi in every respect – in front of a great crowd.

What does the win of the DTM manufacturers’ title mean for Audi? That Audi in the 2014 DTM was the best manufacturer and showed a strong performance across the board. The Audi RS 5 DTM was fast from the first race on. It was on the pole position in the season opener and in contention for victory in all ten events. We clinched the largest number of podiums this year.

Only victory just didn’t seem to work out for a long time. That was tough for the squad that never gave up, though. At Zandvoort, we finally broke our duck and the one-two-three victory in the finale of course is a great way to end the season.

155,000 experienced the DTM weekend at – an impressive crowd... If the information I’ve got is correct, then the crowd was larger than the one at the Formula One Grand Prix in summer. This clearly speaks for the DTM, especially since the decision in the drivers’ championship had already been made. I think the spectators were treated to plenty of action – and can already look forward to the 2015 season.

Then the new Audi Sport TT Cup will be held as part of the DTM as well. Who does this new racing series target? With the Audi Sport TT Cup we’re providing an opportunity to enter motorsport with Audi. We’re looking for talents around the world who will have the chance to prove their skills in a tremendous environment – the DTM. The winner can look forward to securing support in GT racing. And who knows: maybe we’re going to discover some new talents for the DTM or the WEC as well.

So, piloted driving will not be making its way into motorsport at Audi yet? Eki, Rocky & company have no reason to fear AJ and Bobby yet. But I do believe that anyone who watched the driverless Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept at the Hockenheimring today will have been impressed with what’s already possible in terms of technology today.

I think it’s great that Audi is using motorsport and the race track to present the current state of technology to a broad audience. It again shows the close reference between motorsport and production at Audi and aims to generate even more traffic safety on the road.

Audi