Audi comes to England as DTM leader
DTM makes first appearance at Brands Hatch 82 laps on the shortest track
of the year Championship leader Tom Kristensen quickest at test The Audi
Sport team has had not much time to recover since the historical triumph
with the Audi R10 TDI at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: On the first weekend in
July, the next round of the DTM in Brands Hatch on the outskirts of
London is on the agenda. The DTM and Sportscar projects run independently
from one another within Audi Sport, however, many of the 150 employees
are involved in both projects.
This also includes Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen, who travels to
the British round of the most popular international touring car series as
championship leader - and with the sweetest memories: At the official
pre-season test, the Dane recorded the best time in Brands Hatch with a
41.587 second lap. The test doubled as a roll-out for his Siemens Audi A4
DTM, with which he has since gone on to claim a brace of second places
and, more recently, the championship lead after taking victory at
Oschersleben.
Just like his team mates, Kristensen is also looking forward to the short
1.973 kilometre "Indy Circuit". The shortest track on the DTM calendar
is considered to be one of the most spectacular and demanding of the
year. The spectators can see almost the entire circuit, 82 laps around
roller-coaster track will push man and machine to their limits. Strategy
will play a major role, in qualifying hundredths and thousandths of a
second will be decisive.
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline tested with all four drivers at
Magny-Cours (France) immediately after the race at Oschersleben,
collecting valuable information which the team wants to implement at
Brands Hatch. Audi Sport Team Phoenix and Audi Sport Team Rosberg also
expect to show well with their year-old cars. The customer team Futurecom
TME arrives at a track for the first time at which it has already tested
with the Audi A4 DTM from the 2004 season.
Quotes before the race in Brands Hatch
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport):
"The DTM goes to Brands
Hatch for the first time - to a circuit where Audi has already competed
in many great touring car races, and was frequently successful. We know
that it is a very special track. Normally the races there are very close
and wild. I'm convinced: The DTM at Brands Hatch will be motorsport at
its finest. To go there as championship leader is particularly good."
Martin Tomczyk, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Red Bull Audi A4 DTM
#4:
"Brands Hatch is a short but demanding circuit. There isn't much time to
relax when you are driving. I think that we'll be good there - just how
good is difficult to judge, since the test was held before the start of
the season. Whatever the case I'm looking forward to the race and that
things finally get rolling again after the five week break."
Mattias Ekström Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Red Bull Audi A4 DTM
#5:
"I'll be racing for the first time at Brands Hatch. At the test there we
had a good speed and the track was a lot of fun. With Tom winning at
Oschersleben we have to drive with a few kilograms of ballast. On the
other hand Tom leads the Championship. I think it'll be a hard fight
again with Mercedes. We'll try to help Tom so that he can also leave
Brands Hatch still leading the Championship."
Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Veltins Audi A4 DTM
#6:
"The race at Brands Hatch will be wild. The circuit is spectacular and is
unforgiving. The set-up isn't actually very difficult, but nevertheless
very important. Brands Hatch only has four corners - and the car has to
be perfect in each one. The track is short, so the lap times will be very
tight. That means the cars will be separated by a few hundredths."
Tom Kristensen, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, Siemens Audi A4 DTM
#7:
"We are all looking forward to Brands Hatch. It is our first race abroad
this year. Brands Hatch is stepped in tradition. 82 laps around the Indy
Circuit will be incredibly tough, concentration is important. There is
hardly a straight, it goes up and down, and the corners are exciting. At
Brands Hatch everything has to slip into place if you want to win."
Christian Abt, Audi Sport Team Phoenix, Playboy Audi A4 DTM #12:
"After things didn't go quite as I'd planned during the first three
races, I now look to Brands Hatch for an upturn in form - even though it
isn't necessarily my favourite circuit because it's a little Mickey
Mouse like. With 82 race laps I'm even expecting a safety car period.
There could be quite a few surprises."
Pierre Kaffer, Audi Sport Team Phoenix, Castrol Audi A4 DTM #14:
"I'm really looking forward to Brands Hatch. We had a successful test. I
think that it will be a fantastic event. It's always a special good
feeling to drive on a traditional English race track. My last race in
England was in 2004 with the R8 at Silverstone - and I won there
together with Allan McNish."
Frank Stippler, Audi Sport Team Rosberg, S line Audi A4 DTM #15:
"The Brands Hatch circuit is demanding. It goes up and down, it's like a
mini Nordschleife. I think it'll separate the men from the boys since
the circuit is really difficult. Things didn't run too badly at the
test. We'll see how things are on the race weekend."
Timo Scheider, Audi Sport Team Rosberg, Gebrauchtwagen:plus Audi A4 DTM
#16:
"The fans will be treated to an exciting and interesting race weekend.
I'm personally not a great friend of short tracks; the longer circuit is
just more fun to drive for me. However, it's obviously fantastic for the
fans that we come by so often. As a driver we'll probably get quite
dizzy after 82 laps..."
Vanina Ickx, Futurecom TME, Original Zubehör Audi A4 DTM #20:
"We tested at Brands Hatch in March. It was quite cold at that time. This
DTM race will also be tough and interesting. The circuit is short and
tight, the run-off areas are small. Over the last couple of weeks the
team and I have been trying to improve the pit-stop procedure and the car
set-up. I hope it helps."
Olivier Tielemans, Futurecom TME, Original Zubehör Audi A4 DTM #19:
"I drove for one-and-a-half days with the A4 DTM at the pre-season test
at Brands Hatch, which should help me to find my feet a lot quicker than
at the previous races."
Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline):
"Brands Hatch will be a fantastic event. We felt comfortable there during the
test. We are fully motivated after the win at Oschersleben and hope to
get a good result at Brands Hatch as well so that we can continue to
figure in the championship. We used the time after Oschersleben for more
development."
Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix):
"I think it'll be a
lottery with the pit-stops at Brands Hatch. It'll all boil down to
whether you can find space or whether you get stuck in traffic. Maybe you
can finish well-up in the points with a year-old car there. We have a
good base from the test from which we can build."
Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg):
"I'm looking
forward to Brands Hatch. The short Mickey Mouse circuit, as several
drivers refer to it, is actually a lot of fun - especially for the
spectators since they look down over the entire track. It will also be a
lot of fun with the traffic. And with the large amount of laps the
drivers will have their work cut out. Our target in Brands Hatch is to
finally have both qualifying and the race run according to plan."
-audi-
