Audi scores points at Oschersleben with all eight cars

Ingolstadt/Oschersleben, September 15, 2013 – With a second-place finish at Oschersleben Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM) has made another big step toward the Champion’s title. Before the last two races at Zandvoort and Hockenheim the driver from Audi Sport Team Phoenix has a 33-point advantage over Augusto Farfus (BMW).

Mike Rockenfeller, Audi Sport Team Phoenix Racing Audi A5 DTM

Photo by: Audi Communications Motorsport

Before the race at Oschersleben, eight drivers still had title chances. Now, only two are left: Rockenfeller and Farfus. The Brazilian was the only rival Rockenfeller had to admit defeat to. “He was extremely strong today,” commented the Audi driver. “On the option tires I was running relatively fast while things weren’t going quite as well on standard tires – that’s why I’m particularly pleased with second place and the important points we scored here again.”

Rockenfeller started on harder standard tires and in the early phase initially dropped back to fourth place. On the softer option tires, he subsequently improved to position two and brought the 18 points for the Championship home in typical, commanding style.

Jamie Green in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline achieved his first podium result as an Audi driver. The Briton made a good start but in the narrow first turn had to yield to the subsequent winner Farfus. After his second pit stop he hit the track again directly behind Rockenfeller and crossed the finish line in third place right behind the leader of the standings.

For the first time in the points this season was Filipe Albuquerque, who in the Audi Financial Services RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg drove a strong race which he finished in fourth place. In fifth place, Timo Scheider in the AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM managed to score his best result of the season as well. The two-time DTM Champion showed remarkable overtaking maneuvers, battling his way forward from ninth on the grid to fifth and thus into the top ten.

Even more cars were overtaken by Mattias Ekström, who in his Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM chose a different strategy than most of the other drivers, initially fitting standard tires twice. Toward the race’s midpoint the Swede switched to option tires and subsequently recovered one position after another. Having started from grid position 13, Ekström thus finished in seventh place.

Miguel Molina (Audi RS 5 DTM), Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra RS 5 DTM) and Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM), who initially had stopped at the start and dropped to the last position in the field, in eighth, ninth and tenth place completed the impressive Audi performance.

Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport, was pleased accordingly, as he commented: “This was the solid team performance we’d been wishing for. All eight Audi RS 5 DTM cars in the points – that’s never happened before. Obviously, we’d have liked to have won the race here as well but, more importantly, Mike Rockenfeller made another big step forward in the Championship. He’s now got an advantage of 33 points and only one rival left. But there are 50 points yet to be awarded. We’re going to continue to work with concentration in order to clinch the title.

In just two weeks from now, at Zandvoort (Netherlands), the next race will be on the agenda. There, Mike Rockenfeller could secure an early title win. In the manufacturers’ standings, Audi, after the strong result achieved at Oschersleben, has a score of 267 points, trailing BMW (276) by only nine points and clearly ranking ahead of Mercedes-Benz (237)."

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “"Being able to congratulate all your drivers after a race is not a common occurrence in the DTM. Today it’s been the case. Ever since we’ve been battling against BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the DTM no manufacturer has managed to score points with eight cars. And it’s been a very, very long time that a brand has had eight cars in the top ten in a DTM race. We managed to do this today at Oschersleben – and everybody at Audi Sport and in the three teams can be proud of this.”"

Dieter Gass (Head of DTM): “"A fantastic result for us to finish in the points with all eight Audi cars. This has never happened before since we’ve been racing in the DTM with three manufacturers – and as a manufacturer you can only dream of this. Mike (Rockenfeller) delivered a perfect performance yet again. Furthermore, we showed the type of team cohesion we’ve always been wishing for.”"

Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM), 2nd place / Tires: Standard/Option/Standard): “"The second place feels good. For a brief moment, I was thinking that I might be able to win. But it soon became obvious that Augusto (Farfus) was a bit stronger than we. That’s why I took it easy on the car and brought second place home. These were important points for the Championship again. A podium in the DTM can’t be taken for granted. That’s why I’m enjoying the fact that I’ve received a trophy here at Oschersleben.”"

Jamie Green (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM), 3rd place / Tires: Option/Standard/Standard): “"It’s great to be standing on the podium for the first time in my new Audi racing suit. It’s nice to have accomplished this. Surely, I should be able to do better than take third place. I’m happy about my improvement. My speed in the race was really good. If we take that with us into the next races we’ll have the possibility to win.”"

Filipe Albuquerque (Audi Financial Services RS 5 DTM), 4th place / Tires: Standard/Option/Standard): "I had a good start and a good speed in the race. Our second pit stop wasn't perfect but I had a good advantage. In the end, I had a small problem with the brakes and lost a lot of time. But I've finally scored my first points of the season."

Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM), 5th place / Tires: Standard/Option/Standard): “"Finally, a nice race again! I had a good car and two good pit stops. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time behind Dirk Werner, who was arguably supposed to cover Bruno Spengler. We probably missed out on a position that way. But after the misfortune of the past I can live very well with this result– I fought hard for it. A dream result for Audi: Eight Audi cars in the top ten, we can be very happy today.”"

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM), 7th place / Tires: Standard/Standard/Option): "“It was sheer entertainment. If you start from 13th place and finish in seventh that’s okay. More wasn’t possible. We can still be pleased with today after things hadn’t been going so well in qualifying yesterday.”"

Miguel Molina (Audi RS 5 DTM), 8th place / Tires: Option/Standard/Standard): "“For me and Audi it was a great race. I had a first good stint on option tires. But in the second stint on standard tires I was lacking grip. We’ve had two good races now; that’s positive for the last two rounds in the Championship.”"

Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra RS 5 DTM), 9th place / Tires: Option/Standard/Standard): "“I had another good start and good initial laps and was able to overtake Miguel (Molina) and Dirk Werner. I was happy with that. Afterward, I was struggling a bit with the car. It was difficult to drive. We’ve scored a few points again – for the third consecutive time. We’d like to continue like this.”"

Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM), 10th place / Tires: Standard/Option/Standard): "“It was a strenuous race. My start wasn’t perfect. We had a small problem with the clutch. The race rhythm and our pace were very good. I was fast on the option tires and scored a point today. Considering that I started from position 17 and was the last car in turn one, things didn’t go too badly. I’m hoping for an upward trend now. The speed is there and we now need a weekend without major problems.”"

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “"It’s been a great day for Audi. All cars in the points: that shows perfect teamwork. The race offered a lot of suspense and fantastic overtaking maneuvers: A nice race Sunday.”"

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “"A superb result for Audi! When you score with all eight cars that started you can only congratulate everyone who’s had a part in this, particularly considering the difficult time we had here last year. I’m very pleased with positions two and eight by ‘Rocky’ (Mike Rockenfeller) and Miguel Molina as well. Continuing where you left off after a four-week break sends a strong signal to the rivals. ‘Rocky’ has now got a 33-point advantage in the standings and Miguel, too, has added points to his tally, for himself and the team. In the team standings we’re in second place now, and we’re going to continue to attack there as well.”"

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “"A great race for Audi with eight cars in the top ten. I’m happy for my whole squad that did a superb job. The strategy was right as well. Filipe (Albuquerque) just barely missed a podium finish and if Edo (Mortara) wouldn’t have had to start so far from the rear more than tenth place would have been possible for him too because he was as fast as the subsequent winner some of the time. ‘Thank you’ to everybody.”"

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