There is a good feeling among team Audi for the second half of the season of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) as the competition travels to Styria for this weekend (August 1st to 3rd).
This weekend, the second half of the season will kick off at the Spielberg track and Audi believes that this will be the site of its first victory of this year’s DTM.
Currently, Audi driver Mattias Ekstrom is sitting in second place and it is believe that a good run could put him above the leader Marco Wittmann. Ekstrom has previously performed well, having been the champion in 2004 and 2007.
What’s more, there are four other Audi drivers who are hopeful about gaining a position within the top ten while the brand is currently sitting at the top of the manufacturer’s standings.
So far, Audi drivers have been getting more points and podium finishes this season than both BMW and Mercedes-Benz, having tallied up 223 points and eight podium places. Among the drivers to gain a podium finish for Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline was Edoardo Mortara, who claimed third place at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Nevertheless, Audi has yet to claim an overall victory at one of the DTM races this season.
Head of DTM Dieter Gass said that the Spielberg track had proved to be well suited to Audi’s car in the past and that the team had learned from the race in Moscow, meaning that they are more focussed on this race.
Team director of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline Hans-Jurgen Abt said of the drivers: “At Spielberg, the second half of the season will start, which makes the battle among the front runners in the standings increasingly thrilling. In Mattias (Ekström) and Edo (Mortara) we’ve got two hot irons in the fire that we’re set on attacking the leader of the standings with.”
The Spielberg circuit is 4.326 kilometres long, which makes it the third longest on the calendar. When the circuit was first re-opened three years ago, Audi was able to take the first two victories on it.
Fans of DTM will be able to watch the action, including the qualifying session on Saturday. This will start at 18:00 local time.
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