Saturday, February 16, 2013

DTM: A word from … Mattias Ekström


Audi Press Release

Your visit to Moscow with the Audi A5 DTM attracted a lot of attention. Looking back a few days later, what impressions did this trip leave with you?
 

As this had been my first visit to Russia there were so many impressions that I first had to sort. The culture is completely different compared with my home country, Sweden, or Switzerland where I live now. I was delighted about the open-mindedness of the people in Moscow. Although they’re not very familiar yet with the topics of motorsport and the DTM you can feel their huge interest and enthusiasm.

Did you also have an opportunity to get to know the city a bit?


Yes, fortunately, I did. There were two things that fascinated me. One of them was the traffic. I’ve been to cities with many cars before but with the streets being as packed as they were here you had to really plan your day very carefully to arrive anywhere on time. Plus I was thrilled with the architecture. I haven’t been paying close attention to the development in Moscow’s urban design over the past few decades but the results are impressive.

You’ve had a lot of action at home as well. What is your daily life like now that you’ve got two children?


It’s exciting! Fortunately, our little Hanna takes more after her mother, which means that she’s much quieter than her brother and sleeps a bit more too. At the moment, I’m out and about a lot with Mats, who will soon be two. It’s simply amazing to watch how both of them are developing and learning new things every day.

So motorsport is taking second place for you at the moment?


No, not at all! The DTM and my private life are both on the front row of the grid for me. We’ve already had an initial test this year and the next one will follow soon. That the technology has been frozen makes the challenge even greater for us. We’re not allowed to change a lot – but any minor detail we’re looking at has got to fit one hundred percent. I’m constantly in contact with the engineers and can say that we’re making progress and it’s a lot of fun.

Photo credit: Audi Media