Audi travels to DTM finale as leader of the manufacturers’ standings‏

Audi Press Release

·         31-point advantage over Mercedes-Benz, 41 over BMW

·         Audi A5 DTM returns to the venue of its race debut

·         Winning the manufacturers’ championship is the aim

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim, October 12, 2012 - World Champion in the sports prototype category, winner of the 24-hour classics at Le Mans, at the Nürburgring and at Spa: In endurance racing, Audi was the number one in the 2012 season. In the DTM, the brand with the four rings still has the chance of winning the manufacturers’ title at the Hockenheimring finale on October 21.

The Audi A5 DTM is returning to the venue of its debut. At the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, the new Audi race touring car started into its first race at the end of April - from the top spot on the grid. At the premiere, Mattias Ekström clinched the first pole position and the first podium for the A5 DTM. In the meantime, the tally reflects three fastest times in qualifying, two victories, nine podium results and 327 points. With that, Audi is leading the manufacturers’ standings before the last race of the season - 31 points ahead of Mercedes-Benz and 41 ahead of BMW. A manufacturer can still achieve a maximum of 88 points at Hockenheim.

Audi has scored the majority of the points in the second half of the season. This underscores the fact that following a first half of the season that was less than perfect, the 1990, 1991, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 champion has regained its traditional strength after the summer break - not least thanks to the continuous further development of the A5 DTM. Consequently, the engineers and technicians of Audi Sport are particularly eager to see how the lap times and relative strengths have changed compared with the season opener.

Winning the manufacturer’s championship is the primary aim of the automobile manufacturer from Ingolstadt at Hockenheim. Among the Audi squads there are a few more stakes involved: Who will finish the season as the best Audi driver? Which squad will be the best Audi team?

All Audi drivers have scored points this year. This has never been the case before ever since the brand returned to the DTM with a manufacturer’s commitment in the 2004 season. And the three Audi Sport Teams Rosberg, Abt Sportsline and Phoenix are separated by only seven points in the teams’ classification.

So far, Mike Rockenfeller (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) has scored the largest number of points for Audi this year. The 2010 Le Mans winner was on podium twice and at Zandvoort barely missed his first victory of the season. The second-best Audi driver in the overall classification is Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline), who won the DTM show race at the Munich Olympic Stadium in July. Trailing him by a narrow margin is Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Rosberg), winner of the races at Spielberg and Zandvoort.

42 laps have to be completed in the DTM finale at the Hockenheimring. Tickets are available on the internet at www.audi.de/dtm. ARD will broadcast the qualifying session (Saturday, October 20 starting at 13:25, local time) and the race (Sunday, October 21, starting at 13:45) live as usual on "Das Erste." In addition, the ARD motorsport program "Benzin im Blut" will celebrate its debut on race day. From 13:15, "Das Erste" will get fans in the mood for the eagerly awaited DTM finale with its new motorsport format.

Quotes by the officials

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "At Valencia, we achieved our stage-win and took over the leadership in the manufacturers’ championship. Our aim for Hockenheim is to extend this lead with a similarly positive team performance. We’re going to give everything to make this happen."

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline):"Hockenheim is the grand finale of the DTM, which promises suspense galore. After the great result at Valencia, there’s just one aim for our team: we want to clinch the last victory of the year."

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): "It’s incredible how fast the season has passed. So now we’re returning to Hockenheim. When the season started we weren’t perfectly sorted there yet. We’ll leave no stone unturned to clinch a victory at the end of the season and to secure the manufacturers’ championship for Audi."

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): "Hockenheim is our home race and naturally we’re looking forward to it with particularly eager anticipation. We’ve already had a very good season but now we’d like to put a dot on another ‘i’. If at all possible, we want to shake off the misfortune we often suffered at Hockenheim and forcefully strike once more."

Facts and quotes by the Audi drivers

Filipe Albuquerque (27/P), TV Movie Audi A5 DTM #22 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg)
- Has scored points at seven of the nine races in 2012
- Advanced into the top ten of the overall standings at Valencia
"My performance at Valencia was strong even though the race didn’t go perfectly. I’m totally motivated for the finale. At Hockenheim, we’ve now got to demonstrate continuity. My maxim is all-out attack!"

Mattias Ekström (34/S), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #3 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
- Clinched the first pole position for the new Audi A5 DTM at the season opener
- Has celebrated as many as two DTM wins at the Hockenheimring
"Hockenheim has always been one of my favorite tracks. Now the finale is around the corner. So we’ve got another season behind us and it would be nice to end the year with a highlight. In the past two races, in terms of balance, we leveled the car at ten out of ten possible points. For Hockenheim, our aim is to achieve these ten points as early as in qualifying."

Rahel Frey (26/CH), E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM #17 (Audi Sport Team Abt)
- Finished in seventh place at Valencia and scored her first points in the DTM
- Celebrated her DTM debut at the Hockenheimring at the beginning of 2011
"I’m looking forward to Hockenheim and want to go flat-out again there once more. We’ve already been to Hockenheim this season, so we know what we’ve got to do better this time. Since the race at the Nürburgring my crew and I’ve experienced an upswing. Obviously, I want to take that with me to Hockenheim again and am hoping to be able to continue the performance we showed at Valencia."

Miguel Molina (23/E), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #10 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
- Started from the pole position at the Hockenheim finale last year
- Has clinched his only podium result in the DTM to date at Hockenheim
"The last round of the season at Hockenheim is coming up and I’m hoping for a good result for Audi and for myself. Last year, I drove a good race here and of course I’d like to repeat that now."

Edoardo Mortara (25/I/F), Playboy Audi A5 DTM #21 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg)
- Has clinched the only two victories with the Audi A5 DTM to date
- Has never scored points at the Hockenheimring before
"I’m really hoping for us to be competitive again at Hockenheim and that we won’t have any technical problems with the car. And of course I’m also hoping that the car will be as fast again there as it was last was at Valencia."

Mike Rockenfeller (28/D), Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM #9 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
- Is starting into the DTM finale as the Audi driver with the highest points score
- In third place, achieved his so far best result at Hockenheim in 2010
"At the last race of the season, my maxim is: all-out attack. We’re highly motivated after the good performance at Valencia. I’ll be giving all I can to score as many points as possible for the championship and to be in contention for victory too."

Timo Scheider (33/D), AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM #4 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
- Is the only Audi driver to have won the DTM finale at Hockenheim to date
- Secured his two DTM titles (2008 and 2009) at the Hockenheimring
"Even though, obviously, everyone is focused on the decision for the drivers’ title, the main focus for us at Audi is the title in the manufacturers’ championship. At Valencia, we delivered a very strong team result. It would simply be nice to finish the season finale with another good result and, if at all possible, to win the manufacturers’ title for Audi. If we manage to do that, then we’ll have managed to close the season on a positive note. In any event, I’m looking forward to the finale at Hockenheim. It’ll probably be a real thriller. Besides that, it’s always a special thing to drive there in front of a great audience."

Adrien Tambay (F/21), Audi ultra A5 DTM #18 (Audi Sport Team Abt)
- Clinched his first podium result in the DTM at Valencia
- Is driving his tenth DTM race at the Hockenheimring
"After the brilliant result at Valencia, I’m obviously now looking forward to the finale of my fantastic first DTM season with particularly eager anticipation. Hockenheim is a nice track; I’ve won races there before. I want to take the momentum from Valencia with me and am convinced that we’ll again be able to achieve a good result if we manage to do all the right things straight from the start."

The Audi drivers in the 2012 DTM

Filipe Albuquerque (P): * Jun 13, 1985 in Coimbra (P); residence: Coimbra (P); single; height: 1.74 m; weight: 64 kg; Audi driver since 2011; DTM races: 19; pole positions: 0; victories: 0 (best result: 2nd place); fastest laps: 0; points: 35; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 10

Mattias Ekström (S): * Jul 14, 1978 in Falun (S); residence: Salenstein (CH); single (partner Heidi), one son (Mats); height: 1.83 m; weight: 77 kg; Audi driver since 1999; DTM races: 123; pole positions: 19; victories: 17; fastest laps: 12; points: 615; DTM titles: 2 (2004, 2007); best result, DTM Hockenheim: 1

Rahel Frey (CH): * Feb 23, 1986 in Niederbipp (CH); residence: Aedermannsdorf (CH); single; height: 1.63 m; weight: 50 kg; Audi driver since 2011; DTM races: 19; pole positions: 0; victories: 0 (best result: 7th place); fastest laps: 0; points: 6; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 15

Miguel Molina (E): * Feb 17, 1989 in Girona (E); residence: Lloret de Mar (E); single; height: 1.75 m; weight: 62 kg; Audi driver since 2010; DTM races: 30; pole positions: 2; victories: 0 (best result: 3rd place); fastest laps: 1; points: 34; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 3

Edoardo Mortara (I/F): * Jan 12, 1987 in Geneva (CH); residence: Geneva (CH); single; height: 1.82 m; weight: 75 kg; Audi driver since 2011; DTM races: 19; pole positions: 1; victories: 2; fastest laps: 0; points: 95; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 11

Mike Rockenfeller (D): * Oct 31, 1983 in Neuwied (D); residence: Altnau (CH); single (partner Susanne); height: 1.75 m; weight: 67 kg; Audi driver since 2007; DTM races: 60; pole positions: 1; victories: 1; fastest laps: 2; points: 159; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 3

Timo Scheider (D): * Nov 10, 1978 in Lahnstein (D); residence: Lochau (A); single (partner Jessica), one son (Loris); height: 1.78 m; weight: 74 kg; Audi driver since 2006; DTM races: 128; pole positions: 10; victories: 6; fastest laps: 9; points: 373; DTM titles: 2 (2008, 2009); best result, DTM Hockenheim: 1

Adrien Tambay (F): * Feb 25, 1991 in Paris (F); residence: Lochau (A); single; height: 1.81 m; weight: 69 kg; Audi driver since 2012; DTM races: 9; pole positions: 0; victories: 0; (best result: 2nd place); fastest laps: 0; points: 28; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: -

DTM drivers’ standings after 9 of 10 rounds
1 Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) 127 points
2 Bruno Spengler (BMW) 124 points
3 Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz) 109 points
4 Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) 85 points
5 Mattias Ekström (Audi) 81 points
6 Edoardo Mortara (Audi) 74 points
7 Martin Tomczyk (BMW) 69 points
8 August Farfus (BMW) 54 points
9 Adrien Tambay (Audi) 28 points
10 Filipe Albuquerque (Audi) 26 points
11 Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz) 24 points
12 Dirk Werner (BMW) 19 points
13 Timo Scheider (Audi) 19 points
14 Andy Priaulx (BMW) 18 points
15 David Coulthard (Mercedes-Benz) 14 points
16 Robert Wickens (Mercedes-Benz) 14 points
17 Miguel Molina (Audi) 8 points
18 Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes-Benz) 8 points
19 Rahel Frey (Audi) 6 points
20 Joey Hand (BMW) 2 points

DTM manufacturers’ standings
1 Audi 327 points
2 Mercedes-Benz 296 points
3 BMW 286 points

DTM team standings
1 THOMAS SABO/Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG 151 points
2 BMW Team Schnitzer 143 points
3 Mercedes AMG 117 points
4 Audi Sport Team Rosberg 100 points
5 Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline 100 points
6 Audi Sport Team Phoenix 93 points
7 BMW Team RBM 72 points
8 BMW Team RMG 71 points
9 Audi Sport Team Abt 34 points
10 DHL Paket/stern Mercedes AMG 28 points

Audi DTM statistics

Champion’s titles: 8 (in 15 years)
Victories: 63 (in 203 races)
Pole positions: 67 (in 168 qualifying sessions)
Fastest laps: 54 (in 203 races)

All Hockenheim winners (finale)

2000 Uwe Alzen (Opel)/Uwe Alzen (Opel)
2001 Bernd Mayländer (Mercedes-Benz)
2002 Bernd Schneider (Mercedes-Benz)
2003 Jean Alesi (Mercedes-Benz)
2004 Bernd Schneider (Mercedes-Benz)
2005 Bernd Schneider (Mercedes-Benz)
2006 Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz)
2007 Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz)
2008 Timo Scheider (Audi)
2009 Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz)
2010 Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-Benz)
2011 Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz)

2011 flashback: Six Audi drivers in the points

After the early win of the drivers’ championship, Audi secured the position of the runner-up in the championship and won the team classification as well on the Audi A4’s last run. With Martin Tomczyk, Miguel Molina, Mike Rockenfeller, Mattias Ekström, Timo Scheider and Oliver Jarvis in positions two to four and six to eight, six Audi racers scored points. For Miguel Molina, this marked the first podium in his still young DTM career. The decision was made right at the start, which Mercedes driver Jamie Green decided in his favor and then went on to drive a lonely race at the front of the field. The race of the two Audi drivers Martin Tomczyk and Miguel Molina that ended in positions two and three was similarly solid.

Track info

Track length: 4.574 km
Race distance: 42 laps = 192.108 km
DTM qualifying record on this track: Mattias Ekström (Audi), Oct 25, 08, 1m 32.244s = 178.509 km/h
DTM race record on this track: Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-Benz), Oct 26, 08, 1m 33.576s = 175.968 km/h
Pole position, season opener 2012: Mattias Ekström (Audi), Apr 28,12, 1m 34.680s (173.900 km/h)
Fastest lap, season opener 2012: Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz), Apr 29, 12, 1m 34.901s (173.511 km/h)
Turnout 2011: 120,000
TV live rating 2011: 1.26 million / 9.3 % market share (source: ARD)

Mattias Ekström about the Hockenheimring: "The mix of turns makes the track particularly interesting. There are some very slow corners, such as turn 2 or the hairpin, as well as some very quick bends such as turn 1 or the entrance to the Motodrom. Ever since the track was modified ten years ago I’ve been particularly fond of the layout. In the Parabolica turn that was introduced back then, you can perfectly prepare for overtaking maneuvers. In the past, we used to measure the gaps at Hockenheim in terms of half-seconds. This was reduced to tenths over the years. And with the new vehicle generation as of 2012 we’ve got to start searching in the range of hundredths to recognize the differences. The atmosphere at Hockenheim is particularly nice. A large crowd flocks to the venue for the finale year after year."

Timetable 

Friday, October 19
09:45-10:15 Roll-out
10:15-10:20 Starting practice
13:40-15:30 Free practice 1
15:30-15:35 Starting practice

Saturday, October 20
09:00-10:50 Free practice 2
13:40-14:50 Qualifying

Sunday, October 21
10:20-10:50 Warm-up
14:00 Race

TV schedule ("Das Erste" live)

Saturday, October 20
13:25-15:00 Qualifying

Sunday, October 21
13:45-15:45 Race

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Audi without racing luck at Oschersleben

Audi Press Release

• Audi without racing luck at Oschersleben
• Mike Rockenfeller as best Audi driver in sixth place
• Four Audi A5 DTM cars in the points

Ingolstadt/Oschersleben, September 16, 2012 – Following the commanding one-two-three victory at Zandvoort Audi, after suffering major misfortune on the starting lap, occupied positions six, eight, nine and ten in the DTM race at the Motorsport Arena at Oschersleben.

In front of 71,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix in position six was the best-placed Audi driver. “I had a clean start but had to make way by sharply pulling to the left because Mattias (Ekström) had stopped in front of me. As a result, Augusto (Farfus) overtook me. Afterwards, the race was without any major highlights for me. I was not able to drive any faster than the cars in front of me and only tried to take the car home.”

Mattias Ekström in his Red Bull Audi A5 DTM stopped at the start, dropping from fifth to 19th place. Subsequently, the Swede from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline was the quickest driver in the field some of the time, made up one position after the other and advanced into the points again. In the end, Ekström took eighth place.

Filipe Albuquerque in the TV Movie Audi A5 DTM in ninth place scored two points for Audi Sport Team Rosberg. His team-mate Edoardo Mortara on the other hand experienced a major disappointment. The two-time season winner braked a little too late into turn one and subsequently collided with Ralf Schumacher. In the incident, the front of his car was so heavily damaged that Mortara had to park his Playboy Audi A5 DTM after only six laps.

Timo Scheider, who had celebrated his first victory in a DTM race at Oschersleben in 2008, scored one point for tenth place. The two-time DTM Champion recovered from position 15 on the grid despite having lost valuable time at the second pit stop.

Miguel Molina’s car was hit in the rear by a rival at the start and was forced to drive his Red Bull Audi A5 DTM through the gravel trap in turn one. In the process, the Spaniard suffered a puncture. Molina finished with a one-lap gap in 15th place.

For Adrien Tambay, the race was practically over as early, as at the start as the generator had to be exchanged on his Audi ultra A5 DTM. The Frenchman resumed the race with a two-lap gap but again had problems with a drop in voltage shortly before the race ended. Tambay was classified in 16th place.

Rahel Frey’s E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM was damaged in the area of the front end during the turbulent starting phase. No longer being able to steer the car, the Swiss parked her vehicle off track on lap seven for safety reasons.

“Unfortunately, we lost any chance for a better result as early as at the start today,” Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich said after the race. “Afterwards, Mattias (Ekström) showed in his recovery what would have theoretically been possible. But it’s also a fact that on the whole we weren’t quick enough here at Oschersleben. We’re going to continue to work hard and do everything within our means to show a strong performance again in the last two races at Valencia and Hockenheim. The title in the manufacturers’ championship is still possible and victories are our aim.”

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Last year’s winner Ekström is best Audi driver

Audi Press Release

• Narrow margins in DTM qualifying at Oschersleben
• Mattias Ekström as quickest Audi driver on grid position five
• Four Audi A5 DTM cars on the four front rows of the grid

Ingolstadt/Oschersleben, September 15, 2012 – Last year’s winner Mattias Ekström will start from position five on the grid into the DTM race at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben near Magdeburg on Sunday (from 13:45 live on “Das Erste”). Four Audi A5 DTM cars in total are on the four front rows of the grid.

Ekström missed the shoot-out for the top four grid positions in his Red Bull Audi A5 DTM by merely 98 thousandths of a second. “Qualifying was pretty tough,” said the Swede from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. “Of course not having made it into Q4 is a bit disappointing. But more was not possible today. In the race, I’m determined to give everything and to fight like a lion to advance.”

On row three alongside Ekström on Sunday will be Zandvoort winner Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg). The fourth row of the grid with Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM) and Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM) belongs to the two racers from Audi Sport Team Phoenix.

Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM) and Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM) will be starting into the 51-lap race from positions 14 and 15. Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM) and Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM) are sharing the ninth row.

“At Zandvoort, we had five cars on the top five grid positions, here we’ve got the best one on grid position five – this shows yet again how close and varied the competition is in the DTM,” commented Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “The time gaps in qualifying were extremely small. We weren’t lacking a lot but in the DTM simply everything has got to fit if you want to be at the very front. But qualifying and the race are two different things. Tomorrow, we’ll do everything within our means to move forward. After all, we’ve got four cars in the top ten.”

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DTM: Audi with tailwind to the next race

Audi Press Release

• DTM visits Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
• Sights are set on first place in the manufacturers’ championship
• Five Audi victories on this track in the past eight years

The DTM remains a thriller. By achieving the one-two-three triumph at Zandvoort at the end of August defending champion Audi has made up 49 points in a single race and is now just five points behind Mercedes-Benz in the manufacturers’ standings. In the drivers’ standings, as well, nothing is impossible. With a victory at at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (September 14 to 16), Audi racer Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Rosberg), in the best case, could narrow the gap to leader of the standings Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) to nine points.

Since its return with a manufacturer’s commitment in the 2004 season Audi has won five of the eight DTM races at Oschersleben. Last year, the brand clinched a one-two-three result with a record advantage. Mattias Ekström put a proud distance of 42.167 seconds between himself and his immediate rivals – a result that had never before been seen in the DTM since its re-launch in 2000.

Most of the Audi drivers are looking forward to the East-German circuit with similarly eager anticipation as they most recently did to the dune circuit at Zandvoort, as every one of them associates a special highlight with Oschersleben. For Mattias Ekström, it was last year’s record victory; for Timo Scheider, his first victory at a DTM race; for Mike Rockenfeller, his first podium in the DTM; for Miguel Molina, his first pole position; for Rahel Frey, her best DTM result to date – and Edoardo Mortara (third last year), Filipe Albuquerque and Adrien Tambay like the track at Oschersleben as well.

Overtaking on the 3.969-kilometer track is deemed to be extremely difficult. That is why qualifying on Saturday (starting at 13:30 – local time – live on “Das Erste”) may produce a preliminary decision. And particularly there Audi was extremely strong in the last two races. At the Nürburgring, three A5 DTM cars were on the two front rows and at Zandvoort, Audi even took the top five spots on the grid.

Advance ticket sales are promising a record turnout. Those not traveling to Oschersleben can watch the race live on “Das Erste” as usual. On race Sunday, ARD will be airing live coverage from Oschersleben starting at 13:45 (local time).

Quotes by the officials

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “With the one-two-three victory at Zandvoort we made a considerable leap forward in the standings and in the manufacturers’ classification we are now just five points behind Mercedes-Benz and clearly in front of BMW. If we manage a similarly strong team performance as we last did at the Nürburgring and at Zandvoort we might even become the front runner at Oschersleben.”

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “We’ve won Oschersleben as many as five times and will leave no stone unturned to clinch another victory there for Audi. We’re looking forward to the race in front of a fantastic crowd and many enthusiastic fans.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “The good results from the Nürburgring and Zandvoort are giving all of us tailwind. We can achieve a lot with that. Oschersleben has always suited us and Audi.”

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “We’re looking forward to Oschersleben. We’ve recently been scoring a lot of points while our competitors weren’t quite as successful. As a result, we’ve made up some ground in the championship. It would be fantastic if the whole Audi team could take this momentum along to Oschersleben.”

Facts and quotes by the Audi drivers

Filipe Albuquerque (27/P), TV Movie Audi A5 DTM #22 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg)
- Most recently, managed the leap into Q4 two consecutive times
- Was pushed off the track at Oschersleben in 2011 by Ralf Schumacher
“Oschersleben is a track I really like. I’ve always felt at home there. The speed is right. Team Rosberg is doing a fantastic job. And I know by now how to make it into Q4. I’m convinced that it’s just a question of time until I’m on podium – so why not at Oschersleben?”

Mattias Ekström (34/S), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #3 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
- Won at Oschersleben in 2011 with a record advantage
- Triumphed this year at the DTM show event in Munich
“I like Oschersleben and have particularly fond memories of last year. My aim is for this weekend to go equally well. We’ve got to improve some more but I’m convinced that we’re heading in the right direction. I’m hoping for us to find an optimal set-up for Saturday and Sunday to put us in contention for victory.”

Rahel Frey (26/CH), E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM #17 (Audi Sport Team Abt)
- In twelfth place, clinched her best DTM result to date at Oschersleben in 2011
- Set the second-fastest lap at the Nürburgring this year
“I’m looking forward to Oschersleben: a new race track, a new challenge, a new opportunity. At Zandvoort, things didn’t go so well for me, so there’s quite a bit for me to make up for.”

Miguel Molina (23/E), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #10 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
- In 2011, started from the pole position at Oschersleben
- Was on the podium at the 2011 Hockenheim finale
“Oschersleben is a special place for me. Last year, I managed to clinch my first pole position there in the DTM. This gives me a confident feeling. Also, it’s time to finally show something again. I believe that we can have a good weekend at Oschersleben.”

Edoardo Mortara (25/I/F), Playboy Audi A5 DTM #21 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg)
- Completed the Audi one-two-three result at Oschersleben in 2011
- Won as many as two DTM races this year
“Oschersleben has been a good track for me so far. In 2010, I won the Formula 3 title and in 2011 took my second DTM podium there. So I’ve got fond memories. After the Nürburgring and Zandvoort, we’re optimistic and hoping to be able to achieve another top result.”

Mike Rockenfeller (28/D), Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM #9 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
- In 2007, in just his second DTM race, took third place at Oschersleben
- In 2012, has started from the three front rows of the grid as many as five times
“Oschersleben is a track I really like. In my first DTM year, I immediately had a solid success with my first podium and a great race. As a matter of fact, I’ve always enjoyed driving there. I’m hoping that our A5 DTM will be quick, that we’ll have a good set-up – and if I could win the race in the end that would be ideal.”

Timo Scheider (33/D), AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM #4 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
- In 2008, celebrated his first victory in a DTM race at Oschersleben
- Took his tenth DTM pole position in total at Zandvoort
“After the strong upward trend and the pole position at Zandvoort, I’m taking all my motivation and positive feelings with me to Oschersleben. I’ve still got fond memories of my first DTM victory. I’ve always felt comfortable there and found my rhythm right from the first lap on. I’m hoping that this will again be the case this year and that I’ll be able to show a similar performance as I did at Zandvoort – but this time with a good race result.”

Adrien Tambay (F/21), Audi ultra A5 DTM #18 (Audi Sport Team Abt) 
- In fifth place, scored his first DTM points at Zandvoort
- Made it all the way into Q3 at Zandvoort
“After scoring my first points at Zandvoort, a load has come off my chest. Now I may be able to tackle the race weekends in a slightly different way. I’m going to try and advance a bit further in qualifying in order to benefit from this in the race. I’m looking forward to the track because I’ve got fond memories of it.”

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1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - Audi A5!

Audi Press Release

• Audi takes top five grid positions for DTM race at Zandvoort
• Timo Scheider is back with pole position
• Audi A5 DTM on top spot of the grid for the third time

Ingolstadt/Zandvoort, August 25, 2012 – A great day for Audi at Zandvoort: The brand with the four rings dominated the qualifying session for the DTM’s visit to the Netherlands (Sunday live on “Das Erste” starting 13:45 local time) and secured the five best grid positions on the challenging track on the North Sea coast.

Five cars from a single brand on the top five grid positions – this has never happened before since the new DTM regulations were introduced. Audi managed this feat at Zandvoort. The Audi A5 DTM is thus the first new-generation DTM vehicle to have scored three pole positions.

“With three cars in the top four last weekend at the Nürburgring, we showed that we’ve made a significant step forward,” commented Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “We continued to work and reaped the fruits here in qualifying. Of course it’s fantastic to have five cars at the front. But the important thing is the race tomorrow: that’s when we want to look good. I’m particularly happy today for Timo (Scheider), who’s gone through some hard times and impressively came back today.”

The racer from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, who experienced a difficult first half of the season, in his AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM was the quickest driver as early as in the morning’s free practice and in the crucial shoot-out for the top four spots on the grid secured the pole position – marking as much as his fourth one at Zandvoort – with a 0.249-second advantage.

“It’s been a while – 21 long months – that I was at the very front in qualifying,” said Scheider. “Now I’ve clinched pole at Zandvoort for the fourth time. That’s a great feeling and a nice birthday gift for my father. Behind us are some hard months and races. There’ve been many discussions about what’s going wrong. At a certain point we managed to come together. This is a team result. The guys believed in me and did a fantastic job. This pole is the reward for all the hard work.”

All three Audi teams managed to make it into the fourth qualifying segment at Zandvoort. Last year’s winner Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM clinched grid position two for Audi Sport Team Phoenix. Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM) and Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A5 DTM) secured the second row of the grid for Audi Sport Team Rosberg.

The Audi quintet at the front was completed by Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi A5 DTM in fifth place. With youngster Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM) on grid position ten, a sixth Audi racer made it into the top ten.

Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM) and Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM) will start from positions 13 and 21 on Sunday after both had been able to do only a few laps in the morning’s free practice.

Audi has won the DTM race at Zandvoort since its DTM comeback with a manufacturer’s commitment in 2004 as many as five times and now took the top spot for as much as the sixth time. On race day, changeable weather conditions have been predicted for the Dutch North Sea Coast.

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DTM: Audi youngster causes surprise

Audi Press Release

• Audi in the final at manufacturers’ team relay in Munich
• Adrien Tambay together with Timo Scheider on position two
• Mattias Ekström and Edoardo Mortara with best times

Ingolstadt/Munich, July 14, 2012 – Audi driver Adrien Tambay was the big surprise on the first day of the DTM event in Munich. Together with experienced DTM campaigner Timo Scheider, who came back with an impressive showing after a difficult first half of the season, the 21-year-old DTM rookie reached the final of the manufacturers’ team relay at the Olympic Stadium and was thus on the podium for the first time in the DTM.

After twelve thrilling final laps during which four times three laps were alternately driven, the two drivers of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline had to admit defeat to the two Mercedes drivers Jamie Green and Ralf Schumacher by merely 0.254 seconds. By setting the fastest race lap in the final stint, Tambay at the wheel of his Audi ultra A5 DTM in the end even caused a true photo finish.

On the parallel track with a mere length of 614 meters at the Olympic Stadium tires played the crucial part on Saturday. As only two sets of tires are permitted per vehicle throughout the weekend in Munich all Audi racers competed on used tires in the quarter-final so that each of them would have a fresh set available for the prestigious single race on Sunday.

Adrien Tambay and Timo Scheider prevailed in their quarter-final against the BMW of Augusto Farfus and Bruno Spengler. Mattias Ekström and Miguel Molina in their two Red Bull Audi A5 DTM cars on the other hand had to give in to the subsequent winners, Jamie Green and Ralf Schumacher.

Yet the birthday child, Ekström, suggested that he is a very hot candidate for victory in Sunday’s single competition nonetheless as the Swede was by far the quickest driver across five laps in qualifying. Adrien Tambay, Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM) and Miguel Molina qualified for the quarter-final as well.

Exactly as quick – down to a thousandth of a second – as his team-mate in Audi Sport Team Phoenix was Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM. The 2010 Le Mans winner posted his time later than Molina, though, and was thus classified in fifth place. The Swiss Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM) managed to insert herself between the two drivers of Audi Sport Team Rosberg. Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A5 DTM) and Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM) occupied positions six and eight within the Audi group.

The fastest lap at Munich’s Olympic Stadium was credited to Edoardo Mortara nonetheless. In Friday’s free practice, the Italian who lives in Switzerland posted a time of 26.757s that was not matched on Saturday. The Spielberg winner as one of the Audi drivers with the highest points score in the current DTM season is placed directly for the single competition on Sunday (starting at 14:15 – local time – live on “Das Erste”) for the eighth-final as are Mattias Ekström and Mike Rockenfeller.

Quotes after the manufacturers’ team relay

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “That was no doubt a great spectacle for the crowd today with a very close decision. The combination of the two-time DTM Champion Timo (Scheider) and Adrien Tambay, who is contesting his first DTM season this year, was definitely a very interesting pairing. Both set very good times – including the quickest single lap in the final. But in the end the total time is the only thing that counts, and in that respect Mercedes was a tiny bit faster. Simply everything has got to fit together if you want to win here. The final very clearly showed that you can lose crucial tenths even when driving out of the pits. Now we’re looking forward to the single event tomorrow that’ll probably be just as thrilling. And of course we want to be running in front then.”


Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM), final
“Despite the fact that this is a show event it was a heartbeat final. It’s nice that Adrian (Tambay) and I made it into the final. This morning, we couldn’t even imagine that. But the guys did a superb job and improved a few nuances on the car. The final was much closer than we’d expected. We can be pleased with this day.”

Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM), final
“I was fighting for the lead on each lap, it was always very close. In the final, we came very close to victory. On the last lap I gave everything, it was the best lap time in the final and in the end we were just barely behind (Jamie) Green. It’s nice to be standing on the podium here together with Timo (Scheider). I really enjoyed this.”

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Great disappointment for Audi at home round

Audi Press Release

• Starting accident deprives Audi of chance for victory at the Norisring
• Mattias Ekström without points
• Mike Rockenfeller as best Audi driver on position six

Ingolstadt/Nuremberg, July 1, 2012 – A starting accident deprived Audi of the chance for victory in the DTM home round at the Norisring. In front of 135,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix on position six was the best Audi driver.

After the extreme heat on both practice days, rainy weather and cooler temperatures on race day made for completely different conditions that caused a major commotion right in the first turn. Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline), who had started from the second row, was pushed into the car in front of him and forced to park his Red Bull Audi A5 DTM, which had been the quickest Audi throughout the weekend, with a heavily damaged front end as early as after the first lap.

Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg), as the driver of the second-best Audi in qualifying, became entangled in the starting collisions as well. The Italian was initially able to continue the race at the end of the field but had to retire after 41 laps due to a damaged radiator.

Mike Rockenfeller was one of the few Audi racers to make it through turn one unharmed but lost valuable time at the first pit stop due to a jammed wheel nut. “In addition, I was struggling a bit with the second set of tires,” said “Rocky”, who drove the second-fastest lap shortly before the end of the race and managed to advance to position six. “When you start from eleventh on the grid and finish in the points that’s definitely okay because the battle in the DTM is very tough this year. The eight points I scored were very important for me. My performance in the race wasn’t so bad and I was fortunate in the first turn.”

Rockenfeller was the only Audi driver to finish in the points at the Norisring. Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM) and Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM) barely missed them on positions eleven and twelve after fierce battles and a few incidents of body contact.

Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM) was running on a strong seventh place after the starting lap, drove the fourth-fastest lap but became entangled in several collisions on the slippery track and after a drive-through penalty occupied 15th place. Timo Scheider took the AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM car to the finish on position 16 despite the fact that his car had been heavily damaged in the starting collision and an early switch to slicks did not pay off. Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM) finished the race in 17th place.

“This was more than disappointing today. For us, the race was practically over as early as in turn one when ‘Eki’ was pushed onto the car in front of him and almost all of our vehicles became entangled in the collisions,” commented Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Mike Rockenfeller got through the first turn unharmed but lost a lot of time at his first pit stop. I’m particularly sorry for the whole squad that again worked extremely hard during the past days and weeks. But I’m sure that this work will be rewarded at the Nürburgring.”

The Nürburgring will see the next battle for points on August 19. In between, on July 15, the DTM’s eagerly awaited stadium race will be held at Munich’s Olympia Park that attracted 54,000 spectators on its premiere last year and at which Audi driver Edoardo Mortara clinched victory on one of the two days.

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Audi on second row of the grid at home round

Audi Press Release

• Two Audi A5 DTM cars in top ten at Norisring
• Mattias Ekström on grid position four after best times in Q2 and Q3
• After extreme heat, cooler weather predicted for the race

Ingolstadt/Nuremberg, June 30, 2012 – In extreme conditions, Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi A5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline secured grid position four for the DTM race at the Norisring (Sunday starting at 13:15 – local time – live on “Das Erste”).

As expected, the fight for the pole position on the 2.3-kilometer city street circuit between the Dutzendteich Lake and the easyCredit Stadium turned into a battle for thousandths of a second. While in the last free practice session in the morning the quickest twelve cars were within just two tenths of a second the time gaps were again minimal in qualifying in the afternoon with 35 degrees in the shade and track temperatures of more than 50 degrees.

“The conditions were definitely extreme today,” said Mattias Ekström, who from the first session on was consistently the quickest Audi driver. After best times in Q2 (48.822 seconds) and Q3 (48.861 seconds) the Swede was the last driver to go out on track in the crucial shoot-out for the pole position at which the Audi racer on used tires had to settle for position four (49.369 seconds).

“When you’re the fastest driver to go into Q4 of course it’s very disappointing to only be on grid position four in the end,” commented Ekström. “Q2 and Q3 went superbly. But in Q4 I simply didn’t have any grip in the tires. At least I’m still on the second row of the grid, so from there anything’s possible. There’s a really large crowd of Audi fans here. I owe them a fantastic fight in tomorrow’s race.”

The second-best Audi driver to start into the race will be Edoardo Mortara in his Playboy Audi A5 DTM. The Italian from Audi Sport Team Rosberg, who cheered Italy’s move in to the Euro 2012 finale at the Dutzendteich Lake on Thursday night, is on grid position ten.

After the checkered flag had dropped in Q2, Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Phoenix) was still bumped from tenth to eleventh place. Rockenfeller, who had finished the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours in third place, was only lacking 0.004 seconds to make it into the next qualifying session. Just a tiny bit slower were Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM) and Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM) on positions twelve and 13.

For Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM), Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM) and Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM), who were eliminated as early as in Q1 and will start from positions 20, 21 and 22, qualifying was a particular disappointment.

“After we’ve been consistently showing a solid team performance so far we unfortunately didn’t manage to do that today,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Qualifying proved to be as close as expected. Mattias (Ekström) made it into Q4 and thus showed that we’re on the right track with the further development of our A5 DTM – because he was consistently fast here throughout the weekend. If you want to be at the very front at the Norisring you’ve got to put all three sectors together perfectly. In Q2 and Q3, Mattias managed to do that, in Q4 he didn’t. On the whole, of course we’re not satisfied to have only two cars in the top ten. But the race will be extremely hard and long – and tomorrow the weather conditions should be completely different. At this point, anything’s still possible.”

For race day, the forecast predicts temperatures to drop by around ten degrees compared to the two practice days, plus rain showers. The race covers 83 laps (190.900 kilometers) – a record distance for the DTM at the Norisring. ARD will broadcast live from Nuremberg starting at 13:15, local time. Due to the European Track & Field Championships in Helsinki the race will already start at 13:30.

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Audi TV: Full highlights of DTM 2012 round 4 at Red Bull Ring

By Tarek Ramchani

Amazing weekend for Audi at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. First win for Edoardo Mortara, the young Italian started from pole position. First win for Team Rosberg in the DTM with Audi Sport. And the first win for the brand new Audi A5 DTM R17.

Enjoy the seventeen minutes full highlights from the Spielberg by Audi TV

More information:
Audi Sport official Facebook
Audi A5 DTM R17 on Facebook

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First triumph of the new Audi A5 DTM

Audi Press Release

Huge joy at Audi Sport Team Rosberg: After starting from the pole position, the Italian Edoardo Mortara won the fourth round of the 2012 DTM at the Red Bull Ring in Austria in front of 48,500 spectators (throughout the weekend). The new Audi A5 DTM thus celebrated its first victory. Mattias Ekström improved to second place in the standings. 

The Red Bull Ring is apparently a good track for premieres. After Audi Sport Team Phoenix had clinched its first DTM success at Spielberg last year, which laid the foundation for the subsequent title win, the time had come for Audi Sport Team Rosberg – the team founded by ex-Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg – to do so this year – in an extremely thrilling race. 

Despite a less than perfect start Edoardo Mortara in his Playboy Audi A5 DTM entered turn one as the race leader and controlled the pace at the front of the field throughout the entire 47 laps. After the second mandatory pit stop, Mortara had to fend off attacks by leader of the standings Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) and Martin Tomczyk (BMW) which involved a number of fierce duels. Mortara kept his cool in both attacks, though, managed to work out a small cushion again and ultimately crossed the finish line as the winner with a 1.068-second advantage. 

“That was a fantastic weekend,” beamed “Edo” after taking his first victory in what was only his 14th DTM race. “My first pole position yesterday and my first victory today – I’m simply super-happy. ‘Thank you’ to Audi Sport and ‘thank you’ to Team Rosberg – my guys worked incredibly hard in the past few weeks and months. This is the first reward today. I’m hoping for things to continue this way because I think we learned a lot here at Spielberg and made a major step forward. The battle with Gary (Paffett) was tough – but when you’re in contention for victory you won’t give in easily.”

Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline), too, had to fight hard for his fourth place which caused him to improve from third to second place in the standings. At the start, the Swede had taken the lead in his Red Bull Audi A5 DTM but then dropped all the way to fifth place in the commotion of the hectic first lap. He immediately managed to overtake Mercedes driver Jamie Green again, closed the gap to Gary Paffett in the final phase but could not pass him anymore. 

An impressive race and the fastest lap were driven by Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM). The two-time DTM Champion advanced from position 16 on the grid to sixth place despite having to run through the gravel trap once after being hit by Augusto Farfus. 

Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Phoenix) and Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM) thrilled the spectators with remarkable overtaking maneuvers as well. On positions seven and eight they caused a total of five A5 DTM cars to finish in the points.

A strong performance was also shown by Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM), who maintained her mid-field position before dropping to 15th place after a drive-through penalty imposed on her for having exceeded the speed limit in the pit lane.

Miguel Molina was forced to park his Red Bull Audi A5 DTM early after 17 laps after having been bumped several times. Even shorter was the race of Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM). The youngster was forced into the grass on the starting lap and had to retire.

“Winning such a thrilling race is particularly enjoyable,” commented Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “That was first-class advertisement for the DTM, for the Red Bull Ring and for Audi. Our A5 DTM was the measure of all things here. We were running in front in all the practice sessions, posted the fastest race lap and ‘Edo’ perfectly converted his first pole position into his first victory. He had to fight a hard battle for this success that was a very important one for all of us. In the past few weeks, the entire team intensively worked on making us return to the very top of the DTM. Congratulations also to Audi Sport Team Rosberg that has been waiting for this day for a long time and worked hard for it as well.”

 Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport):

That was a fantastic race. With a strong team performance and victory by Edo (Mortara) and the Rosberg squad we showed that we’re back in contention for victory. The pole position yesterday and victory today plus five Audi cars in the top ten underscore that Audi is back again. We’ll continue to work hard on maintaining this. This result was the best way of thanking the squad that has been working extremely hard.

Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A5 DTM), 1st place

After the best time in yesterday’s qualifying, my first victory today – that’s a very special moment for me. But for Audi, too, this is a great moment in the new DTM era. And for Team Rosberg it’s fantastic also. I can hardly find words for this wonderful situation. After a few difficult weekends I wouldn’t have necessarily expected to win. You always try and give your best and today we achieved the maximum.

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM), 4th place

I had a very good start in the race but then unfortunately lost a few places on lap one. In the end, I finished in fourth place. It’s definitely a bit disappointing that I didn’t finish on podium and manage to score big points. But twelve points from Spielberg and second place in the championship are good. The most important thing today, though, was that we were very competitive.

Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM), 6th place

All in all, this was a sensational race. I made up two places right at the start. The restart after the yellow period went well too. After a few laps I was running alongside Augusto Farfus when braking into turn 3. When he was behind me he touched the left rear corner of my car and heavily offset it in the process. That’s why I flew into the gravel trap and stopped just before hitting a tire wall. I managed to turn around and free myself again. But it was frustrating to run 200 meters behind the field. But our performance was sensational, the car was awesome. I’ve never had such a good car in a race this year. With a good strategy and two perfect pit stops we recovered ten places today. That was sensational under these circumstances!

Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM), 7th place

That was one of the craziest races I’ve ever experienced in the DTM. The first lap was very turbulent. Congratulations to ‘Edo’ and to Team Rosberg on winning. I also want to thank my team. We had a tough weekend. Considering this, I’m really happy with seventh place in the race. I had huge fun in the car; we battled and I was able to move forward with a good strategy. The points were important.

Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM), 8th place

A very hard race. I was behind Bruno Spengler when his car was damaged, which caused us to lose a lot of time. That was a shame. As a result, I also lost against Joey Hand and got stuck behind him. Due to our strategy we lost against Timo Scheider too. My car was fantastic, our pace was really good. But I couldn’t achieve more than eighth place. I think a place among the top five would have been possible.

Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM), 15th place

That was really thrilling and exciting – I was finally able to join the battle. This was really good for me and for my self-confidence. Unfortunately, the pit stops weren’t very good and I was too fast on exiting the pit lane for which I received a drive-through. But my race pace was right again and it was really good fun. Let’s continue this way!

Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM), retirement

I had a really good start and overtook a few rivals right on the first lap. After the safety car period I wanted to attack again but my car got damaged a bit. I tried to continue but the damage to my car was too severe. That’s why we decided to go to the pits in order to keep from causing even more damage.

Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM), retirement 

My start was very good, and so was turn one. But then there was a pretty heavy commotion. There were many cars running on the same line. I decided to run on the outside. Unfortunately, I was pushed into the grass and my race was over.

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): 

First of all, congratulations to Edoardo Mortara and Team Rosberg. Audi did a tremendous job today in every respect. The car was perfect today. Five Audi A5 DTM cars among the top eight is a fantastic team result. With Mattias Ekström we’re in second place of the championship. That’s a good starting base for the other races. And there are still a few rounds on the calendar. A successful day for Audi – let’s continue this way.

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): 

A brilliant weekend for Audi with the first victory of the year. A huge compliment and ‘well done’ to Edo (Mortara) and Team Rosberg. But the other Audi drivers were quick as well and there are five A5 DTM cars in the top ten. The race pace was good, so we managed to bring ‘Rocky’ forward from 13th to seventh place. We can all be happy about this overall result Audi has achieved. Now we’ll have a big party.

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): 

That was the longest hour of my life! ‘Thank you very much’ to everyone – to ‘Edo’ and the team and to the Audi squad. The work done over the past four weeks was incredible. I’m very happy about this victory.

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Audi is traveling to British DTM round with fondest memories

Mike Rockenfeller - Audi A5 DTM

Audi Press Release

• Round three of the 2012 DTM at Brands Hatch near London
• All Audi drivers like the shortest circuit of the year
• Extremely narrow gaps expected / one-two-three victory last year

DTM events are following each other in rapid succession. Only 14 days after the race at the Lausitzring the third round of the popular touring car racing series at Brands Hatch (Great Britain) on May 20 is on the calendar. After a third and a fifth place Audi’s DTM squad is leaving no stone unturned to be in contention for victory on the shortest track of the year.

Nobody at Audi Sport in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, and at the three Audi factory teams in Kempten, Meuspath and Neustadt had the chance to take a deep breath. Several gigabytes of data were read and analyzed, and the race cars dismantled and prepared again before they were sent on their way to England on Tuesday. In addition, the agenda included track tests aimed at making better use of the potential of the new Audi A5 DTM and the Hankook tires – particularly in race trim.

After Hockenheim and the Lausitzring, Brands Hatch is another race track on the calendar with very special characteristics. The so-called “Indy Circuit” is merely 1.929 kilometers long and has clearly more right-hand than left-hand turns. 98 laps have to be completed in the race, challenging the teams to make all the right strategic decisions. At no other circuit proper timing of the two mandatory pit stops is as important as it is at Brands Hatch. 

Audi won the British DTM round in 2006, 2008 and 2011, and even took the entire podium last year. All eight Audi drivers have fond memories of the track and are looking forward to the race – spearheaded by Mattias Ekström, who won the DTM’s debut race at Brands Hatch in 2006 and shielded Martin Tomczyk to the rear on Tomczyk’s important victory on the way toward the champion’s title.  

Timo Scheider’s personal Brands Hatch track record reflects a victory (2008) and a second place as well. Mike Rockenfeller clinched his first pole position in the DTM at Brands Hatch last year, and Edoardo Mortara his first podium. In 2010, Miguel Molina achieved the best result in his DTM debut season at Brands Hatch. And Filipe Albuquerque, Rahel Frey and Adrien Tambay like the circuit in the English county of Kent too.

Mattias Ekström is traveling to the United Kingdom as the Audi driver with the highest points score. The Swede was also responsible for the first pole position and first podium of the Audi A5 DTM on its debut at Hockenheim in late April. At the Lausitzring he finished in fifth place after having started from position eight on the grid. 

As early as on Saturday the event at Brands Hatch will be a special thriller, as merely two hours separate free practice and qualifying this time. Plus the time gaps on track should be minimal. Experts even expect to see the tightest field in DTM history. 

ARD will broadcast the qualifying session on Saturday (May 19) live starting at 13:35 on “Das Erste” and the race on Sunday (May 20) as usual at 13:45. Due to the live TV broadcast to Germany the race start has been moved forward to 13:00, local time (14:00 CEST). 1.28 million ARD viewers watched the Hockenheim season opener live and 1.66 million the race at the Lausitzring.

Quotes by the officials

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “Our aim is to get back – preferably as early as at Brands Hatch – to where we were in all the years, which is being in contention for victory. That’s why between the Lausitzring and Brands Hatch we’ve got two intensive weeks of hard work that we’re making optimum use of. Clearly, at Brands Hatch, due to the short track, the field will be even closer together than at the first two races.” 

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “After three consecutive weekends we finally had the chance to go home and to carefully analyze the whole situation. We made a step in the race at the Lausitzring – and we want to continue this way at Brands Hatch. Team performance was very good at the first two races, the squad made no mistakes. That’s a basis to build on. We continue to be motivated and will try everything we can to take Audi back to the very front again.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “Last year we won as a team at Brands Hatch and ‘Rocky’ clinched pole. We’ve definitely got the clear aim of continuing where we left off in in 2011. Brands Hatch is a special track. 98 laps – that means our task will be to never hit traffic in the race. But before anything else we’ve got to try to be at the very front of the grid.” 

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “I’ve got fond memories of last year when Edo (Mortara) was on podium. And that’s exactly where we want to be again. We’re working hard to achieve this. We’ve now had the chance to practice pit stops. Before the season we couldn’t do that because we had neither the material nor the time for practicing. We’ll try and make further improvements and are looking ahead.”

Brands Hatch - Indy

Track info

Track length: 1.929 km

Race distance: 98 laps = 189.042 km

DTM track record in qualifying: Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-Benz), 41.278s = 168.235 km/h (Sep 04, 2010)

DTM track record in the race: Miguel Molina (Audi), 41.896s = 165.753 km/h (Sep 05, 2010)

Pole position 2011: Mike Rockenfeller (Audi), 42.090s = 164,989 km/h

Fastest lap 2011: Martin Tomczyk (Audi), 49.805s = 139,432 km/h

Turnout 2011: 21,000

TV live rating 2011: 1.24 million/9.8 % market share (source: ARD)

Mattias Ekstrom - Audi A5 DTM

Mattias Ekström about Brands Hatch: “A classic English race track. It’s narrow and bumpy in some places. You can’t afford to make any mistakes because there are hardly any run-off areas. Personally, I’ve had good and bad experiences there. Like the Norisring, Brands Hatch has only a few turns. But they are very special, particularly turn one. The circuit – which, by the way, is the shortest one on the DTM calendar – offers only few opportunities for overtaking. Although there’s a lot of talk about the typical English weather we’ve only had rain there once with the DTM. Brands Hatch normally has good grip but the organizers always made a few minor modifications in recent years so that we often encountered some small surprises in the first practice session.” 

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Video: Audi TV full highlights of DTM 2012 round 2 at Lausitzring

By Tarek Ramchani

Round 2 of the DTM at the Lausitzring. A difficult race for the Audi squad, with the best ranked A5 R17 driver Mattias Ekstrom in fifth place. In sixth was his team mate at Abt Sportsline Timo Scheider.

Enjoy the fifteen minutes full highlights from the EuroSpeedway by Audi TV

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DTM: Important points for Audi at the Lausitzring

Audi Press Release

• Mattias Ekström in fifth place is best Audi driver
• Timo Scheider advances from grid position twelve to sixth place
• Four Audi A5 DTM cars in the points

Mattias Ekström and Timo Scheider occupied positions five and six for Audi thus scoring important points in the DTM race at the Lausitzring in front of 72,000 spectators (throughout the weekend). In total, four Audi A5 DTM cars finished in the top ten.

In extremely low temperatures the two drivers from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline pushed forward from grid positions eight (Ekström) and twelve (Scheider) – also assisted by the quickest pit stops in the entire field and consistently good lap times. The fast lap by Mattias Ekström was merely 101 thousandths slower than that of winner Bruno Spengler (BMW). 

Ekström in the Red Bull Audi A5 DTM improved by one position right at the start, thanks to a better first pit stop moved past Martin Tomczyk in the BMW and ultimately overtook Edoardo Mortara as well. In the final phase, Ekström on position five was able to drive similar times as the front runners. “We didn’t have the pace today to win the race but we again learned a lot,” said the Swede after crossing the finish line. “This is the most important thing. In addition, I scored more valuable points.” Ekström, with 25 points after two rounds, has an equal score as Bruno Spengler, who is ranking third in the standings.    

Timo Scheider drove a strong race as well. After starting from P12 on the grid, the two-time DTM Champion in his AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM advanced to ninth place as early as on lap one. With a long first stint he improved to sixth place. After the second pit stop, Scheider fought a brief duel with Mattias Ekström for fifth place. Afterward, he concentrated on bringing the eight points for sixth place home.

With Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A5 DTM) and Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM) taking eighth and ninth place, the two drivers of Audi Sport Team Rosberg scored points as well. Albuquerque pushed forward into the top ten after starting from position eleven on the grid. After a good start, Mortara was running in fourth place at first but then complained about a lack of grip and lost four positions. 

Audi Sport Team Phoenix that celebrated victory at the Lausitzring last year was unable to score any points. Mike Rockenfeller started from the second row in his Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM but hit the outside curbs hard in turn one and afterwards – also due to a problem during the second pit stop – dropped all the way to position 13. His team-mate Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM) lost valuable time in the pits too and finished the race in 15th place. 

After his early retirement that was no fault of his own at Hockenheim, Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM) finished his second DTM race on position 18 after many duels. Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM) drove consistently fast lap times and on position 20 clearly won the ladies’ duel against her rival Susie Wolff. 

The assessment by Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: “Obviously, we can’t be satisfied with the result because we again failed to get the tires on our cars to work properly in the race. Mattias (Ekström) and Timo (Scheider) made the best of their less than optimal grid positions today and improved by several places – and with very good lap times in some of the phases. Still, we’ve got to gain a better understanding of our A5 and fully exploit the potential. We’re going to work hard on this. Congratulations to BMW! I’ve always said that they’ll be competitive in the DTM right from the outset.”

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Mike Rockenfeller best Audi driver in DTM qualifying at Lausitzring

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi dominated this morning’s second DTM free practice session. A storming 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 for the A5 R17 cars. For qualifying, the Audi drivers had targeted pole position and the remaining top spots for the starting grid. Qualifying consisted of very close times and in the end Mike Rockenfeller with his #9 A5 DTM from Audi Sport Team Phoenix qualified in fourth. Rocky was the only Audi driver who made it to Q4 for the top four drivers. Earlier this morning Rocky had lead the second free practice session. In fifth place during qualifying was Italian Edoardo Mortara from Audi Sport Team Rosberg. Three other Audi drivers were able to enter the top 10. Mattias Ekström from Audi Sport Team Abt qualified in eighth. The second Phoenix A5 in hands of Miguel Molina was ninth. In tenth position was the rookie Frencheman Adrien Tambay.

Pole position went to BMW's Bruno Spengler followed by another M3 of Augusto Farfus. The race winner at Hockenheim, Gary Paffet with his AMG C Class ended in third. However Audi was the only brand placing five cars in the top ten. With the R17 cars showing a great pace in all the free practice and qualifying sessions, we are expecting a great race for the Audi drivers and great battles with the cars from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Full qualifying results

More informations:
DTM official website
Audi Sport official Facebook

#21 Audi A5 DTM - Edoardo Mortara

#3 Audi A5 DTM - Mattias Ekstrom

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DTM at Lausitz: Audi is arriving as title defender and last year’s race winner

Audi Press Release

English week in the DTM: Only seven days after the brilliant season opener at the Hockenheimring the most popular international touring car series is visiting the Lausitzring, 130 kilometers south of Berlin. Audi is traveling to East Germany as the title defender and last year’s winner.

The beginning of the new DTM era last weekend sparked the desire for more. The prestige competition between the three German premium manufacturers Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz with their spectacular coupes is promising to become a real hit. 142,000 spectators witnessed the premiere at the Hockenheimring, 1.28 million watched the live ARD broadcast which offered variety galore: fierce duels, collisions and three brands battling each other on an equal footing.

Title defender Audi with the new A5 DTM clinched the first pole position in the new DTM era and a podium result on race day with the two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström. The Swede calls the Lausitzring one of the tracks he is most familiar with and on which he has won as many as two DTM races: in 2004, the debut year of the A4 DTM, and a year later after a memorable duel with Hockenheim winner Gary Paffett. 

Audi is not only arriving as the title defender at Lausitz but also as last year’s winner. In 2011, Martin Tomczyk and Timo Scheider gave the brand with the four rings a one-two victory at the Lausitzring. For Tomczyk, this marked an important step toward the champion’s title. The squad led by Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich is aiming to continue this success on the first weekend in May.

After the Hockenheim season opener, the teams have only a short time to prepare the cars for the race at the Lausitzring. A large part of the squad is traveling from Hockenheim directly to Lausitz on Tuesday. The first free practice session on Friday will mainly be about working out an optimal set-up based on the wealth of data gathered at Hockenheim for the race on Sunday that starts at 2 p.m. – presumably in front of a similarly impressive crowd as last Sunday. 

As usual, ARD will broadcast the qualifying session and the race live on “Das Erste.” Tickets for all DTM races are available at the Audi Ticket Shop on the internet at www.audi.de/dtm. 

Quotes by the officials

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “The Lausitzring has completely different characteristics than the Hockenheimring, so the cards will be reshuffled. We’ve got to find out now why we weren’t able to put our strong qualifying performance on track in the race at Hockenheim. We’re going to work on that in the next few days in order to further improve our competitiveness at the Lausitzring on Sunday.”

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “The race at the Lausitzring is a very special one for us, as we’ve only got three days for preparing the cars. To top it off, we were the victims of several attacks at Hockenheim and have now got a lot of repair work to do. But the whole squad is highly motivated. We’re traveling to the next race as the best Audi team and with Mattias ranking in third place of the standings. We’re going to do everything we can to strike back as quickly as possible.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “There’s just enough time to take one deep breath, analyze performance and check the cars from A to Z. Ever since our victory last year, the Lausitzring has been one of our favorite tracks. Now we’re going to attack with Rocky (Mike Rockenfeller) and Miguel (Molina).”

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “We were running well at Hockenheim in practice, qualifying and in the race but had some problems with our pit stops. We identified these issues and are going to work on them during the short time that’s left before the next race. That’s why I’m confident that we’ll be able to continue our past successes there.”

Facts and quotes by the Audi drivers

Filipe Albuquerque (26/P), TV Movie Audi A5 DTM #22 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg)

- Scored his first DTM point last year at Lausitz

- Pushed forward into the points at Hockenheim from grid position 14

“I really like the Lausitzring. I handle the track well and scored my first points there. At Hockenheim, the whole squad and I learned a lot about our new Audi A5 DTM. I’m optimistic for the next race and want to finish in the points again. At Hockenheim, we saw that we’ve got the potential for top positions.”

Mattias Ekström (33/S), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #3 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)

- Has won twice before at the Lausitzring 

- Clinched the first pole position and the first podium result of the new Audi A5 DTM at Hockenheim

“There’s no other race track in Germany that I’ve spent more time at than at the Lausitzring. So, I know the circuit inside and out. I have a lot of respect for the competition and know that we need to improve in the race. So, let’s grab the bull by the horns and try and change tack.” 

Rahel Frey (26/CH), E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM #17 (Audi Sport Team Abt)

- Celebrated her debut with Audi Sport Team Abt at Hockenheim 

- Lost 13th place shortly before race end due to spinning

“The Lausitzring is not exactly regarded as an Audi track. So, I’m particularly motivated to change this.” 

Miguel Molina (23/E), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #10 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)

- Scored two points at Hockenheim in his first race for Audi Sport Team Phoenix 

- Pushed forward to ninth place after starting from P17 at Hockenheim

“In the past few years we were often struggling at the Lausitzring but we’re traveling there with confidence nonetheless. We’re going to work hard on further improving the good race pace we showed after a fair to middling qualifying session at Hockenheim and to further improve our understanding of the car.” 

Edoardo Mortara (25/I/F), Playboy Audi A5 DTM #21 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg)

- Started from the second row of the grid on the Audi A5 DTM’s debut

- Lost the chance for a top-five result at Hockenheim due to a drive-through penalty

“At Hockenheim, we showed that we’re among the front runners in the field but were slowed by a few problems. We’re going to resolve these before the next race and I’m very optimistic that we’ll be in contention again in the top five at Lausitz.”

Mike Rockenfeller (28/D), Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM #9 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)

- Had to skip the race at the Lausitzring in 2011

- Barely missed Q4 at Hockenheim

“In view of this short break it’s important that my car came out of Hockenheim undamaged. So, we can concentrate on analyzing all the data and on perfectly preparing ourselves. Last year, I was forced to skip Lausitz due to my Le Mans accident. Now I want to return successfully.”

Timo Scheider (33/D), AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM #4 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)

- Was struck by major misfortune at the Hockenheim season opener

- Advanced from ninth to second place at Lausitz in 2011

“In 2011, I had a thrilling weekend at the Lausitzring. I only started from P9 on the grid but had a fantastic set-up in the car and advanced to second place with it. So, a podium finish is again my goal this year. But we know that this’ll be hard work.”

Adrien Tambay (F/21), Audi ultra A5 DTM #18 (Audi Sport Team Abt) 

- Made his DTM debut at Hockenheim under the eyes of his father Patrick Tambay

- At the age of 21, is the youngest Audi DTM driver

“I’m happy to be sitting in the car again as early as next week since I didn’t even have the chance to work up a sweat at Hockenheim due to my early retirement. We know what we’ve got to work on to improve our speed. And that’s what we’re going to do.” 

Track info

Track length: 3.478 km
Race distance: 52 laps = 180.856 km
DTM track record in qualifying: Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-Benz), 1m 17.628s = 161.292 km/h (May 17, 2008)
DTM track record in the race: Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-Benz), 1m 18.938s = 158.616 km/h (May 18, 2008)
Pole position 2011: Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz), 1m 19.119s = 158.253 km/h
Fastest lap 2011: Timo Scheider (Audi), 1m 20.160s = 155.198 km/h
Turnout 2011: 63,000 (throughout the weekend)
TV live rating 2011: 1.98 million, 12.5 % market share (source: ARD)

Timo Scheider about the Lausitzring: “On this track you need a vehicle with good technical and aerodynamic functionality because the Lausitzring has fast and slow corners. Turn 1 offers particularly good opportunities for overtaking. You’ve got to take advantage of the slipstream after the long straight. Another opportunity exists in turn 5 as you’re entering the short circuit version. The track there is wide and you have a lot of room. The smooth tarmac that offers only little grip is typical for the Lausitzring. I like this modern facility. Especially when you leave the pits for the first time the setting with the high stands is very impressive. The stands by the way are perfect for the fans too, as the spectators practically have a view of the entire circuit.”

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