By Tarek Ramchani
"In defense of Timo Sheider the man", by reading the topic's title you may think that I am about to defend what happened in Austria, that will not be the case here.
I will not talk about what happened in the second DTM race at the Red Bull Ring. The video is available so you can watch it and judge the facts by yourself. I am not going to defend Timo Scheider's move in anyway or try to justify it.
What happened in Spielberg last weekend was not beautiful and nobody liked it. DTM fans are absolutely right to be annoyed and frustrated. It is their right to not be happy and criticize and protest. I am a motorsport fan too and I never hesitate to criticize things when they go wrong. But the point is there are limits when it comes to commenting and protesting.
Many of the comments were constructive. Yes these people were protesting - and again that's their right - but they were respectful.
Unfortunately that was not the case of many others. You may have noticed it, some of the comments on social medias are gone too far. Since Sunday Timo Scheider is being insulted (the same for Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich) with all the bad words and this is unacceptable.
You may not like Audi as a brand and you may not like Timo Scheider as a driver, that's fine. But you don't have the right to insult Timo Scheider the man.
I always thought - and still thinking - that motorsport has the best fans around. Yes they are strong rivalries between the drivers, the brands - and the fans - in DTM and other championships but at the end of the day it's all about respect.
Photo credit: Audi Media
