Five minutes with Audi’s Mattias Ekström
With the DTM resuming next weekend at the Norisring after a three week break, TouringCarTimes decided to catch up with Mattias Ekström ahead of what is Audi’s home race.
Despite having a mixed season so far, the 2004 and 2007 DTM champion was happy to talk about his difficult start to 2013, life with the Audi RS5 and why despite not having won a race since 2011, he is not planning on going anywhere soon…
1. TouringCarTimes: At the Hockenheim season opener, you seemed positive about the improvements that the team had made to the RS5 over the winter. Four races in, are you still pleased with the car?
Mattias Ekström: We have two pole positions, one race victory and an Audi driver leading the championship. That clearly shows that our car can win races and fight for the title.
2. TcT: Your last DTM victory came at Valencia in 2011. Has the absence of victories with the RS5 affected your motivation going into a race weekend?
ME: Yes, but not in the way you may think of. My motivation is rising with every weekend I have to travel home without a trophy in my luggage.
3. TcT: Do you feel that Abt is no longer the quickest Audi team, and that accolade can now go to Phoenix? If so, why do you think this has happened?
ME: I’ve been racing with the Abt team since I started my DTM career in 2001 and they have won several titles and lots of races since then, so I trust the guys in good times and in bad times. The competition is high in DTM, even between the Audi teams, but I like that and so does Abt.
4. TcT: At the Lausitzring, you qualified 18th and finished eighth. Despite your recovery drive, the team appears to be regularly struggling in qualifying. What has caused these problems, and do you believe they are now solved for the rest of the season?
ME: There are no single reasons for qualifying 18th or worse. The fact is, is that in the 2013 DTM you will only be at the front if everything goes perfectly one hundred percent. With a medium weekend some years ago you still would have been in the points. This year you are nowhere. That’s what racing in DTM is about.
5. TcT: With regard to the wheel banging and finger incident at the Lausitzring with Bruno Spengler, do you feel that swearing in high profile sports is out of place, or it has a place as it shows emotion?
ME: Come on, racing is emotion! Let it be banging with the cars a little bit or finding some unusual words or showing fingers – that is alright with me, I can take it. And concerning the Lausitzring, my race ends with the checkered flag. If Bruno thinks the last lap is already a lap of honour, then its not my problem…
6. TcT: Are you looking forward to the 24 Hours of Spa at the end of July? Do you enjoy endurance racing as much as say, Mike Rockenfeller, and would a switch to a GT series such as Blancpain appeal to you later in your career?
ME: I enjoy all sorts of racing as you may know. I had a good time in Spa two years ago when I won the race together with Timo. The track is fantastic and the R8 LMS is very nice to drive, so I’m looking forward to the race very much. But having said this, the DTM will still be my main target in the future.
7. TcT: How much would a victory around the Norisring mean to you on a personal level, but also as an Audi driver? Does the fact that it’s Audi’s home race make everyone even more motivated?
ME: If you catch me at certain moments I would give a championship for a win at the Norisring. Does that say enough?
8.TcT: Sum up your season so far in five words.
ME: Go hard or go home.
