DTM Lausitzring preview: the BMW and Audi battle heats up

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters enters the final leg of the 2014 campaign as it heads to Lausitzring, in Germany, for the eighth round of the season. Marco Wittmann leads the standings with a strong 64-point gap over Audi drivers Mattias Ekstrom and Edoardo Mortara, whilst the current champion, Mike Rockenfeller, lies fourth, 67 points adrift of the young BMW driver.

Back in 2013, Mercedes dominated the race, with Christian Vietoris starting from the pole position to eventually finish in third place, in a race won by Gary Paffett, with Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller taking the chequered flag in second position, and leaping to the lead of the points table.

A year later, the story is very different, with Marco Wittmann having dominated the season so far, with four victories in seven races. Mercedes had a difficult start of the year, and have struggled for pace, still managing to achieve two wins. Audi has been on the battle since the beginning of the year, but are still to visit the top spot of the podium.

As Wittmann could clinch the title by just finishing in fourth position, with two races remaining in the calendar, the focus now turns to the manufacturers’ title, with BMW leading the standings with 302 points, but with Audi just 18 points adrift.

The Ingolstadt manufacturer has vowed to pull a strong team effort for this round, in the hope of reducing the gap. Dieter Gass, Head of DTM for Audi, is clear: “We are set on winning the first race for Audi this season and are fully focused on the manufacturers’ classification.”

With a strong lead in all three tables, BMW’s Motorsport Director, Jens Marquardt, has a different approach to the race: “Lausitzring was where we claimed our first victory since our return to the series back in 2012, so it’s a special place for us. We expect Marco to win the title in this round, even though the performance weight won’t make it easy for our drivers.”

Wittmann, however, remains focused. The 24-year-old, in his only second season in the DTM, has a strong lead on the drivers’ points table, but refuses to speak about the title: “I can hardly wait to race at the Lausitzring. I think our current package should allow us to play a major role in the race. Despite carrying an extra ten kilograms of performance weight in the car this year, I remain confident. I will stick to my principles and take each race at a time.”

Lausitzring, located 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Berlin, is the circuit with most variants in the DTM calendar, together with Moscow. The race will take place on the 3,478m layout, which presents 12 corners and runs anticlockwise. The main straight, where the cars reached speeds of 240 km/h last year, leading to the first corner, promises to see a lot of overtaking action.

Timetable

Saturday, 13^th September

09:20 – Free Practice 1
12:15 – Free Practice 2
16:45 – Qualifying Session

Sunday, 14^th September

13:33 – Race (52 laps)