Photo: Audi Media Info

Audi arrives to Lausitzring as the standings’ leader

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Audi Sport travels to the Lausitzring, host of the second race of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season, as leader of all three points’ tables. The Ingolstadt manufacturer hopes to continue building from the momentum gained in Hockenheim.

Team Rosberg and Edoardo Mortara top their respective classifications, after a successful season opener at Hockenheim, where Audi prevailed with both pole positions and race victories, with Jamie Green and Mattias Ekström visiting the top step of the podium.

The target is to continue building on this success, as the season faces its first evening race on Saturday. However, Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi, is weary of placing excessive expectations on this weekend: “We had a very good opening DTM weekend and we want to again fight for top places at the Lausitzring. However, the field is incredibly close and we do not underestimate our competitors. Mercedes have traditionally been strong at the Lausitzring. BMW will try to come back. And we have to add between five and ten kilograms of performance weights to our cars following the two victories at Hockenheim.”

The new race weekend format, hailed by drivers at Hockenheim because of the increase of on track time, will again play a key part on Audi’s strategy. Gass knows only too well the close difference between success and failure in the DTM: “With the new format of two races per weekend and an extremely tight schedule for everyone, this is the case even more than in the past. You could see that at Hockenheim with Jamie Green: On Saturday, he won and on Sunday he finished without points. With Mattias Ekström, it was exactly the other way around.”

Drivers’ table leader Edoardo Mortara had a difficult weekend at the Lausitzring last year, and the Audi Team Abt driver is hoping his special fairytale will continue at the German track: “For the first time in my career, I’m at the very top, that does make me feel proud.””

One of the off track novelties for Lausitzring will be Nico Müller’s new hairstyle, due to his recent victory at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS. The young Swiss driver believes this will give him some ‘tailwind’ this weekend.

The second race of the season takes place this weekend at the Lausitzring.