Martin Tomczyk ready for 2007

Martin Tomczyk may be really happy with his 2006 DTM season. His record looks impressive: at Barcelona, the Audi driver secured his maiden DTM win and over the course of the season he clinched another three podium finishes while he failed to score points only once, in the ten rounds. In the end, it was the German’s best DTM season so far and he finished fourth in the Championship.

With his maiden DTM win, Tomczyk made personal DTM history – after all, it took him nearly six years to cross the line of a DTM race as the winner. A triumph he celebrated in the eighth round of the season, at Barcelona. “At the end of the day, it was just the icing on the cake that I could silence all my pundits, with this success,” reveals Tomczyk. “First of all, I wanted to prove myself that I’ve got what it needs to make it.”

According to the 25-year old, his team, Audi Sport Team Abt, was the key factor on the way to his successful season. “Apart from my win, the sensational cooperation within our team represented the true highlight of the season,” he underlines. “And in the closing stages of the season, we even succeeded in improving constantly. I had a perfect team in 2004; in 2005, things didn’t run quite that smoothly but this year, the cooperation was just fantastic.”

This was one of the reasons why Tomczyk had no problems whatsoever when it came to coping with minor set-backs. In the race at Norisring, he failed to score points, but the Audi driver took it easy: “As I see it, there were no lows – it was a consistently positive season. Okay: at the Norisring I had to retire due to a brake failure, but things like that just happen in motor racing. No problem.”

Now, Tomczyk looks forward to some calm Christmas days. Just as his rivals, he uses his days off to relieve the stress of the season and to relax, with his family representing a vital factor while doing so. “Fortunately, all my grandparents are still alive,” says Tomczyk, “And we are going to spend the Christmas days with the entire family.”

Still: in spite of the relaxation he needs and has deserved, a racing driver mustn’t neglect his preparations for the coming season. Tomczyk has already set his focus on next year and is very confident when it comes to the 2007 season: “When it comes to my preparations, the sport comes to the fore,” he explains. “Whatever I can acquire in the off-season will ensure that I’m fit as a fiddle when the new season will be kicked off.”