Audi intends to keep their pace

The impressive one-two at Hockenheim demonstrates that the Audi Sport engineers have done a good job over the winter: The further developed Audi A4 DTM (project name: R13) is the car to beat at the beginning of the 2007 DTM season.

The DTM now heads to the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben – a circuit renowned for suiting the Audi A4 DTM over the last few years – only fourteen days after the spectacular opening race. An A4 has claimed pole-position on every outing so far on the track near Magdeburg. Audi won in 2004 and 2006 at Oschersleben. An Audi driver also topped the time sheets on all four days of the pre-season tests held at the circuit, which has been slightly modified over the winter.

A perfect platform then for championship leader Mattias Ekström and second-placed Martin Tomczyk to increase the overall lead even though the 2007 A4 DTM – as stipulated by the regulations – must start at Oschersleben with 14 kilograms more weight than the new C-Class Mercedes.

A new car was built at Audi Sport in Ingolstadt for Tom Kristensen following the accident at Hockenheim. The Dane, who has started from the front row every time at Oschersleben and who has won two of the previous three DTM races there, hopes to have fully recovered from the effects of the accident before the race weekend.

Audi Sport Team Phoenix was able to repair Alexandre Prémat’s A4 DTM after the accident after the space-frame remained completely intact in the frontal impact. However, the Frenchman will not be able to race due to a cracked lumbar vertebra. Sportscar driver Marco Werner (41) deputises for him at Oschersleben.

The fight for grid positions at Oschersleben starts on Saturday (5 May) at 1:30 p.m. The race starts at 2:03 p.m. on Sunday (6 May).