Audi fastest at first Mugello test
Audi dominated proceedings in the first test of the DTM at Mugello. At the 5.245 kilometres long circuit in Tuscany, Martin Tomczyk set the fastest lap time of 1:45.198 minutes. With his current-spec Audi A4 DTM, the driver from Rosenheim pipped Tom Kristensen by 0.351 seconds. The two were followed by fellow-Audi drivers, Mattias Ekström, Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller.
Fastest Mercedes-Benz driver was Gary Paffett with the 2006-spec AMG Mercedes C-Class. Jamie Green was the best-placed driver with a current C-Class and also the last driver to lap within one second of Tomczyk’s time. The first test at the Circuito del Mugello took place in bright sunshine and with an air temperature of around 30 degrees. Temperatures are expected to rise even further on Saturday and Sunday.
Markus Winkelhock, who will be in the cockpit previously occupied by Adam Carroll at the Futurecom TME team for the remainder of the season, drove the most laps on Friday morning. With the 2005-spec Audi A4 DTM, the German covered a total distance of 131.125 kilometres. On his fastest lap, timed at 1:46.910 minutes, Winkelhock was 1.712 seconds slower than Tomczyk out in front and was classified 14th. Due to a broken suspension on his Audi A4 DTM, Alexandre Prémat didn’t cover a timed lap in the first test.
The highest top speed at the end of the main straight was achieved by Alexandros Margaritis (17th place) and Bernd Schneider (13th place), both at 265 kph. This allows for some conclusions concerning the set-up. In the fast corners of the undulating circuit north of Florence, one needs downforce. Admittedly, this costs top speed, but allows for higher cornering speeds, and this seems to be a decisive factor during the return of the DTM to Mugello.
