Q & A with Audi-man Mattias Ekström

With seven of ten rounds contested, the 2004 DTM Champion, Mattias Ekström, holds the lead in the 2007 Drivers’ Championship. Following his win in the season opener, the Swede delivered in consistent style and secured four consecutive podium finishes, in the latest four rounds. In the Q&A with www.dtm.com, the Audi works driver looks back on the season so far and talks about the three rounds still to be contested.

Mattias, are you happy with the course of the season so far?
The season kick-off at Hockenheim was just perfect. We had a very good car and I could win the race. The following two rounds, however, didn’t run too well. At Oschersleben, I had a lot of bad luck and received a drive-thru penalty for an accidental jump start. And at the EuroSpeedway, we weren’t as quick as we had hoped to be. The following races went rather well and I made it to the podium at Brands Hatch, the Norisring, Mugello and Zandvoort.

You hold an eight-point lead over your team-mate, Martin Tomczyk, and the best Mercedes driver, Bruno Spengler, is even twelve points behind. Do you regard this lead as a comfortable one?
In DTM, eight or twelve points don’t represent a lead you can rest on. There still are 30 points to be scored, in the final three rounds and in DTM, you never may feel safe. Hence, I’ll keep on giving my very best and pushing as hard as I can.

Your team-mate also has got a good chance of securing the title, this year. How will the internal decision be made?
There won’t be a decision. We both are in promising positions and will battle hard to secure the title for Audi. I know Martin inside out and use to know rather exactly what he is thinking. When he is on top I’m happy for him and he is doing the same when I prevail. I would be happy, no matter if he or I should win the title.

Does this situation even represent an additional motivation, at the end of the day?
Absolutely. Martin and I use to push one another – and the performances of Timo, Tom and the drivers of the older-spec cars also add to my motivation. It goes without saying that we also jointly analyse the data to find out where we can improve. In the end, everybody wants to achieve the best possible result for Audi.”

Following the race at Zandvoort, the opinions regarding the course of the race were extremely different. What’s your point of view of the race?
My start was okay and I could take the lead. Following my first stop I lost some time in the traffic, hence, we opted for pitting for the second time just a short time later. Afterwards, there wasn’t traffic ahead of me and I could go my own pace until I closed in on Mika. In the closing stages, I could pass him and Bruno – two good manoeuvres. Then, I quickly could close in on Alexandre, Martin and Timo, partly because Martin was hampered by tyre problems. Short before the race was over, Timo let me pass and from my point of view, this was okay.

The finish wasn’t without controversy…
Our competitors would have done the same. At the beginning of a season, every driver starts from scratch and everybody goes flat out. Over the course of the season, you see the leader board taking shape. At the end of the day, DTM is a team sport. When there are two drivers of a brand in a promising in the battle for the title, I absolutely support the approach to not steal the points from one another.

There also were some complaints about rude driving. What’s your point of view?
My race was fair. I can’t understand the complaints of some of the drivers. In touring car racing, touching one another is part of the sport. And just those drivers who are complaining now don’t hesitate to opt for the same style of driving when they think it’s appropriate. This shouldn’t be overrated. Everybody in DTM is fighting very hard to win races. And for me, this means that you also have to be fair when you lose.”

There were boos during the presentation ceremony – did you feel addressed by these boos?
Nearly all the spectators sitting opposite to the podium were Mercedes supporters, hence, this reaction was absolutely normal. For them, a Mercedes driver on the podium would have been the only reason to cheer. I can well remember the 2004 season when Martin and I finished first and second. Then, the crowds also remained quiet until Albers – who had finished third – entered the podium. These emotions are absolutely normal, in motor racing and it’s fine for me. It’s just the same in football or other sports: you just don’t cheer for your opponents.

A question regarding the Mugello round: could you have won? Or didn’t you even aim to do so, because of the placement weight?
Of course I would have loved to win. But when following Mika, I realised that there was a lot of dirt off the racing line, at the only spot where I could have passed him. Hence, I opted for staying behind him and waiting for a mistake or a degrading performance of his tyres. But neither the one nor the other happened. Therefore, I settled for scoring the eight points for my runner-up finish. I’m beyond the age when I would have taken a risk to battle it out with the likes of Mika.

Audi dominated the latest two rounds, at Mugello and Zandvoort. What were the crucial factors for this dominance?
The Mugello round was the first we could contest with a weight lower than the one of the 2007-spec C-Class. That’s an important factor. Furthermore, the circuits at Mugello and Zandvoort feature numerous fast corners suiting our Audi well.

And what about the forthcoming round at the Nürburgring? Does this track also suit the Audi A4 DTM?
I think the racing will be much closer, at the Nürburgring and that there won’t be five Audis on the top-five positions of the starting grid. Still, we will give our very best to also deliver in fine style, there.

And what’s your personal opinion regarding the Eifel circuit?
I like the Nürburgring as I used to secure good results, there. It’s a very flowing track and the racing always have been interesting. Furthermore, a lot of motor racing enthusiasts from Scandinavia – and Sweden in particular – use to attend the Nürburgring round as it also offers the chance of doing some laps on the Nordschleife. Hence, the atmosphere always is great and represents an additional motivation, for me.

The ninth round will again be held at Barcelona. What kind if memories do you have of the Spanish circuit?
Unfortunately, the final two corners of Barcelona’s track have been revamped. They now are clearly slower than last year – that won’t help us. Still, there are some sections suiting our car rather well. Last year, we didn’t deliver too bad, at Barcelona – and Martin secured his maiden DTM win, there.

Before the season will be continued, we will have to cope with a four-week summer break. How are you going to spend these weeks?
I’m going to travel home to Lake Constance, for a week, and then, Tina and I will spend a week in Sweden. Of course, I also will work out to keep fit for the final three rounds of the season.

Is it difficult to keep your inner tension high over such a long period of time?
I pressed the button as early as on the Monday after the race. When the race is over, my tension usually is gone very quickly. Only in the week prior to the following race, I switch back to the ‘Racing Driver Mode’ to fully focus on the tasks ahead.

The final question: In consideration of the current championship situation, would you put your money on Mattias Ekström as 2007 DTM Champion?
I would put some money on me. After all, I am the championship leader. It’s true, there still are 30 points to be scored but at the moment, things look quite promising for me, don’t they?