All Audi-drivers quotes from Mugello

Despite strong form in qualifying at Mugello, the best placed Audi-driver in the race was Tom Kristensen in third behind the two Mercedes of Jamie Green and Paul di Resta. Timo Scheider, who held pole position, still leads the championship despite scoring zero points in Italy. Here follows quotes from all Audi-drivers after the third race of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

Tom Kristensen (Audi A4 DTM #9): “The start was okay. In the first turn Jamie (Green) was in front already, but there was a nice fight with Paul di Resta and Timo Scheider. We went into the next corners side by side, and I was in third position. Up to the first pit stop, I was quicker than Paul. My pit stop was good, but so was Paul’s. After leaving the pit lane I kept trailing him closely. Then, unfortunately, we caught a white Mercedes, which let di Resta pass but slowed me for a whole lap. I lost a little more than four seconds in the process. On this circuit that means the race is over. That was a shame because I’d have liked to keep fighting with Paul for second place. I think the spectators would have enjoyed that too. My car was superb. But 20 kilograms of additional weight do make a difference over a whole racing distance.”

Oliver Jarvis (Best Buddies Audi A4 DTM #15): “My start was good, I overtook two cars and went through turn one on the outside line. This proved yet again how important it is to make a good start. In the first third of the race Alex (Prémat) put on a lot of pressure but I wouldn’t let him pass. During the pit stops the team did a fantastic job. Unfortunately, I stalled the engine at the first stop, but this didn’t cost us a position. In the final third of the race Mattias Ekström was running behind me and I had to give everything up to the finish. It was a tough race in which I scored my first points, coming fifth. The team definitely deserved this – I’m happy for everyone.”

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #1): “I had a very bad start and lost a lot of places. In the first turn I made up some ground again. Then I got entangled in fights throughout the race and at least scored a few points in sixth place.”

Markus Winkelhock (Playboy Audi A4 DTM #19): “My start was less than perfect. I did overtake a Mercedes, but Prémat and Jarvis had fantastic starts on the side of the track with better grip. This cost me some places. The car’s balance in the race wasn’t bad. After the last pit stop I came back out after Mattias Ekström, was able to easily keep the pace and, maybe, was even a little quicker. That’s a shame because it means my poor start decided the outcome of my race. Also, there were some problems during the pit stop. I can live with seventh place, because we scored two points.”

Alexandre Prémat (Audi Bank/Shell Helix Audi A4 DTM #14): “That was a very tough race. From the start, I gave everything. In our team, Oliver (Jarvis) used the first opportunity for his first pit stop. That was perfect for him. Unfortunately, I lost some time because Winkelhock and Ekström passed me at the pits. Otherwise fifth or sixth place would have been possible easily, because the car was very pleasant to drive on the first and second set of tyres. But it was good for the team to have scored points.”

Timo Scheider (GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM #10): “The race itself was great but my start was the reason for the flop. I probably didn’t warm up my brakes enough. Although the parking brake was closed there was a jolt. So the pressure wasn’t high enough. When preloading it the car moved. I’m really sorry about that. That was my mistake. My thanks go to the boys – the car was sensational. The positive part about it is that we’re still leading the standings. It was clear that days like this would come. We’re not going to stick our heads in the sand. Another positive thing is that our performance was right. We showed that Mugello has good opportunities for overtaking.”

Christijan Albers (Audi A4 DTM #21): “The start wasn’t so good. In turns one and three I was pushed towards the outside in traffic. Then I fought, but Mathias Lauda was in front of us. Mike Rockenfeller and Ralf Schumacher wanted to pass but it didn’t work. This cost us a lot of time. I was able to pass only after the second stop. After that, I was able to get away from my immediate rivals and my race wasn’t bad. I’m satisfied with the good times I set.”

Mike Rockenfeller (S line Audi A4 DTM #18): “I had a good start and was on the outside next to Markus (Winkelhock). But in the first corner someone ran into my car and I almost spun. My car was very heavily damaged. Actually, I could have just quit. But I did finish the race and came fourteenth.”

Martin Tomczyk (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #2): “I had a perfect start and made up a lot of places. In the first turn I got into a sandwich between Ekström and Rockenfeller. As a result, my front bonnet came loose and that was the end of my race. I could have scored points. But these things happen if you start from the rear of the grid. Of course it’s a shame that something like this happens when you’re only surrounded by Audi colleagues.”

Katherine Legge (Audi A4 DTM #20): “We didn’t have a particularly good race. We fought hard, but for some reason we keep losing too much time. That was the case in qualifying as well as throughout race Sunday. We’re struggling with massive oversteer. We need to take our time and carefully analyse the situation. We’re still simply lacking experience.”

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “For some reason, racing luck just doesn’t seem to be on our side at Mugello. Like last year, after a very good showing in qualifying, we finished with a less favourable result in the race. At least we managed to get Tom (Kristensen) on the podium and many cars into the points. Considering our performance, which we showed in qualifying despite carrying 20 kilograms more weight compared to Mercedes, we’d been hoping for a better result, though. But when you give away your chances at the start, it’s very difficult on this circuit to move to the front. Particularly, if you’ve got to deal with additional weight. That’s hard on the tyres as well. At the EuroSpeedway we’ll attack again with a little less weight.”