Mercedes to Dijon with anniversaries ahead

Five of the Mercedes squad heading to Dijon this weekend will be celebrating anniversaries when the DTM touches down in France. Susie Stoddart and Mathias Lauda are poised to contest their 40th DTM race for Mercedes, while Paul Di Resta will be taking part in his 30th DTM outing. Ex-Formula One star Ralf Schumacher and Maro Engel round out the anniversaries, with both drivers entering their 20th DTM race.

Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief Norbert Haug though, isn’t confident of the marque’s abilities to de-throne Timo Scheider as DTM champion however, pronouncing, “The championship is as good as decided where the driver title is concerned.”

Only Briton Gary Paffett can still bring the title back to Stuttgart for the three-pointed star, and while he accepts it’s not likely, the 28-year-old isn’t quite willing to give up.

“Although it’s hardly realistic to think that the 14 points separating me from the current leader in the driver’s championship can be made up in the two remaining races, my motto is the same as it was when I drove my very first lap: the championship is never over until the chequered flag has been reached.”

Regardless of the possibility of Scheider being crowned champion for Audi this weekend; Haug is looking forward to the DTM’s first visit to the Circuit Dijon-Prenois. “It is good to find a new location for the DTM in Dijon, especially when the organiser has put so much effort into it as is the case with this event.

“There is relatively little experience of this circuit, which is an ideal basis for an exciting race.

“After eight races victory balance is still undecided at 4:4 between Mercedes-Benz and Audi and it’s going to be exciting to see who will manage the take the lead in that respect in France before the DTM finale in Hockenheim.”

A driver looking forward to the weekend in Burgundy is Canadian Bruno Spengler, who is resident in Strasbourg and has won on French tarmac before in the DTM (at Le Mans in 2006). “Dijon is like a home race for me”, said Spengler. “The route is challenging. I’m aiming for a good result and hope to show some speed.”

With Ralf Schumacher declaring the circuit “very challenging” and “particularly tricky with regard to set up and racing strategy”, Audi would appear to have the upper hand, after their cars topped the time sheets on both days of the pre-season test.

Fastest Mercedes driver was Paul Di Resta, who elaborated on the challenges that Dijon will present. “During the test in April, we realised that the tyres are severely burdened by the many fast curves in Dijon and extremely burdened on one side by the numerous right hand corners. It’s going to be very important here to have a good pit stop strategy and to conserve the tyres over the whole stretch of the race.”

For full coverage of the penultimate round of the DTM, keep visiting TouringCarTimes throughout the weekend.