Martin Tomczyk and Nasser Al-Attiyah swap cockpits
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters kicks off this weekend at Hockenheim, meeting with the FIA World Rallycross, the European Formula 3 and the new Audi TT Cup, in what the organisers have already rebranded as the ‘DTM Festival’.
Within the many appearances and shows seen today, DTM BMW Team Schnitzer driver Martin Tomczyk and Rally Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah exchanged cockpits, as part of a video shoot for BMW Motorsport partner Red Bull.
Tomczyk, who starts his 15th season in the DTM this weekend, couldn’t hide his admiration for the MINI ALL 4, a car that has become a reference in the recent years: “Driving the MINI ALL4 Racing through the sand and over the dunes in Dubai was a fascinating experience and was so much fun. The car has an incredible amount of torque, and the test in the dunes was an amazing adrenalin rush even for an experienced race driver such as myself. It’s totally different to driving on a circuit. You can only appreciate what Nasser and the other MINI drivers really achieve at the Rally Dakar when you have tried it yourself.”
Al-Attiyah, felt like a child with new shoes driving the reigning manufacturer champion car: “I have contested a few races on asphalt throughout my career, but it has always been my dream to drive a DTM car. The BMW M4 DTM is fantastic. The aerodynamics are really noticeable in the turns in particular. There’s an incredible amount of grip. I was also impressed by the brakes of the DTM car.”
