Audi hopes to thrill fans at the Norisring

The on track action for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is back this weekend, with the third round of the season taking place at the Norisring. Audi Sport has been on a winning streak for the last nine months, and the squad hopes to continue in this fashion at their home race.

In fact, he Norisring is located in the historic town of Nuremberg, just 90 kilometres north of Ingolstadt, the manufacturer’s headquarters.

Jamie Green, also nicknamed ‘Mr. Norisring’, comes to his favourite track as the championship leader, having won three of the four races celebrated this year so far. Green can’t hide his expectation, despite trying to remain realistic: “I managed a dream start to the season. Now, the Norisring, one of my favorite tracks, that I’ve always been able to handle particularly well, is coming up. Obviously, it’s not going to be easy for us because we have to start with a lot of additional weight. But the RS 5 DTM fits my driving style so perfectly this year that we should be in contention for victory in spite of this.””

Mattias Ekström will sport a special livery on his RS 5 DTM, to commemorate the silver anniversary since Audi’s first victory in the Series. The Swede has never won at the Norisring, having crossed the line ahead of the rest of the field back in 2013, but having had his victory taken away after a parc fermé infringement: ““I’’ve had some unfinished business in Nuremberg ever since. “There’s no doubt about it: I’’d finally like to win at the Norisring. It’’s cool that this year we even have two opportunities and that the many Audi fans are already treated to a DTM race on Saturday – plus another one on Sunday. With the retro livery of my Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM, victory can be the only aim anyhow.””

One of the issues for Audi this weekend will be the performance weights accumulated due to their dominating success so far this season. Dieter Gass, Head of DTM, feels less optimistic than his drivers, and thinks Audi can’t be taken as a favourite for the victory this weekend: “Of course, having to start with so much additional weight in our home race at the Norisring of all places hurts us, but that’’s the way the regulations in the DTM are. “We won’’t be the favorites at the Norisring to be sure. We’’re going to leave no stone unturned to deliver a tremendous show to the traditionally large crowd of Audi fans in Nuremberg.”

The third round of the 2015 DTM season starts on Friday afternoon, with the first free practice session.