Photo: DTM Media

DTM Oschersleben preview: the show goes back to Germany

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The Motorsport Arena Oschersleben hosts the seventh round of the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season this weekend, with the series going back to their native Germany for the final leg of the season. Audi Sport and Mattias Ekström lead the standings, as the fight for the title is the tightest in recent years.

The return to a two-race per weekend format has delivered close action and exciting races throughout the season. But the main byproduct of the new found level of competitiveness is that, with three events to go, there are four drivers in hot contention for the title, with 150 points still to be won and lost.

Audi Sport’s Mattias Ekström and Mercedes AMG’s Pascal Wehrlein are the starring characters of a pulse not for the faint hearted. The Swede, twice DTM champion, active driver with the most wins, versus the German, just in his third full season in the series. The two have been alternating as standings’ leaders for the last two events, and their battle promises to keep the spectators thrilled right until the end of the season.

Not far from them in the standings, Audi’s Edoardo Mortara and Jamie Green are also on the fight for the championship. The Italian accumulates a victory and three podiums, with the Briton, championship leader in the early stages of the season, tailing behind.

The stakes are high, with Mattias Ekström accumulating 126 points in his account, with Pascal Wehrlein second with 120. Edoardo Mortara is 16 points adrift from the Swede, with Jamie Green seven points further back.

Audi Sport will once again line up the heaviest cars on the grid, due to the addition of Performance Weights. Mattias Ekström is joined by fellow RS 5 DTM drivers Edoardo Mortara and Mike Rockenfeller with a total weight of 1,137.5 kilos. Pascal Wehrlein’s C63 DTM will be at 1,130 kilos, whilst the BMW M4 DTMs will be over 30 kilos lighter than the leading Swede.

Despite the hindrance in performance, the Ingolstadt squad is still the favourite, leading the Manufacturers’ standings with 416 points, 28 more than their Stuttgart rivals. BMW is 95 points behind, having struggled for grip and pace all season.

The Motorsport Arena hosted the official collective pre season tests, so the teams have a lot of important setup data already collected. The 3.696-kilometre circuit features two long straights and a twisted section, making it difficult to overtake. As Dieter Gass, Head of DTM for Audi Sport, stated, the short 20-minute qualifying sessions will be as important as ever.

Action will take place over the weekend, with the following agenda (all times are CEST, GMT + 2):

Friday 11th September

15:15 – 16:05: Free Practice 1 and Practice Starts.

Saturday 12th September

8:20 – 9:10: Free Practice 2 and Practice Starts.

11:00 – 11:20: Qualifying for Race 1.

13:30: Start of Race 1 (40 minutes plus one lap).

Sunday 13th September

9:00 – 9:20: Warm Up and Practice Starts.

11:35 – 11:55: Qualifying for Race 2.

15:10: Start of Race 2 (60 minutes plus one lap, with one compulsory pit stop).