Loïc Duval wants more after getting career-first DTM points

Audi Sport driver Loïc Duval scored his first points in the DTM at Zandvoort today, finishing on the podium in second, a result that the Frenchman hadn’t anticipated as possible before the race. The Team Phoenix driver is now looking to achieve better results for Audi in the series.

Duval didn’t expect that he could get such a good result after qualifying 14th for the grid. “I was a little bit surprised, I had a problem at the start of the race, as I nearly stalled. I managed to get it going and was then on my own,” said Duval to TouringCarTimes.

The Frenchman was the last driver to change tyres, a strategy that paid off for him: “I went for a long first stint. When you are on your own on the track, you don’t know where you are, so I just did my race and it was when I crossed the finishing line that I was told I was third!”

Duval also set the fastest lap of the race, over half a second faster than his nearest rival. The Team Phoenix driver said: “Today the car and the performance were there. I didn’t have to think about anything, I just drove and did my best during the second stint.”

The Frenchman is the only rookie in this year’s DTM, and has had a tough ride, only scoring his first points today: “I think difficult is not the right word, because I think it has been a lot harder than that. My entire career I’ve been fighting for championships and I was lucky because I won all of them. Coming to DTM has been difficult and driving for Audi you want to get good results.”

“I was struggling at the beginning of the year with performance and again, this weekend, the performance was good but, when I saw the qualifying results I thought I would be going home with no points again. It’s a nice surprise to get the podium, even though I wasn’t expecting it, I think it was a well deserved result. I really hope this is just the beginning of a good trend and I can become an important piece of the puzzle with Audi,” added Duval, highlighting his new standpoint within the team.

“Still, it doesn’t take the pressure away. I have now in my mind how to do it and that I’m able to do it, but we put pressure on ourselves all the time to go further, to score points, to win. But this result tells me that I can perform in the DTM, and that’s good.”

Duval has Mike Rockenfeller as team-mate at Team Phoenix. Working with the 2013 champion has been a positive experience for the Frenchman: “I know him from WEC and Le Mans, and it’s positive to have such a man next to you, on the positive side and the negative side. As a newcomer, this helps you when you are struggling and he says ‘hey, it can all change from one race to another or even a day to another’. So it takes away some negative stuff from your mind and helps me believe I can perform better, not only for me, but also for the team.”