Critical situation at pit lane exit
Audi associates many pleasant memories with the circuit at Brno: last year the Audi squad secured the driver and team titles with a dominating double victory, followed by the manufacturer’s title at the season’s finale at Hockenheim. Now the DTM has returned for its second guest performance at Brno. Audi driver Christian Abt comments on the 5.403-kilometre circuit, which is the second-longest on the DTM calendar.
The DTM is staging its second visit at Brno this weekend. What is your impression of this circuit?
Christian Abt: “To be honest, Brno is not necessarily my favourite race track. The circuit generally has medium to low grip. Overtaking is difficult because the asphalt is very dirty alongside the racing line. On the other hand, Brno evokes lots of emotions for us at Audi because this is where Mattias clinched the title last year – if for no other reason than this, a weekend at Brno will always be something special for us.”
What are the key points for you at Brno?
Christian Abt: “One of them certainly is the corner after the start-finish straight, where you have to muster all your courage to be really quick. Another one is the uphill right-hander where you can easily lose a lot of time if you don’t manage to take this combination perfectly.”
Where do you see the best opportunities for overtaking?
Christian Abt: “This will be very difficult. Perhaps there’s a possibility in the second or third turn after the start. But this will definitely work only if you’re very close to the guy in front of you.”
The first corner after the start is a long ‘courage tester’. What do you think will happen there after the start?
Christian Abt: “I don’t think that there’ll be a problem at that point. On the other hand, the pit lane exit at Brno is tricky: when you return to the track after a tyre change, you’ll end up exactly in the braking zone for the first corner and with about 100 kph less than the cars in the race. To avoid problems in this situation, you have to be very careful.”
