May 25, 2013
Source: Audi Media
Special task for Allan McNish
The winner of the WEC race at Silverstone was involved in the creation of an electronic road book for the new Audi A3 Sedan in May. The production about the dynamic four-door limousine was made in the Hungarian capital city Budapest. The Scotsman returns to the cockpit of his Audi R18 e-tron quattro on June 9 when he tests for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A word from … Mike Rockenfeller
Are your pole position and victory at Brands Hatch an indication that the improvements made to the Audi RS 5 DTM over the winter are beginning to pay dividends?
You can certainly look at it like this. It’s clear that Audi is in a much better position in the DTM now than it was at the same time last year. This is also definitely down to the car. However, the form on the day is fundamentally crucial in the DTM. You start afresh at every race weekend and have to get all the parameters absolutely spot on to be successful. My team and I managed this perfectly last time out at Brands Hatch.
A short summary after two races – how are the adjustable wing and the option tires functioning from a driver’s point of view?
Purely from the mechanical side, the DRS functions exceptionally well. It also brings more action on the track. There were plenty of overtaking maneuvers even on a typical you-can’t-overtake-here track like Brands Hatch. The system provides us drivers with more opportunities and now makes the race more interesting for us too.
The option tire in particular spices up the race because nobody can say beforehand how the rubber will function on the respective track or under the changing weather conditions. At Hockenheim, the rubber was good for a long time, at Brands Hatch however deteriorated surprisingly quickly. So every race weekend starts with many questions for us. This unpredictability ultimately means an increase in excitement.
The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg poses completely different challenges than Brands Hatch. What’s the key there and what do you expect?
It’s great fun to drive there and the DTM races there were always very spectacular. You need a car that is good on the brakes, but also has enough top speed for the quick sections. If we manage to get a set-up with which I feel comfortable in the car, I’m confident that we can do well there as well.
After the race in England, you travelled immediately to the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Are two consecutive races with two different racecars on the same weekend a special challenge?
It could have been, but unfortunately it wasn’t. Because of the long interruption at the Nürburgring due to rain I actually only drove one stint. So, no real stress.
On the agenda in June is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. You are not competing this time. A little disappointed?
No, absolutely not. I deliberately chose the DTM this year and as can be seen from Brands Hatch this decision was correct. This doesn’t mean however that the subject of endurance racing is over for me forever. I’m quite sure that I have not driven my last race at Le Mans.
Champions League: all against Timo Scheider
When it comes to tipping the winning team at the Champions League final between FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund there’s general agreement among the Audi DTM drivers. Except for Timo Scheider, all of them are predicting a victory by “Bayern.” Only the two-time Champion from Germany is firmly backing his favorite club and wishing for a score of 1-0. The tips of the other drivers: Filipe Albuquerque 2-0, Mattias Ekström 3-1, Jamie Green 2-1, Miguel Molina 3-0; Edoardo Mortara 2-1 (goals by Müller, Robben and Lewandowski), Mike Rockenfeller 3-2, Adrien Tambay 2-0.
Two class victories for Audi teams
Two Audi customer teams were pleased to score respectable class victories in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Behind the race cars with homologations for GT2 or GT3 that were battling for overall victory, car number 105 was the best entrant of the subsequent classes. The Besaplast Racing Team 1 with Franjo Kovac/Fredrik Lestrup/Kurt Thiim/Martin Tschornia in the Audi TT RS won the SP4T class and took 23rd place in the overall classification. Two positions behind them, the winner of the SP3T category followed – Raeder Motorsport had entered an Audi TT RS 2.0 for Christoph Breuer/Elmar Deegener/Dieter Schmidtmann/Jürgen Wohlfahrt.
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