2015 will be a special year for Adrien Tambay. Before the start of the DTM season, the Audi DTM moved to bustling London.

“In Bregenz, I often felt lonely,” says the Frenchman who is tackling his fourth DTM year in Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. “In London, there are a lot of friends waiting for me. I found a great apartment in Chelsea and believe that London will be a fantastic city to live in for someone my age. I’m very positive about the move.”

The 24-year-old Frenchman worked hard on his fitness during the winter. “We’ve got a new training schedule at Audi Sport. I’ve strictly adhered to it and can already feel the results. In the past years, I always felt pretty tired after the first test following the winter break. This time, sitting in a race car for many laps wasn’t any problem for me at all.”

Participating in a number of French Ice Racing Series events has been another way in which Tambay has kept fit pre-season. “Mentally in particular,” he says. “Of course I’d like to drive a GT3 race now and then for Audi too but in 2015 I’m fully focused on the DTM.”

This season he has a new engineer at his side with Nicola Palarchi swapping Formula One for DTM and Audi Sport Team Abt. “We worked together in my last year in single-seater racing and we got along tremendously,” says the Audi driver, who is delighted with the appointment. “We trust each other. Nicola is new in the DTM but he’s got such a wealth of experience that he’ll quickly learn the special characteristics.” 

The new ‘layout’ of the DTM weekends, as Adrien Tambay calls it, is another thing the Audi driver is looking forward to. “Two races mean a double dose of fun for me. And as I tend to be impatient by nature, it’s good that we’re already driving a race on Saturday. The qualifying format is great too. You can’t afford to make any mistakes and have got to be fast immediately. That should suit me well.”

From the start of this season, Tambay will have two ‘good luck charms:’ the famous ‘Bunnies’ of his main sponsor and the legendary number ‘27’ on his Audi RS 5 DTM that his father, Patrick, had previously been fortunate with as a Ferrari driver in Formula One. “He took over the 27 from Gilles Villeneuve at the time who, in addition to Ayrton Senna and my father, is one of my great idols.”

In everyday driving, Tambay, like many of his fellow drivers, relies on the Audi RS 6 Avant. But I need to take a closer look at the new RS 3, he says. “It looks great and might be perfect for London.”

Profile

Date of birth: February 25 1991
Place of birth: Paris (F)
Residence: London (GB)
Marital status: single
Height/weight: 1.81 m/70 kg
Motorsport since: 2001 (Audi driver since 2012)

Sporting career
2001–2006
Kart
2007 1st Formula BMW Germany, rookie classification
2008 3rd Formula BMW Europe
2009 Formula 3 Euro Series
2010 6th Auto GP Series, 20th GP3 Series
2011 4th Auto GP Series, 27th Formula Renault 3.5
2012 10th DTM (Audi A5 DTM), 2nd Trophée Andros Electrique
2013 14th DTM (Audi RS 5 DTM), 2nd Trophée Andros Electrique
2014 14th DTM (Audi RS 5 DTM)
2015 DTM (Audi RS 5 DTM)

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