On your mark, get set, go! – the start

It is not uncommon for a finish of a race to be determined by the first metres. In the DTM, the drivers start from stationary positions. It is a procedure that challenges both the car and the driver. For Audi Junior Martin Tomczyk the preparation for the most exciting seconds of the race begin two days beforehand: “I need a good car for the start. Beginning each Friday before a race I work on this in every training session. If everything looks good, then I’m very calm just before the start.”

Calm – it is something the both Juniors search for in the final hour. Peter Terting has his own strategy for finding it. “I go into our truck and lie down for a bit.” The 19-year-old, like his colleague, has trouble sleeping, “I also have to withdrawal myself a bit, but I am too nervous to really sleep”, comments Tomczyk, “I try to calm myself down. Then suddenly it’s time to begin. I don’t have any particular ritual, but a certain procedure seems to fall into place.”

Terting experiences his last necessary distraction while lining up, “I am always very glad to have a grid girl. It makes me feel better. I talk with her a bit. It distracts me so that I’m not thinking the whole time about every last little detail, which would otherwise drive me crazy“, he says.

Even as soon as the formation lap is under way, it can get quite serious. “Here I check everything through once more,” says the 21-year-old Tomczyk. “I test the tires and the brakes one more time and mentally prepare myself for the start.” “That’s so true”, seconds Terting, “During the formation lap, I always summon my last ounce of determination for the race. I always have such a do-or-die attitude, which gives me the extra push I need.”

The hand positions and manoeuvring of the feet are always the same at the start. Tomczyk explains: “I roll into my starting position in neutral and then break until I’m in a stationary position. Then with my left thumb I press a button to set the emergency brake. Now the vehicle can’t roll away anymore, and I take my foot off the brake. As soon as I have the first red light, I shift into first gear, and with the fourth I start looking for the pivot in the clutch. Then I press the car against the emergency brake. Now I only have to give it full gas…” After only a little more than 3 seconds, the two Juniors are already at a speed of 100 km/h.