Oschersleben as seen by Tom Kristensen
The seventh round of the season marks the DTM’s return to the MOTOPARK Oschersleben. The last time Europe’s most popular touring car series had staged a race at the circuit near Magdeburg was in 2001. After Audi driver Mattias Ekström recaptured the lead in the overall standings last weekend, the challenge, now, is to expand his lead. Ekström celebrated his German debut at this circuit in 1999, contesting his first race for Team Abt. Fellow Audi driver Tom Kristensen, as well, remembers Oschersleben from previous touring car stints. The Dane comments on the 3,667-kilometre circuit:
What’s your impression of the MOTOPARK Oschersleben?
Tom Kristensen: “The MOTOPARK is a very nice and demanding circuit. Because it has many corners, you need a perfect setup for your car. The circuit is very narrow, there’s only one ideal racing line and, what’s more, this line often takes you across the kerbs. Because overtaking is very difficult, all the drivers will be focussing on the qualifying session.“
What are the key points at Oschersleben?
Tom Kristensen: “This immediately makes me think of the triple left-hand corner on the infield. We’re in fifth at that point, and then we have to downshift extremely fast and change direction to enter the tight right-hand turn in an optimum manner.“
Where are the possibilities for overtaking at Oschersleben?
Tom Kristensen: “There’s no good possibility for overtaking, really, at best this may be at the entrance to the start-finish straight. But I’m sure that in the race several cars will be sliding off the track, putting a lot of dirt on the tarmac. If this makes the track slippery, you have to wait for others to make some mistakes and then take advantage of your own opportunities.“
The first turn at the MOTOPARK is very tight. How will the start go off?
Tom Kristensen: “This corner is very tricky indeed: there’ll be three or even four cars arriving side by side, but there’s definitely only room for one car on the racing line. You should treat this bottle neck with a great deal of caution by all means – and that’s exactly the advice we got from our race director as early as yesterday...“
Today, already, it’s been very hot. Will temperatures play a role in the race?
Tom Kristensen: “The MOTOPARK is an extremely enclosed facility with almost no wind blowing. What’s more, there are hardly any straights to give you a bit of a break. The many tight corners here at Oschersleben force us to shift frequently and to steer a lot. If temperatures on Sunday again exceed 30 degrees, this race could prove to be the toughest of the whole year.“