DTM 2009
Martin Tomczyk, Mattias Ekström, Tom Kristensen

At the 2009 DTM season opener at the Hockenheimring (Sunday starting at 1:45 p.m. local time live on “Das Erste”) five Audi drivers will start from the top grid positions and eight Audi A4 DTM cars from the top ten. Quotes after qualifying at Hockenheim.

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
“That was a great team performance. Six Audi cars among the top eight – this is something we can really be proud of. I also think it’s especially great that Oliver (Jarvis) made it into the top four with last year’s car. Mattias Ekström delivered a convincing qualifying performance. He was strong in all sessions. Timo (Scheider) just fell short by a couple of thousandths. If that happens to a driver with his potential, it shows how close the results are in the DTM. But we shouldn’t underestimate Mercedes. The gap isn’t very large.”

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #5), grid position 1
“It’s always nice to come to the first race and build confidence – for myself as well as for my mechanics, my engineer, the entire team and for Audi. Our work in winter now pays off. Actually, I’d expected Mercedes to make the qualifying clearly more difficult for us. But I’m sure they’ll recover their strength. We know their fighting spirit. I’m already looking forward to the race and the remainder of the season.”

Tom Kristensen (100 Jahre Audi – A4 DTM #2), grid position 2
“After an unusually long winter and hard work during testing, we managed putting five Audi cars in front of Paul di Resta in the best Mercedes. That’s extremely good. But it’s just been qualifying. We’re happy about our grid positions on the front rows. I hope to be able to clinch my first Hockenheim victory in the DTM. I’ll give my best.”

Martin Tomczyk (Red Bull Cola Audi A4 DTM #6), grid position 3
“That’s a nice start. With five Audi cars in front, we can be happy. Our team performance today was tremendous. Now, we should try and repeat this showing on Sunday, if at all possible, and maybe have three Audi cars clinch the podium positions in the end. Tomorrow is a new day. We don’t know how Mercedes will do in the race, but our prerequisites are the best we could possibly have.”

Oliver Jarvis (Audi Cup A4 DTM #15), grid position 4
“I’m happy. Of course it would have been nice to have been among the top three. But making it into the fourth qualifying segment right at the first race and starting to the race from position four is a top-notch start to the season. I also want to thank Team Phoenix and the good work they’ve done.”

Timo Scheider (GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM #1), grid position 5
“In the beginning I was relatively unhappy because my balance at the front and rear wasn’t right. I’m glad that my engineer Armin (Plietsch) made another change, after which the car showed better handling. In the end, fifth place was not sensational but we developed the car in the right direction and I clearly felt better. Five Audi cars in front – that’s positive. We can build on that. I look forward to the race.”

Markus Winkelhock (Playboy Audi A4 DTM #12), grid position 8
“Normally, my goal is to be the best driver of a year-old car. But even with this result, I’m happy. Things weren’t going so well at the test here, nor did they in free practice. Honestly, I don’t know why I managed posting such good times now. I went into qualifying with a defiant attitude because I’d been so far off in free practice. I just got in the car and went for maximum attack, but without overdoing it.”

Alexandre Prémat (Audi Bank A4 DTM #14), grid position 9
“Qualifying went quite well. Unfortunately, I missed the third segment by a few thousandths. The car was basically good, but the rear was a little too nervous. We need to improve this and then we’ll have a good race.”

Mike Rockenfeller (S line Audi A4 DTM #11), grid position 10
“I’m very unhappy because tenth place makes me one of the worst Audi drivers of a year-old car. The whole day was disappointing. As early as in free practice I lost a lot of time because the car was pulling to the left. We fixed that problem. Still, I had big plans for qualifying, but it just didn’t work out.”

Katherine Legge (Audi Collection A4 DTM # 21), grid position 13
“My first qualifying section was good, and my lap time really decent. In the second qualifying, things didn’t go that well because I made a mistake in the second turn on my first set of tires. When I stopped, I first had to let Martin (Tomczyk) pass. Still, in the end, I managed to clinch a pretty good grid position.”

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
“I think if you take the first three positions, you’ve done everything right. Congratulations to the whole team, it didn’t make a single mistake. Everyone really gave everything and the drivers fully used the car’s potential. I wouldn’t mind if things kept going like this. The new qualifying format does have a special attraction. You can never be sure where you’ll stand in the end. Every one of the qualifying segments was a close competition.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
“The tests had suggested it, and today proved it: Yes, you can be at the front of the field with a year-old car. That Oliver (Jarvis) was able to put our potential on the track was fantastic. Well done to him, but also to the squad for having done such a perfect job. You couldn’t wish for a better opener. Alex (Prémat) barely missed the top eight because his set of tires was lacking grip toward the end. Otherwise, both might have finished in the top eight, which was inconceivable last year with a year-old car.”

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg)
“A sensational performance by Audi! Congratulations to Dr. Ullrich and also to Ernst Moser. It was a sensational feat by Oliver Jarvis to finish fourth. On our team, Markus (Winkelhock) was the best driver. He was suddenly very fast compared to free practice. With ‘Rocky’ I’d expected a little more.”