DTM 2010

Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline finished in the points with all five cars at Zandvoort. Quotes from the Audi camp.

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
“In the end, the result is disappointing because in Timo’s (Scheider) case we saw that the performance was right to actually win the race. After the Nürburgring I thought that there could hardly be anything worse than dropping from first to seventh place on lap one. But a situation like that can even be topped if things really go wrong. Timo subsequently drove a fantastic race. The strategy and pit stops were right. So we made the best of this situation but of course that wasn’t enough.”

Timo Scheider (GW:plus/Top Service Audi A4 DTM #1), 3rd place
“My apologies for the mistake at the start! I clearly have to take responsibility for that. These are the little things that aren’t working out as smoothly in 2010 as they did last year. After restarting the engine I had an incredibly good car to drive. It was possible for me to advance from eleventh to third place. My thanks go to the guys who gave everything despite my poor start – strategically as well as at the pit stops. Third place wasn’t a fortunate result but my first podium of the year. That was the right step for the forthcoming races of the season. But we’ve got to continue to work and mustn’t make mistakes like this again.”

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #5), 4th place
“The start was okay, but nothing special. In the first sector I was able to drive my pace but balance wasn’t completely perfect. After the two pit stops I was able to choose my own pace more or less as well. Today, we were clearly not quick enough for victory. That’s a little disappointing. But I scored important points. My gap to the leader of the standings has become smaller, albeit just a little. At least we managed that.”

Miguel Molina (Audi Bank A4 DTM #18), 5th place
“My start was very good whereas Timo (Scheider) had a problem. I tried to overtake Paul Di Resta. I was in third place and running at the limit. In the second and third sectors I lost a total of two places. But with a fifth-place finish this has been my best race so far. We’ve got to continue like this because it’s really nice out there at the front of the field.”

Oliver Jarvis (Tabac Original Audi A4 DTM #2), 6th place
“I had a good start but then got stuck between Miguel Molina and Gary Paffett, which allowed ‘Eki’ to get past me on the outside. The first sector was good. I was able to get away from Bruno (Spengler). He stopped a little earlier and managed to pass me in the pits. We then decided that I should come in for a very early second pit stop and we made up two places that way. But Miguel was running very closely in front of me on the track again. From then on I had to pay attention to the tires for a long time and came under a lot of pressure from Bruno. The only thing that counted any more was not to make any mistakes.”

Martin Tomczyk (Red Bull Cola Audi A4 DTM #6), 8th place
“Actually the race began well at the start. I made up a lot of places. Before the first pit stop I had a puncture. Unfortunately that happened as early as after turn one on my last lap and I lost a lot of time in the process. Afterwards I drove good, consistent lap times. I closed up to the pack again. In the end there were a lot of duels with Bruno Spengler and Ralf Schumacher. Ralf fought pretty hard but it was still barely okay. I still finished in eighth place. That was the best I could do.”

Alexandre Prémat (TV Movie Audi A4 DTM #9), 11th place
“Unfortunately my engine stalled at the start and I received a drive-through penalty for jump starting. That was a little bizarre. Afterwards I moved forward again and the times were pretty good. But I’m very sorry for Phoenix and Audi. Normally, a result in the points would have been possible. We could have grabbed a few points from Mercedes. I’m really disappointed.”

Mike Rockenfeller (S line Audi A4 DTM #10), 13th place
“My start wasn’t so good. I lost one position to Martin (Tomczyk) and gained one from Timo (Scheider). The car was good, the pit stops great. The strategy, too, was good. We advanced from ninth place to seventh. Then I got stuck behind Oliver (Jarvis). I think I was quicker but you can only overtake by forcing the issue or if the guy in front makes a mistake. Then Bruno (Spengler) was behind me and turned me around. There’s no room for discussion about that in my opinion. There should be a penalty for such an action. I’m disappointed.”

Katherine Legge (Glamour Audi A4 DTM #15), 14th place
“The team used a sensational strategy. I pitted as early as possible, received new tires and managed to overtake three or four rivals that way. I was running in eleventh place some of the time. The middle sector of the race was really good. In the last third of the race I went out again in front of Coulthard but my tires picked up rubber from other cars. So: it was a good race – up to the second pit stop! But we learned a few things today.”

Markus Winkelhock (Playboy/GW:plus Audi A4 DTM #14), did not start
“When we noticed some vibrations on our car during the warm-up we changed the transmission, clutch and differential. When I drove for the first time again afterwards and was on my way to the starting grid there were vibrations again. The guys tried to change the prop shaft before the start but there wasn’t enough time. Still, I want to thank the crew. Of course it’s a shame that I was forced to watch the race.”

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
“Unfortunately, things didn’t go well. Timo’s (Scheider) start wasn’t good as everyone could see. He then showed a superb race pace and pushed forward again. The strategy and team performance were perfect. But if you don’t stand your ground in front at the start it’s difficult to move to the front again. So a better result wasn’t possible today. We put all of our five cars into the top eight and suffered no damage. Actually that’s a good team result. But obviously we’d have liked to win.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
“For one of our cars the race was ruined as early as the start. When you finish the first lap as the penultimate car and then receive a drive-through your race is over. Alex’ (Prémat) pace was very good. We could have been at the far front of the field. Too bad! The other car was running in the points for a long time. A lot more than that wouldn’t have been possible. We didn’t want to take any risk in the battle with Oliver (Jarvis). Then Bruno Spengler came from behind. I think that the situation wasn’t completely fair, that he hit Mike’s (Rockenfeller) rear wheel. There was no gap there. That’s why I view the decision of the stewards with mixed feelings. We’ve got to analyze everything again but I feel that this action could have been punished too.”

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg)
“Markus (Winkelhock) was really doing well in the warm-up but then had some vibrations on the car. We changed the transmission, clutch and differential. Unfortunately, we didn’t detect the fact that the prop shaft was the reason. That’s a real shame because we saw that quite a bit would have been possible in this race. Katherine (Legge) did really great with a good strategy in the first part of the race. We enabled her to pass David Coulthard and Susie Stoddart. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to keep Coulthard at bay at the end of the race. But she finished the race and experienced a few nice battles – that was okay.”