The Audi works drivers in the 2004 DTM
For many, the six man Audi driver squad competing in the 2004 DTM is a genuine “Dream Team”. The team is a mix from the successful Audi sports prototype and touring car drivers from the previous years.
Frank Biela: ALMS defending champion
The Audi DTM comeback has a very special meaning for Frank Biela: The Monaco domiciled German won the DTM in 1991 with the Audi V8 quattro at the first time of asking in his debut year as an Audi works driver. Further touring car titles followed before Biela jumped to sports cars with Audi in 1999. Biela also quickly made a name for himself here, winning Le Mans three times in succession and now returns to the DTM as defending American Le Mans Series (ALMS) champion.
Tom Kristensen: five time Le Mans winner
The five-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen also has a successful past in touring cars. The Dane celebrated several victories in the German Super Touring Car Championship in 1999, also against this season’s team-mate, Christian Abt. Since 2000, the former Formula 1 test driver enjoys “Vorsprung durch Technik”, which he used to good advantage on four consecutive Le Mans victories and to win the 2002 American Le Mans Series title.
Emanuele Pirro: Super Touring Champion in Audi A4 quattro
The ex-Formula 1 driver Emanuele Pirro celebrated the greatest successes of his career at the wheel of touring and sports cars from the Audi marque. The Italian won the Italian Super Touring Car Championship in 1995, and in 1996 the prestigious Super Touring title in Germany with the Audi A4 quattro. Between 1999 and 2002 he shared the cockpit of an Audi R8 with Frank Biela at Le Mans and in the American Le Mans Series. The two seasoned campaigners are now again team-mates at Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest in the DTM. Now, however, each one has his own cockpit.
Christian Abt: from Audi apprentice to Audi works driver
Christian Abt has a very special relationship with Audi: The man from the Allgäu region in Southern Germany completed his motor vehicle master craftsman’s diploma in the AUDI AG Technical Development. Consequently many Audi employees consider the 1999 German Super Touring Car Champion as “one of them”. Christian Abt achieved all his touring car successes with cars from the Audi marque. As Audi works driver he succeeded in climbing the podium at Le Mans in 2000.
Mattias Ekström: Swedish shooting star
Mattias Ekström is regarded as DTM’s shooting star. The young Swede won the Swedish Touring Car Championship with a Team KMS Motorsport Audi A4 quattro in 1999 immediately recommending himself for the DTM. Ekström quickly established himself in the “top class of touring cars” after a brief apprenticeship. The Swede was the best Audi driver in the DTM last year.
Martin Tomczyk: the youngest Audi works driver
Like Ekström, Martin Tomczyk also enters his fourth DTM season with Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. The former Audi Junior broke into Europe’s most popular touring car series at the age of 19 and immediately astounded the experts with his incredible speed. After achieving great qualifying results and having experienced much bad luck in the races, the youngest Audi works driver wants to establish himself in the DTM once and for all during the 2004 season.
International squad with strong German accent
“Our driver squad is a good combination of the previous DTM drivers, and those drivers who essentially proved in an Audi R8 over the last few years that they are the best,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. “We have an extremely strong, international team with dominant German accent – after all the DTM is a German series contested on international ground.”