DTM: A word from … Mattias Ekström

Audi Press Release

Your visit to Moscow with the Audi A5 DTM attracted a lot of attention. Looking back a few days later, what impressions did this trip leave with you?
 

As this had been my first visit to Russia there were so many impressions that I first had to sort. The culture is completely different compared with my home country, Sweden, or Switzerland where I live now. I was delighted about the open-mindedness of the people in Moscow. Although they’re not very familiar yet with the topics of motorsport and the DTM you can feel their huge interest and enthusiasm.

Did you also have an opportunity to get to know the city a bit?


Yes, fortunately, I did. There were two things that fascinated me. One of them was the traffic. I’ve been to cities with many cars before but with the streets being as packed as they were here you had to really plan your day very carefully to arrive anywhere on time. Plus I was thrilled with the architecture. I haven’t been paying close attention to the development in Moscow’s urban design over the past few decades but the results are impressive.

You’ve had a lot of action at home as well. What is your daily life like now that you’ve got two children?


It’s exciting! Fortunately, our little Hanna takes more after her mother, which means that she’s much quieter than her brother and sleeps a bit more too. At the moment, I’m out and about a lot with Mats, who will soon be two. It’s simply amazing to watch how both of them are developing and learning new things every day.

So motorsport is taking second place for you at the moment?


No, not at all! The DTM and my private life are both on the front row of the grid for me. We’ve already had an initial test this year and the next one will follow soon. That the technology has been frozen makes the challenge even greater for us. We’re not allowed to change a lot – but any minor detail we’re looking at has got to fit one hundred percent. I’m constantly in contact with the engineers and can say that we’re making progress and it’s a lot of fun.

Photo credit: Audi Media

DTM: A word from … Edoardo Mortara

Audi Press Release

You’ve just returned from a brief visit to Moscow to promote Audi and the DTM race there on August 4. What was your impression?

This was my first visit to Russia. It was really exciting to be standing on Red Square with the Audi A5 DTM. I was particularly surprised about the high interest of the media. Around 50 journalists were there and Mattias Ekström and I had to give a lot of interviews.

And how did the Russian fans respond to the Audi visit?

They were clearly thrilled. I haven’t signed such a large number of autographs as I did at this event in a long time.

Did you get the impression that the people in Moscow were familiar with the DTM at all?

Yes, absolutely. I think the people there have a great interest in motorsport. Their questions showed me that they definitely know the DTM and are paying attention to it. Of course, we’ve still got to explain the series in terms of its various specifications in more detail to the motorsport journalists and the fans. Mattias and I tried to communicate what our sport is all about as best we could.

What are your expectations of the DTM’s Russian debut this summer?

The track will be new for all of us, so there’s not much you can say about it at this point in time. But after my experiences during this brief visit I’m sure that the race will be a resounding success. The people are obviously very enthusiastic about motorsport. I’m already looking forward to running there. We’ll be doing everything we can to deliver a good show to them and to make the race a success for Audi. Generally speaking, I was very impressed with the hospitality and interest of the Russian people. I’m definitely expecting to see full grandstands at the race and am already excited about my next visit to this fascinating metropolis.

Photo credit: Audi Media

World premiere on Red Square: Audi A5 DTM in Moscow

Audi Press Release

• Audi in the heart of the Russian capital before DTM debut

• Mattias Ekström and Edoardo Mortara thrill fans

• Deliveries in 2012 up by 44.1 percent: Russia an important market for the Four Rings

Ingolstadt/Moscow, February 7, 2013 – On August 4, the DTM will be entering new territory to contest a race in Russia for the first time in its near 30-year history. Audi is the only brand to have visited Moscow half a year before the DTM round: Mattias Ekström and Edoardo Mortara today presented themselves together with an Audi A5 DTM to a large number of fans and journalists.

The agreements have been signed, the date has been confirmed, the level of excitement before the event is rising. While the motorsport scene is feverishly looking forward to the DTM debut in Russia, Audi sent three of its stars to Red Square months before the first race: Mattias Ekström, Edoardo Mortara plus an Audi A5 DTM. Press conference at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, ceremonial unveiling of the 460-hp race car, photo shoot on Red Square, great enthusiasm and countless requests for autographs by the Russian fans – the first visit of the DTM stars in the heart of Moscow caused a major sensation.

“Complementing the calendar by a race in Moscow marks a decisive step for the DTM. It’s a great opportunity to present ourselves in an important market with an affinity for motorsport,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. The numbers underscore the significance of the country for Audi: More than 33,500 automobiles delivered to Russian customers in 2012 correspond to an increase by 44.1 percent compared to the year before. Of Audi’s top ten sales markets, Russia was the one to record the fastest growth last year.

“The huge enthusiasm we were met with in Moscow is fantastic,” said Mattias Ekström, who had never been to Russia before. “I always enjoy getting to know new countries and people. Right after the first day here in Moscow I’m convinced that it has been a very good decision to hold a race here. I can hardly wait to return in August.”

Two-time race winner in the 2012 season, Edoardo Mortara, has high expectations as well: “I don’t know the Moscow Raceway yet but the layout looks interesting and promises a lot of action. I think the spectators can expect quite a bit on track and of course off track as well. I’m very excited about the DTM’s first visit to Russia.”

Elena Smirnova, Head of Audi Russia, shares the excitement of the two Audi stars. “Motorsport is the best forge of the brand’s technologies,” she said. “Now, when this kind of sport is on the rise in Russia, when professional race tracks are being built in different regions of the country, Audi is ready to show the new edges of its character. The fans of Audi here are looking forward to the beginning of the DTM series’ new season. They will be able to cheer for our drivers, personally attending the stage at Moscow Raceway for the first time. Russia is one of the top ten markets for Audi, so today, a few months before the championship gets to our country, we are pleased to introduce the Audi A5 DTM to our fans.”

Photo credit: Audi Media

Audi completes driver line-up for 2013 DTM

Audi Press Release

•          Experience is trumps: eight Audi drivers have 34 wins between them
•          ‘Norisring King’ Jamie Green high-caliber new signing
•          Rahel Frey leaves DTM, Miguel Molina remains with squad

Ingolstadt, February 4, 2013 – Audi will start into the 2013 DTM season with a mix of experienced campaigners and ambitious youngsters. The eight drivers have four titles, 478 races, 39 pole positions and 34 victories to their credit between them – marking top tallies in the series. The only change compared to last year’s squad: Rahel Frey is switching to GT racing within AUDI AG. The vacant cockpit will be occupied by new signing Jamie Green.

“I’m convinced that in 2013 we’ll be on the grid with an extremely strong line-up – perhaps the strongest one ever since Audi started competing in the DTM,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. While Rahel Frey is leaving the DTM to continue her career with Audi in GT racing, Miguel Molina will be starting his fourth DTM year with Audi.

From this season onwards, the DTM has new regulations: As the race weekends are being shortened to two days, the drivers will have less time in the future to prepare for qualifying and the race. “Finding the perfect set-up in an extremely short space of time will be crucial, so experience is worth its weight in gold,” says Ullrich. “Therefore, we decided not to integrate a DTM rookie and to run with our proven squad. I’d like to sincerely thank Rahel for her strong performances and her commitment in the DTM. She was a valuable addition to the DTM with her manner and poise and will definitely continue this way in her future commitments for Audi.”

Despite their impressive best marks in terms of races and victories the Audi line-up has an average age of just 28 years. The two-time DTM Champions Mattias Ekström and Timo Scheider are spearheading the squad around new signing Jamie Green as ‘old hands.’ Adrien Tambay and Miguel Molina, aged 21 and 23, respectively, are youngsters. Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, Race of Champions winner Filipe Albuquerque and the two-time season winner Edoardo Mortara complete the team.

The new season will start at Hockenheim on May 5, followed by nine rounds, including the DTM premiere at Moscow, until the finale on October 20.

Mattias Ekström

Jamie Green

Timo Scheider

Mike Rockenfeller

Miguel Molina

Edoardo Mortara

Filipe Albuquerque

Adrien Tambay

Photos by Audi Sport Media

DTM: Successful test for Audi at Valencia

Audi Press Release

Audi Sport successfully completed its first step in preparation for the new DTM season. In action during the test at Valencia were two Audi A5 DTM cars as well as the Audi factory drivers Mattias Ekström and Jamie Green.

The test ran according to plan and the entire program was worked through without problems. “The high level of motivation to do everything possible for a successful season is noticeable in every member of the team member,” concluded Mattias Ekström positively.

Newcomer Jamie Green was in action on track for the first time for Audi. “For me it was mainly a question of familiarizing myself with the car and team. After these two days I can honestly say that I already feel extremely comfortable at Audi.”

Photo credit: Audi Media

2013 Audi Sport Calendar

By Johan Laubscher

As 2012 draws to a close Audi Sport is already very busy gearing up for the 2013 motorsport season. Last year Audi Sport revealed a beautiful Calendar for 2012. During this year they hinted at another calendar being released for 2013 which would again portray the motorsport highlights from the previous season. Today, just four days from the end of 2012, Audi Sport has officially revealed their 2013 calendar, and it is another masterpiece. It is produced with twelve beautiful pictures each featuring different scenes from Audi’s Le Mans, DTM and customer racing programs.

We have included the twelve images and the cover below. You can download them directly from the Official Audi Sport Facebook page via this link HERE. 

Photos hosted at the Official Audi Sport Facebook page

Audi: full speed ahead in motorsport too

Audi Press Release

•          Three hybrid race cars at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours
•          Jamie Green joins DTM driver line-up
•          Activities extended in US motorsport

Ingolstadt, December 19, 2012 – With more than 1.34 million worldwide deliveries, Audi equaled last year’s sales record after only eleven months. And in motorsport, the brand with the four rings continues to charge full speed ahead too. The title defense in the FIA World Championship (WEC), the commitment in the DTM and extended activities in US racing are particularly in focus in the 2013 season. 

“Successful motorsport is part of our brand DNA,” stated Wolfgang Dürheimer, Member of the Management Board for Technical Development at AUDI AG, on Wednesday night at the “Audi Sport Finale” held at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt. “The victories on the world’s race tracks underscore our technical expertise in a particularly authentic way – and they strengthen our position on the most important world markets.”

Three hybrid race cars at Le Mans

In the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Audi is competing as the title defender in 2013. Audi Sport Team Joest will be fielding two updated Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars, a third R18 e-tron quattro will be running at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the WEC race at Spa.

At Le Mans and in the WEC, Audi is thus exclusively banking on hybrid technology that was successfully introduced in 2012. The flywheel energy storage system is becoming even more powerful without any substantial increase in weight and size. Strictly in terms of its exterior, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro will hardly differ from this year’s winning car although numerous technical innovations are again assembled under the vehicle’s ultra-light carbon fiber skin. In a parallel project, Audi Sport is already intensively working on the successor car for the new LMP1 regulations that will come into effect as of 2014.

The Audi driver lineup for the WEC and Le Mans in 2013 consists of the current World Champions Marcel Fässler (Switzerland), André Lotterer (Germany) and Benoît Tréluyer (France) plus new signing Lucas di Grassi (Brazil), Loïc Duval (France), Marc Gené (Spain), Oliver Jarvis (Great Britain), Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan McNish (Scotland).

Jamie Green joins Audi DTM squad 

Contrary to the WEC, the technology in the DTM was frozen for the 2013 season by the regulations. Therefore, Audi Sport’s DTM squad is primarily concentrating on unlocking the Audi A5 DTM’s full potential by the time the season opens at the Hockenheimring on May 5. “We’re convinced that we were clearly beaten below our capabilities in 2012,” stresses Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “In the DTM it’s about a few tenths of a second – and we need to find these few tenths in 2013 with the A5 DTM.”

A strengthened driver lineup is to support this endeavor. In the Briton Jamie Green (30), Audi has signed one of the quickest present-day DTM drivers. “Together with our established drivers and stars we should be in an even better position than before,” adds Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. 

Remaining on board are the two-time DTM Champions, Mattias Ekström (Sweden) and Timo Scheider (Germany), Race of Champions winner Filipe Albuquerque (Portugal), the two-time season winner Edoardo Mortara (Italy), Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) and youngster Adrien Tambay (France), who by finishing the round at Valencia as the runner-up immediately clinched a podium position in his first DTM season. The decision about filling the eighth cockpit is still pending.

Strong line-up at Daytona 24 Hours

Factory drivers from the WEC and the DTM are playing a role in AUDI AG’s customer sport program as well. In the 24-hour race at Daytona (Florida) on January 26/27, Filipe Albuquerque, Oliver Jarvis and Edoardo Mortara will be driving an Audi R8 GRAND-AM of the Alex Job Racing team. The cockpits of two other R8 cars will be occupied by high-caliber racers as well. Marc Basseng, René Rast and Frank Stippler will be driving for APR Motorsport, Frank Biela, Christopher Haase and GT1 World Champion Markus Winkelhock for Rum Bum Racing. In addition, each squad will be joined by an American driver.

Intensified commitment in the United States GRAND-AM Series

With the 24-hour race at Daytona and an intensified commitment in the GRAND-AM Series, Audi is ringing in its return to US racing. In the United States, the brand with the four rings is recording stronger growth than the US market as a whole, particularly in the prestigious large-premium-car segment. The racing activities in the United States are intended to support this trend over the long run.

Therefore, an entry of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro in the 12-hour race at Sebring (Florida), which Audi has won on ten occasions, on March 16 is in planning as well. “It looks like this may be the last opportunity to compete with an LMP1 car at Sebring,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “We’d really like to use this chance and say goodbye to the fans with a nice showing after our fantastic success story in recent years.”

This may not have to be a final farewell, though. In 2014, the GRAND-AM Series and the American Le Mans Series will merge to form a new North American Sports Car Championship that might be of interest to Audi. Furthermore, the US fans will have another opportunity in 2013 to watch the Audi R18 e-tron in action as the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will visit Austin (Texas) on September 22.

Evolution version of the Audi R8 LMS ultra

But Audi is not neglecting the customer sport market in Europe and the rest of the world either. An evolution version of the Audi R8 LMS ultra GT3 sports car that mainly differs from the current model in the area of the rear section will start to be delivered to customers by quattro GmbH in February 2013.

Customer teams supported by Audi Sport customer racing will be competing in the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring (Germany) and at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) in 2013. The increasingly diverse customer sport program of AUDI AG will be complemented by the Audi R8 LMS Cup in China that was successfully launched in 2012.

“We’ve got a very attractive offering for our customers with the updated versions of the R8 GRAND-AM and the R8 LMS ultra plus the Cup in China,” says Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “We’re expecting to deliver the 100th customer car during the course of 2013.”

DTM: Audi signs “King of the Norisring”

Audi Press Release

• Jamie Green to compete for Audi in the DTM starting in 2013

• Track record reflects eight DTM victories to date, including four on Nuremberg’s Norisring

• Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: Currently one of the best DTM racers – this fact underlined in 2012

Ingolstadt, December 10, 2012 – In Formula 3, he defeated Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. He is acclaimed as “King of the Norisring.” And in the future he will be driving for Audi: The Briton Jamie Green (30), who lives in Monaco, is strengthening Audi’s DTM driver line-up for the 2013 season.

A spectacular transfer in the most popular international touring car racing series: After eight years with Mercedes-Benz, one of the most experienced and successful present-day DTM drivers is switching to Audi. Jamie Green has contested 83 DTM races to date, having won eight of them and clinching the top spot on the grid on six occasions. He finished the 2012 season in third place of the championship. In doing so, the Briton was the only driver to have scored points in all ten races while retaining his chances of winning the title all the way to the end.

“There’s no doubt about Jamie Green being one of the best DTM racers currently in the field,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “He proved this in 2012 and was more or less able to choose the manufacturer he wanted to compete for in the DTM – we’re delighted that he has opted for Audi and convinced that with his experience and speed, he’ll truly be strengthening our DTM squad.”

“Audi is a fascinating brand with fantastic products,” says Jamie Green. “And I’m convinced that with Audi, I’ll be able to achieve what I’ve been deprived of so far: to win the DTM title. I really owe my previous employer a lot and making the change after so many joint years has certainly not been easy for me. But I carefully considered this step and look forward to a new challenge – I can’t wait to sit in the Audi A5 for the first time.”

Jamie Green celebrated his biggest success in his career to date in 2004 when he won the Formula 3 Euro Series. At that time, he defeated today’s Formula 1 stars Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, among others. In his first DTM year, in 2005, he immediately took two pole positions. His team-mate back then: the current DTM Champion Bruno Spengler. In terms of points, the new Audi factory driver clearly won the duel against the Canadian with a score of 29-5.

In 2008, 2009 and 2010, Jamie Green managed the feat of winning the Norisring race three consecutive times in the same vehicle. In 2012, he triumphed at the DTM season’s pinnacle event and Audi’s “home round” for an amazing fourth time.

Gallery: Audi at the Essen Motorshow

By Johan Laubscher

The Essen Motorshow is underway in Germany. As per usual the Audi brand is well represented at the show. A variety of Audi race cars are there, including Audi R8 LMS ultra and A5 DTM race cars. A close friend of ours, Mr Fabian Wiedl, was at the Essen Motorshow press days and he has provided us with these great photos.