2009 DTM Season

Wido Rossen · Mar 6, 2008

The new Audi A4

Audi Tuesday revealed the fourth generation Audi A4 DTM which is called R14. The scene for the presentation was the Motor Show in Geneva. Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgant Ullrich was present and happy.
“The new road going A4 has already won many international awards in a very short period of time. We aim to do these awards justice with the new DTM. We are convinced that the new Audi A4 is an excellent base for a successful DTM car," said Ullrich.

Reigning DTM champion Mattias Ekström was also present in Geneva and commented the new car:"If the new A4 DTM is as quick as it looks then I’ll be satisfied,” said the Swede.

Notice the BIG open front !!

The first R14 prototype completed its roll-out shortly before Christmas at Le Castellet (France). Before its race debut on 13 April at the Hockenheimring, the new Audi A4 DTM will have spooled off several thousand test kilometres - including endurance tests.

According to Audi the differences between the new R14 and the old R13-model are many. Among other things the centre of gravity has been lowered, the engine has been improved with more power and a better torque curve plus reduced dry weight.

The new A4 will be seen officially on the track for the first time at Mugello during the first DTM test between 10 and 12 March.

Christophe Berton · Mar 6, 2008

very nice

Grzesiek Zabielski · Mar 6, 2008

Great looking one, as stock A4

Jacco Cornelissen · Mar 6, 2008

Beauti

Motorsportnews · Mar 22, 2008

F1 demonstration with Sebastian Vettel at Oschersleben

Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel is going to complete several demonstration laps with his Toro Rosso

More...

Motorsportnews · Mar 24, 2008

Four questions to Alexandre Prémat

The Frenchman has ambitious goals for the next season, which will get underway at Hockenheim April 13th

More...

Wido Rossen · Mar 26, 2008

The numbers for DTM 2008 are assigned

The starting numbers for the drivers and teams of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters 2008 have been assigned. For this year Jamie Green is the only driver that gets the same number as in 2007 - number five. Reigning champion Mattias Ekström on the other hand moves up a couple of places and now holds the popular number one.

Ekström's team mate Martin Tomczyk gets number two on his car. Behind him Mercedes-Benz drivers takes up the numbers from three (Spengler) to eight (Lauda).

Newcomer Ralf Schumacher has been assigned number eleven, the same he had during his last Formula One season in 2007 with Toyota.

Only one name is missing in the list - number 21 for Audi. Speculations have been made in several different media that it will be Christijan Albers. But no official confirmation has been made yet.

The numbers of DTM 2008

1 Mattias Ekström (S) Audi
2 Martin Tomczyk (D) Audi
3 Bruno Spengler (CDN) Mercedes-Benz
4 Paul di Resta (SCO) Mercedes-Benz
5 Jamie Green (GB) Mercedes-Benz
6 Bernd Schneider (D) Mercedes-Benz
7 Gary Paffett (GB) Mercedes-Benz
8 Mathias Lauda (A) Mercedes-Benz
9 Tom Kristensen (DK) Audi
10 Timo Scheider (D) Audi
11 Ralf Schumacher (D) Mercedes-Benz
12 Maro Engel (D) Mercedes-Benz
14 Alexandre Prémat (F) Audi
15 Oliver Jarvis (GB) Audi
16 Susie Stoddart (SCO) Mercedes-Benz
18 Mike Rockenfeller (D) Audi
19 Markus Winkelhock (D) Audi
20 Katherine Legge (GB) Audi
21 Tba. Audi ( Christijan Albers ) ?

(Courtesy Touringcar times.)

Wido Rossen · Mar 28, 2008

Albers back in DTM with Audi

The previous Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters front runner will drive in the TME Futurecom team in a 2006 specification Audi A4.
The number 21 Audi with team TME is the final seat in the DTM 2008 that has not got a name on it yet.

Last time Albers drove in DTM was back in 2004 for Mercedes. He finished third in the championship that year with 50 points. But his best year was in 2003 when he finished second in the championship.

His team mate in TME Futurecom will be DTM newcomer Katherine Legge

Theo de Bruin · Mar 29, 2008

And is this a team he can win races with?

Maurice Hurkmans · Mar 29, 2008

Theo de Bruin said:
And is this a team he can win races with?

I don't think so with a 2006 spec car, but Mr. Albers has to start from the beginning again. With a bit of luck he can get some good results and get a better ride in DTM or WTCC for 2009.

Theo de Bruin · Mar 31, 2008

Would be nice to see him in WTCC, somehow DTM never really appealed to me...

Bram Hengeveld · Mar 31, 2008

Agree with Maurice, it is now or never for Albers. Not really a steep curve up in his carreer at the moment.

Wido Rossen · Mar 31, 2008

He should have stay`d with mercedes.
There he hat some good foundation for a great F1 adventure.
Like the others already said, it`s now or never.

Christophe Berton · Mar 31, 2008

Mattias Ekström in big crash at Oschersleben

After setting the fastest time of the test day at Oschersleben, Mattias Ekström crashed heavily. The Swede spun his brand new Audi A4 backwards in to the barriers at an approximated speed of 150 km/h.
"I am not feeling well and I am going to see the doctor. I do not know what happend but it was a big crash," said Ekström right after the accident to TV4nyheterna.se.

According to our information Ekström is currently at his hotel, resting.
"Ekström has most likely a concussion. We will have him under observation and if his condition remains stable we will not take him to the hospital," said Steffi Höcker of Audi.

The car on the other hand is in worse condition. The car must be transported back to Audi Sport in Ingolstadt for repairs and reportedly there is a shortage of spare parts to the new DTM A4-model.

Apparently Ekström was practicing starts when the rear brakes locked up and caused the crash.

Peter Eriksson · Apr 1, 2008

Ouchhh

Christophe Berton · Apr 1, 2008

Timo Scheider tops Oschersleben day two

Timo Scheider continued to hold the flag high for Audi during the second official Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters-test day at Oschersleben. The German lapped the track in 1:21:644, being the only driver to come below 1:22. Second fastest was Markus Winkelhock, also of Audi, and third was the best Mercedes-driver - Bruno Spengler.

"It was a good day today. Our program has progressed nicely and I am relatively satisfied. We will continue tomorrow," said Spengler to DTM.de.

Jamie Green was fourth fastest with Audi-rival and newcomer Olivier Jarvis in fifth, only 0.081 seconds behind.

Ralf Schumacher spent a lot of time in the pits today due to a defect steering. The repair work took longer than expected and the previous Toyota F1-driver could not rejoin the track until 17.30 and drive the remaining 30 minutes of the test day.

"I only did 13 laps, and that was of course too little. I hope that things go better tomorrow and that I can make many laps," said Schumacher.

The Dane Tom Kristensen made his first ever laps in the 2008 specification Audi A4 today. During the day Kristensen managed a total of 91 laps and was happy.
"It was a very special moment to drive the new car for the first time. I noticed immideatly that the car is very different from the old one. We tried different settings on the car today and it responded very well," said Kristensen.

Mattias Ekström was absent from the test day because of his accident yesterday. According to our reports the Swede is OK and is only suffering from a minor headache.

Christophe Berton · Apr 3, 2008

Rockenfeller takes last day of testing

Mike Rockenfeller has set the fastest lap at Oschersleben on the last day of the second official DTM test. It has been the final preparation before the start of the season for the teams. Next up is the official presentation coming sunday, after that it's the first race on April 13th. Rockenfeller posted a time 1:22.305 as fastest time, during one of his 118 laps round the circuit today.

The German Audi-driver was closely followed by last years title candidate Bruno Spengler, posting a time three tenths slower in his Mercedes C-Class. Martin Tomczyk and Alexandre Prémat, both Audi-drivers, were not far behind either. Tomczyk was just five thousandth of a second slower than Spengler, Prémat took one tenth longer for a lap round the track.

Christijan Albers completed his second day of his third test with the TME/Futurecom team, on which he posted 9th fastest time. Eventhough strong rumours indicate the Dutch driver will drive for the team, the former vice DTM-champion denies the deal is done yet. "I haven't signed anything yet. I hope we've finalised the deal by friday or saturday", Albers told a reporter of autosport.nl.

Audi, in the mean time, keep quiet about the matter. At a group photo shout of the Audi drivers, two pictures were taken. One of the Audi drivers with Christijan Albers and one without him.

(TouringCarTimes.com)

Wido Rossen · Apr 12, 2008

Great opening for Audi

The first day of the 2008 DTM season could hardly have gone any better: on Friday Martin Tomczyk in the racing debut of the new Audi A4 set the best time (1m 34.543s), leaving a wide margin between himself and the rest of the field.

At the end of the first day that started with a one-hour delay due to fog no less than seven Audi A4 DTM cars were at the front of the field. In the second test that took place in rain, Audi drivers again dominated the top ten.

Exactly one year ago, Audi had laid the foundation for the DTM title win by clinching a one-two victory. This season Audi competes with the racing version of the new A4, which left a strong impression at Hockenheim on Friday, both on the dry track as well as in rain. "I really like the car," commented an extremely satisfied Martin Tomczyk. "So far, things have been going really well for all of us, we didn't have any problems whatsoever today. But we shouldn't delude ourselves: Mercedes will probably have a few cards up their sleeve for tomorrow's qualifying. But we know where we stand and how fast our car can be. Friday has been a very productive day for us."

A great debut in the DTM was made by Oliver Jarvis: at age 24, Audi's youngest factory driver, Jarvis set the third-best time behind Martin Tomczyk and Timo Scheider and was thus the quickest driver of a car from last year. For Katherine Legge, on the other hand, the tests did not run as smoothly: in the first session there was a problem with the throttle valves of her car, in the afternoon a brake calliper had to be exchanged.

Great looking Audi from C Albers

Wido Rossen · Apr 12, 2008

Quali results first race 2008

This weekend is the kickoff of the 2008 season in the DTM serie`s.
The first round is on the Hockenheim circuit.
This season features some new drivers in the serie`s.
Like: Katherine Legge, Oliver Jarvis, Christijan Albers, Maro Engel and Ralph Schumacher.

The quali results are posted below.