Totally focused on the DTM Cham­pi­onship

DTM Hock­en­heim (D)

After a few, but successful, test days with the new, super­fast DTM turbo cars (over 600 hp), the season’s opener in Hock­en­heim began in the tradi­tional way on the May Day weekend. On the Saturday, a temper­a­ture of around 5 degrees plus rain made our lives diffi­cult, and we also strug­gled with a problem with our car. However, 8th place enabled us to contain the damage and still open the season with some points. On the Sunday, the rain stayed away and we were able to record our first really fast lap times. The 4-​cylinder DTM turbo gener­a­tion is even faster than last year’s by about 3 seconds! For me, person­ally, the second day of racing went much better. Starting from 4th place, I fought my way imme­di­ately into 2nd place and started chasing the leader. Unfor­tu­nately, the safety car was used at an unfavourable time, which ruined our strategy and, with it, the chance of victory. However, with a strong 2nd place, our season was now defi­nitely under way.

MotoGP Star Andrea Dovizioso

During the short break between the opening races, I had the honour of intro­ducing our mega guest starter and MotoGP star, Andrea Dovizioso, to the world of DTM. I accom­pa­nied him on his simu­lator sessions and on his first test drives in the Audi RS5 DTM.

DTM Zolder (B)

We continued with the second DTM race in Zolder (Belgium). This was new terri­tory for me and also the return of the DTM to its birth­place. I quickly found my way around the new track and, on the Saturday, secured 3rd place for us on the next podium as well as impor­tant points. On the Sunday, unfor­tu­nately, little went according to plan. We performed badly in the qual­i­fier and only just made it to 12th place. During the race, while gaining ground to get into the top five, I was pushed off the track and even­tu­ally had to settle for 8th.

DTM Misano (I)

Next stop Misano. On the Saturday we couldn‘t quite get our car up to its peak perfor­mance poten­tial, so 5th place was the maximum we could salvage. For the Sunday we found the correct adjusting screws and the right race set-​up, espe­cially for the long runs, in the scorching Italian heat. From a starting posi­tion in 4th I moved imme­di­ately into 2nd place and later, during the oblig­a­tory pit stop, took the lead. After that we used our top speed, enabling me to pull away with every lap from the chasers behind me. I even­tu­ally secured this long-​awaited second DTM victory (the previous victory was Noris­ring 2016) with almost 8 seconds advan­tage. W ith this, our chal­lenge for the DTM cham­pi­onship was finally launched.

FC Bayern Star Thomas Müller

Imme­di­ately after­wards, I welcomed a very special guest to the Audi Driving Expe­ri­ence Centre in Neuburg. FC Bayern star Thomas Müller ventured behind the wheel for a photo­shoot for his new YouTube series „Da Schau Hi“. Getting to know, and coaching, the like­able foot­baller was not only good fun but also gave us a good expo­sure on his social media chan­nels and in his next YouTube series (137,000 views).

DTM Noris­ring (D)

It was all the more grat­i­fying to at last let lap times speak for them­selves again and to fight for impor­tant points at the climax of the DTM season at the Noris­ring. On the city course in the middle of Nurem­berg I felt really comfort­able and my Audi drove fault­lessly, enabling me to gain supe­ri­ority and secure pole posi­tion for Saturday’s race. The race got off to a perfect start. I main­tained the lead and imme­di­ately left the others behind. That is, until disaster struck in the form of the safety car, which tore our strategy to shreds. We were already assuming that all the podium oppor­tu­ni­ties were gone, but we didn’t give up. Having the fastest car in the field, I fought my way back to 3rd and even over­took the second placed car at the last corner of the final lap. A cause for great cele­bra­tion!

On Sunday, I again started the race from the first row and was about to take the lead at the first corner when, unfor­tu­nately, I got stuck in second gear. So I came out of the bend very badly, lost one place and went neck-​and-neck with Rast into the second corner. He was already assuming that he was passing me and so unex­pect­edly moved inside. He got a small touch, which sent him into a half spin, while I incurred a heavy drive-​through penalty that pushed me way down the whole field. But, having by far the fastest car in the field, I fought my way back in to secure 8th place and four impor­tant points for us in the battle for the cham­pi­onship.

DTM Assen (NL)

The next stop was new terri­tory for the DTM. The high-​speed track in Assen (Holland) awaited us at the halfway point of the season. In the first race, which started in the pouring rain, I began in posi­tion 6. I quickly fought my way back to 3rd. Then after recording a number of the fastest laps one after the other I started to chase the leaders Wittmann and Rast. It looked for a long time as if we could still win this race, but a poorly-​timed pit stop pushed us down to 2nd behind Wittmann. We nonethe­less scored some impor­tant addi­tional points. On the Sunday, the track stayed dry and I qual­i­fied for starting posi­tion 4. In a race marked by extreme tyre wear I crossed the finishing line in 3rd and was back on the podium. So, by mid-​season (after five races) I was in 2nd place in the table on 22 points, behind the leader Rast.

Brands Hatch (GB)

Returning to DTM mode we were welcomed back to the British Isles and the old-​established track at Brands Hatch. Again, I was able to produce two strong races and a podium double – 3rd place on the Saturday and 2nd place on the Sunday.

Summary

This means we are currently 2nd in the table, and still in with a chance to win the 2019 DTM title. René Rast, who tops the current leader-​board, will certainly be anything but easy to beat, but we will give it every­thing we’ve got in the remaining two race week­ends at the Nürbur­gring and Hock­en­heim!