I’m glad to find a few minutes to bring you guys a short update on what has been going on the last few weeks…one thing is for sure; there was no time to get bored!
After the very good start into my DTM season with a pole and podium in Hockenheim, the competition made our lives not easy during the second round at the beautiful Red Bull Ring. Still, I managed to finish in the top 10 in the first race, but got punched off the track on Sunday.
Then it was time to switch my Audi RS5 DTM for the R8 LMS for one weekend; the great 24h of the Nürburgring was awaiting. As last year’s winners, we had high expectations, no question. Unfortunately, things didn’t go our way at all. The balance of performance was not putting us into a position to fight for the victory and in addition, luck was not on our side. We suffered punctures, issues with the fuel rig and last but not least I had a nasty off on an oily track in the early morning hours where I couldn’t do anything anymore. Audi Sport Team WRT did an amazing job to repair the car and we carried it over the finish line at the toughest 24h race on the world as a small reward. Be sure that this only makes us more hungry to come back and go for it again next year!
To jump straight back into my Audi Sport Team ABT Playboy RS5 DTM at the 3rd DTM round on the Laustzing was the best way to forget about the disappointment. Things were going really well in free practice (always in top 3), and I felt really good in my car. Then unfortunately it was traffic during qualifying 1 that cost me a top 5 starting position for the Saturday race. More than a 10th place wasn’t possible then anymore. Due to the performance weight situation, the Sunday was more challenging for us Audis. With only 0.35 seconds gap to pole position, I had to settle for 15th place on the grid…incredible how tight and competitive that DTM field is! With a great start and a strong race overall, I managed to pull of a great recovery up to 8th place during race 2, scoring another 4 important points.
In between the racing I have been doing lot’s of promotional work. One highlight was the Audi Ultra Cup at the Kieler Woche, where I got the chance to experience high class sailing.
Then, last weekend, we were back to the racing: Norisring, the highlight in the DTM calendar, not only because it is Audi’s home race, but because the city track in the middle of Nuremberg produces spectacular racing and attracts load’s of fans.
The first part of the weekend didn’t turn out my way. After a decent qualifying, where the 24 cars were only separated by 0.4 seconds over one lap, I started the shorter Saturday race in 10th. With a strong pace I was on my way forwards, already running in 9th after the opening laps. Then I made a mistake behind my team mate Mike Rockenfeller when I locked my rear wheels at the braking of T1, sliding into him lightly and causing his car to spin. Consequently, I got a drive through penalty that put me at to end of the field and I finished 21st.
Waking up on Sunday morning, I was really wanting to make up for that dark Saturday. I squeezed all out of my Audi RS5 DTM in qualifying, even kissing the walls a few times, and managed to secure P3 on the grid (Ekström got a 3 place grid penalty that put me from 4th to 3rd).
My start was very good and I got past Di Resta in the opening lap, chasing down the leading BMW of Blomqvist for the first half of the race. Thanks to great pace on the old tires, my Audi Sport Team ABT made the right call to keep me out when everybody around us went in for their mandatory pit stops and fresh tires. To top it off, the boys did a mega pit stop and I got out of the pits in the lead!
Despite a late safety car that destroyed the gap I had built over my chasers, I managed to keep things under control at the restart and the last few laps to cross the line in P1! What an incredible satisfaction to get my first DTM win, and especially here at Audi’s home race at the Norisring (where an Audi hadn’t won for 14 years!)! Insane!!!
A large part of that victory belongs to the great team behind me, who just did great and have been working very hard for this. Also a big thank you to all of you for the great support, we keep pushing full pull!!!
There’s not much time for rest, already this weekend I’m racing again…this time back in the Audi R8 LMS for the Blancpain Sprint Cup on the Nürburgring. Thanks for crossing your fingers and I’m looking forward to tell you about how things are going along soon again!
Yours, Nico