“Motorsport is an integral part of the Audi DNA and is not an end in itself for our company,” said Wolfgang Dürheimer. “At the end of the day, our customers benefit from the victories on the racetracks, because we attach great value to technology transfer between motorsport and production. Our new Audi RS 6 Avant, which we present here in Geneva, is a prime example: it combines downsizing of the engine with significantly less weight. And where do you learn this? In motorsport.”
The technical specification of the DTM cars was ‘frozen’ in accordance with the regulations as the checkered flag fell at the last race of the 2012 season. Further development was only possible in extremely limited form. Over the winter, the Audi Sport DTM team concentrated on identifying if any of the 4,000 components in the racecar from the 2012 season offered any potential for optimization. “Our technicians proved to be quite resourceful in the process,” explains Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.
The model name Audi RS 5 DTM is new. As a result, Audi establishes a direct reference in the DTM to the company’s successful production models. “The abbreviation ‘RS’ stands for the sportiest Audi models,” said Dr. Ullrich. “The performance data of the current RS 5 and RS 5 DTM are very similar. This is why we are of the opinion that both fit perfectly to one another.”
Eight Audi RS 5 DTM join the grid for the 2013 DTM. They are fielded by the three proven Audi Sport squads Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg, which have reinforced in part by recruiting additional personnel. The allocation of the eight Audi factory drivers between the teams is now also fixed. Newcomer Jamie Green (Great Britain) is the new team-mate of two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström (Sweden) at Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. The 30-year old is regarded as one of the fastest and best DTM drivers of the modern era. He drove the new Audi RS 5 DTM onto the stage during the presentation. “I already feel at home here at Audi and can hardly wait to contest my first DTM race for the four rings,” said the Briton.
With a combined total of 25 race wins and two championship titles, Ekström and Green form the most successful driver combination in the entire DTM 2013 field. Nine DTM race wins unite the other Audi driver teams which have remained almost identical since the 2012 season: the double DTM Champion Timo Scheider (Germany) and Adrien Tambay (France) compete for Audi Sport Team Abt, Miguel Molina (Spain) and Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) for Audi Sport Team Phoenix, Filipe Albuquerque (Portugal) and Edoardo Mortara (Italy/France) for Audi Sport Team Rosberg.
The new DTM season starts on May 5 at the Hockenheimring. Ten events are on the 2013 agenda, six of them in Germany. On top of these six come races in Austria, Great Britain and the Netherlands and on August 4 the debut event at the Moscow Raceway in Russia. The Audi RS 5 DTM appears in action publically for the first time at the DTM test between April 26 and 29 at Barcelona (Spain) and from 9 to 12 April at Hockenheim, where a grandstand is open for spectators on the first day.
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