The eighth round of the 2013 DTM takes the series east to Oschersleben with Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller closing in on the Championship title.
After another four week break since round seven from the Nürburgring, Audi, BMW and Mercedes are all prepared for the final three races of the season to see who will be crowned Champion.
Rockenfeller currently has a 35 point advantage over nearest rival Christian Vietoris while 49 points separates Rockenfeller and Briton Gary Paffett – with 75 points left to race for, Mattias Ekström still has an outside chance of taking the title for Audi.
With one Audi, three Mercedes and two BMW drivers in the top six after seven races, the season has been unpredictable and the Oschersleben circuit will add to that.
With its mix of long straights, tight corners and suspension breaking kerbs, the 3.6km circuit isn’t one for the faint hearted or a drivers favourite but is an event which the fans flock to, as they can get close to the action from the spectator banks.
Since 2001, Audi have taken five wins at the circuit with four for Mercedes Benz and BMW took their sole victory at the circuit last year with Bruno Spengler as he headed towards the title.
Two drivers have both taken two victories at the circuit during their DTM career and Mercedes Benz’s Gary Paffett heads to Oschersleben looking for another reason to celebrate – this weekend marks his 100th start in the Championship and he is looking to take his third victory there.
BMW Motorsport’s two former World Touring Car Championship drivers, Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus have both taken victories at the circuit and the Brazilian driver is one of the two BMW drivers in contention for the Championship – he sits a point behind team-mate and reigning Champion Spengler.
The final title contender, Robert Wickens, is the second of the trio of Mercedes drivers in with a realistic chance of overhauling runaway leader Rockenfeller, and the Canadian driver is a point behind his German team-mate.
For Rockenfeller to secure the crown at Oschersleben, he needs to have a 51 point advantage heading to Zandvoort. A top two finish with either Vietoris or Wickens picking up big Championship points would see the title secured while a bad weekend for Rockenfeller could see the title race wide open again heading to the sand dunes of Holland for the penultimate round of the season.