German driver Markus Östreich will race the second Campos Racing Opel Astra alongside Fernando Monje in this weekend’s TCR International Series races on the Salzburgring, having tested the car with Monje on Friday.
Östreich is no stranger to touring cars, having raced in the inaugural World Touring Car Championship season in 1987 at the wheel of a BMW M3 for Schnitzer Motorsport. The 51-year-old was formerly a factory touring car driver during the 1980s.
The German also raced in the DTM and STW Cup in the early to mid-nineties, before switching to truck racing in 1995, in which he has competed for the past twenty years.
Östreich shared one of Campos’ Opel Astras in Friday testing at the Salzburgring, but an engine issue limited the duo to just 20 laps of running in the only morning session.
The veteran racer is not entirely unfamiliar with the car, having taken one to class victory in the recent Nürburgring 24 Hour race. The TCR car has been modified somewhat to meet the technical regulations of the new series and Östreich admits it is quite different to the one he drove a matter of weeks ago.
“It was my first time in a TCR car and this Astra is very different from the one we drove in the 24 Hours that is much closer to the production model,” explained Östreich. “This is a proper racing car and I had a good feeling. It’s fun to drive and has good performance.
“The team is working flat out to improve it and I hope I can help them, although I still need to get acquainted with some parameters like the tyres that are crucial to work on the car’s set-up.”