25 years have passed since Hans Joachim Stuck’s DTM victory at the Norisring with the legendary Audi Sport V8 quattro, but such historic moments are looked back at with great fondness.
The current President of the German Motorsport Federation (DMSB) took a step back in time yesterday afternoon, climbing behind the wheel of the car that he drove to victory at Audi’s “home” race.
His return to the famed street track will be part of a presentation that will be screened on “Das Erste,” as a part of their coverage this weekend, but it evoked some wonderful times for Stuck himself, along with the fans in attendance: “It was great to see how many people we’re still able to thrill with Audi’s first DTM successes today.”
Five of Audi Sport’s employees back then, which included former Head of Motorsport Dieter Basche, met up and talked about those times, including Stuck himself.
The V8 quattro itself was only in competition for two seasons between 1990 and 1991, as both Stuck and fellow Audi Sport alumni Frank Biela won the DTM title respectively. This was before a technical dispute arose at the start of the 1992 campaign, forcing the Ingolstadt manufacturer to withdraw from the series.
One driver that is in the current active roster who was inspired by the racing in the series at that time, is two-time DTM champion, Mattias Ekström: “I attended the DTM for the first time as a spectator at the age of 14. Audi already thrilled me back then. I’m looking forward to being on the grid in Audi Sport’s historic colors on Saturday and Sunday.”
Even with this demonstration of DTM machinery of the past, Stuck will also be on hand later on this season, as he will be piloting the RS5 DTM taxi, chauffeuring Audi guests around one of the tracks the series will travel to: “This makes a dream of mine come true.”