After a disappointing turn of events at Circuit Park Zandvoort, Audi Sport’s Edoardo Mortara is looking to make up for the unjustified drive-through penalty he received at the Dutch circuit, as he is still very much in contention for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) drivers’ title.
The Italian, whose penalty was a result of a technical issue, is currently third in the drivers’ standings on 88 points, team points behind stable mate Jamie Green and a further seven points behind points leader Marco Wittmann.
Mortara is the only driver so far this season that has taken two wins, and will be looking to be in the fight for the title that eluded him last year at the Hockenheim finale.
“I still have chances of winning the title and at Moscow we need to score as many points as possible,” said the 29-year-old, who recently became a father for the first time.
Green, who won last time out at the feature race at Zandvoort, has been resurgent in the form that showed him as a title contender last year, and will be eager to add to his win and podium tally of the current campaign.
“Following my misfortune at the beginning of the season, things are going as smoothly again as they did last year,” said the Monaco-based racer, who took two top five finishes last season, placing fourth and fifth in each respective race.
Audi has always gone well at the 3.931-km track since its introduction to the DTM back in 2013, with Mike Rockenfeller taking the inaugural win on his way to winning his first title.
Miguel Molina, who won the first race at Lausitzring this year, has the current lap record holder since 2014 with a 1:28.350, which has also showcased the pure speed in the RS% DTM.
Head of DTM Dieter Gass feels that the Ingolstadt ranks will perform well again this year, saying that they “should be well-set” for the action that the DTM provides there.
“The Moscow Raceway is a challenging track with a relatively even surface. [Moscow] marks the beginning of the final sprint in the title race. We’re giving our all to make up further ground in the championship – preferably in all three classifications.”
The first free practice for the DTM at Moscow Raceway gets underway at 17:00 local time (British Summer Time + 2), lasting for 30 minutes.