With just six races left in the current Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters campaign, the charge for the drivers’ title hits the final stretch, with two of Audi Sport’s ranks in the hunt for their first title respectively.
Team Rosberg’s Jamie Green and Team Abt’s Edoardo Mortara are currently third and fourth in the standings, behind BMW’s Marco Wittmann and Mercedes-Benz’s Robert Wickens, who have swapped position at the top of the table.
But both drivers are motivated to keep their run of form going, with Mortara being one of three drivers that has taken two wins this season, having hit the top step of the rostrum at the Hockenheim opener and the sprint race in Norisring.
“I’m very much looking forward to the Nürburgring,”explained Mortara, who has taken two second place finishes at the 3.629-km circuit in 2012 and last year.
“It’s one of my favorite tracks on the DTM calendar. I had many good results there in the past. I feel comfortable on the track and am confident that we’re going to deliver a good race. We’ve still got title chances – it’s make or break now.”
Green is just four points ahead of his Italian colleague in third overall, and has only managed one trip to the podium in 2008 for Mercedes, taking third.
“I’d like to change that and I think we’ve got good chances of making that happen. Our car should be competitive at the Nurburgring,” said the Monaco-based driver, as previous years including last season, have seen the likes of Miguel Molina and Mike Rockenfeller hit the winners’ step or the podium.
Head of DTM, Dieter Gass, is aware that the weather in the Eifel region can be unpredictable at the best of times, with this coming weekend being no differed.
“We intend to come back with renewed strength. The championship race is intensifying. Everything is still open, and our aims are unchanged. We’re expecting a balanced field at the Nürburgring,” he said, admitting that the issues for the Ingolstadt ranks at Moscow were tyre related.
“The Moscow analysis has confirmed our original assumption that we didn’t get the tires to work in qualifying. We’ve come up with corrective actions.”
Audi Sport is 46 points behind BMW Motorsport in the race for the manufacturer’s title, but will have a slight weight advantage over Mercedes-AMG DTM for the start of the weekend, which could assist in their chances to take another title, having narrowly missed out last season by seven points.