Despite having finished last year as the best of the Audi Sport drivers, taking five wins and finishing runner-up to eventual Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champion Marco Wittmann, Mercedes’ Edoardo Mortara is looking forward to his new challenge as a DTM driver, but will also take part in GT3 racing in selected events this season.
The Italian fought until the last race of the year, despite taking the most wins of any of the 24 drivers, including Wittmann himself, and is very aware that his switch to the Stuttgart manufacturer will be anything but easy.
“I’m really looking forward to these races,” said the 30-year-old, who has also taken part in his first two VLN outings on the Nordschleife, having previously competed for Audi in sportscar events, such as the Macau GT World Cup and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
“I think I’m heading in the right direction. The first DTM tests went well, and we did some useful work on the setup. This was only my second time on the Nordschleife behind the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3. The first race in the VLN didn’t go all that well for me, but the recent tests and my second outing went a lot better.”
The Italian, who had his best chance to taking the title so far with the Ingolstadt marque in 2016, is feeling positive coming into the 2017 season, having become a father for the first time earlier this year.
“It was, of course, a big change for me, and in a positive way. I think that it actually makes me slightly more motivated than in the last few years,” said Mortara, who is teamed up with Austria’s Lucas Auer at Team BWT for the forthcoming season.
“I’m not only driving for myself, but also for my family. This year, I’m in a new team and it obviously takes time to adjust. However, I see this in a positive light, and believe that I can once again be in contention for the DTM title.”
He is looking forward to the different driving aspects of both DTM and GT3 cars that Mercedes run in respective categories, which will further increase his steep learning curve this year.
“They are two completely different cars. In the DTM, we operate with a lot more downforce and the cars are lighter, which means more grip. This leads to a more aggressive driving style. Both cars are fun, though. Driving the Mercedes-AMG GT3 here on the Nordschleife is just great and also a big challenge. Switching between the two is not always easy, but I love the varied nature.”
The first round of the 2017 DTM season gets the nine-weekend calendar underway from May 5th, as the teams and drivers return to the Hockenheimring after the customary long winter break.