Le Mans
Immediately before the start of the DTM race at Oschersleben, Audi factory driver Marco Werner ran demonstration laps with the new Audi R10 TDI. These were the first public laps of the new diesel-powered sportscar on a racetrack in Europe. Audi will be fighting for overall victory at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans on 17/18 June with the R10 TDI.
Pierre Kaffer tested the Audi R10 TDI for the first time at Paul Ricard (France) between the two DTM races at the EuroSpeedway and at Oschersleben. The DTM driver stood in for Allan McNish and Dindo Capello who competed in, and won, the street race in Houston.
Alexander Stehlig, Mattias Ekström’s race engineer in the DTM, this year also acts as engineer for Fredrik Ekblom in the Audi A4 STCC, contesting the Swedish Touring Car Championship. At the season opener in Knutstorp last weekend Stehlig received support from a celebrity: Mattias Ekström hung the pit board out for Ekblom in the race.
Prior to the warm-up at Oschersleben Audi factory driver Mattias Ekström was visited by two drivers who, like himself, drive cars sporting the Red Bull livery: The South African Giniel de Villiers and his co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz, who in their Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 just won the Rally Transibérico and contested the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup at Oschersleben as guest entrants, kept their fingers crossed for Mattias Ekström’s DTM race.
Mattias Ekström’s partner Tina Thörner has finally achieved superstar status in Sweden: Together with singer André Esteche the rally co-driver won the finale of the TV show "Rampfeber” in which celebrities performed a duet with a professional singer. Thörner/Esteche had already come out on top in the preliminary rounds and semi-final.
Before the start of the DTM race on Sunday Audi factory driver Christian Abt welcomed prominent guests at Audi Sport Team Phoenix’s team garage: The Audi factory driver was visited by Hermes House Band and Janine Habeck, "Playmate of the year 2004." The native of Berlin had a first-hand experience of the Oschersleben circuit followed by a ride in the racing taxi driven by Marco Werner.