Healthy competition

With the start of the 2018 DTM (German Touring Car Masters) just around the corner, Audi’s DTM drivers found themselves in the Canary Islands for final physical preparations ahead of the season start.

A program of swimming, strength training, running and cycling under the direction of Le Mans record winner and hardcore fitness fiend, Tom Kristensen and team physician Dr. Vincenzo Tota, saw the six DTM drivers put through their paces in Lanzarote. 

They were joined by their fellow drivers from Formula E as well as team principals and Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass, at Club La Santa, a facility which is popular as a training camp with professional athletes from around the world. 

“No doubt, the motto ‘never change a winning team’ is not a new one,” says Gass. “When you clinch all three DTM titles plus the top four spots in the drivers’ classification there’s really no reason to change everything. That’s why our rookie, Robin Frijns, will take over Mattias Ekström’s cockpit at ABT. The two other driver pairings at Phoenix and Rosberg will remain unchanged. I’m convinced that we’re perfectly set this way for the title defence in the DTM.”
As a result, the Dutchman Robin Frijns will be the new teammate of the Swiss Nico Müller in Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. Racing for Audi Sport Team Phoenix will be the German Mike Rockenfeller, the 2013 DTM Champion, and the Frenchman Loïc Duval, who is tackling his second DTM season in 2018. The third Audi RS 5 DTM, Audi Sport Team Rosberg, continues to be made up of Jamie Green and title defender René Rast.

With such a highly charged and competitive group of athletes all gathered together in the one place, the sense of competition was bound to come to the fore, and the Audi Sport week was no exception. Although there wasn’t a conventional race track or indeed, any race cars within easy reach, when the drivers had had their fill of racing each other on mountain bikes, they looked for an alternative style of racing to match skills.

Racing cars powered by what can only be described as ‘very green energy’, the DTM teams and the Formula E drivers faced off ‘on the track’. 

When push came to shove, it was the pairing of Mike Rockenfeller and Loïc Duval from Phoenix Racing who crossed the line first – although a steward’s inquiry was called for over an incident right on the line. No charges were laid!

Although a lighthearted way to kick off their season, the Audi Sport teams will be all business when the 2018 DTM season kicks off on at Hockenheimring on May 4th.