Paffett leads as DTM goes back to Germany

DTM’s next stop is Oschersleben, Germany, after the previous race at Zandvoort. After an all-Audi podium in the Netherlands, Gary Paffett leads the standings by 16 points over fellow Mercedes driver Jamie Green and goes into the race hopeful of a good result.
“I had very good pace at Zandvoort. Barring incidents, we should be able to achieve a good result at Oschersleben. We raced in the wet here last year, we’ll have to wait and see what the weather has in store for us this weekend,” said Paffett.

Jamie Green goes into the meeting two points ahead of BMW’s Bruno Spengler, courtesy of his fourth place at Zandvoort which meant the Englishman was the best non-Audi driver on Sunday. The 30-tears-old took two podiums at Oschersleben in his career, and after two third places he wants to do better
“In the past I’ve had two third-place podium finishes at Oschersleben and would love to get another podium this weekend – and maybe even my first win at this circuit. As often is the case, qualifying is especially important at Oschersleben but, as Gary and I showed in Zandvoort, you can still climb through the field on Sunday if your race pace is good,” said Green.

Bruno Spengler is the highest placed BMW driver in the standings, 18 points shy of championship leader Gary Paffett. The Canadian likes the twisty Oschersleben track and will be keen to try and make up for some points over the lead.
“Oschersleben is a circuit that I really like”, said Spengler. “It is unique, with only a few straight sections. As such, you always have to work hard with the steering wheel. You regularly drive over the kerbs and have to master a variety of different corners.”

BMW Team Schnitzer team principal Charly Lamm is convinced that the way the cars will behave on the high kerbs will be crucial for performance.
“We know the circuit in Oschersleben very well from our time in the World Touring Car Championship, and have celebrated some very nice wins there with BMW. It is obviously completely different returning with the BMW M3 DTM. The circuit is challenging and features a wide variety of corners within a short distance. How well the cars negotiate the kerbs will be of primary importance. We hope we can take plenty of momentum into the final straight of the DTM season. Oschersleben is certainly a great venue for us to do that,” said Spengler.

Edoardo Mortara goes into Oschersleben as the highest placed Audi driver and has sweet memories of this track, after clinching the Formula 3 title two years ago and finishing on the podium last year.
“Oschersleben has been a good track for me so far”, said the Italian. “In 2010, I won the Formula 3 title and in 2011 took my second DTM podium there. So I’ve got fond memories. After the Nürburgring and Zandvoort, we’re optimistic and hoping to be able to achieve another top result.”

Having showed strong pace in the last two races, with a podium at Nürburgring and a 1-2-3 in Zandvoort, Audi are looking forward to Oschersleben, where Audi dominated last year with Mattias Ekström. Audi Sport director Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich is convinced the team is heading in the right direction and does not rule out Audi as a benchmark as the series returns to Germany.
“With the one-two-three victory at Zandvoort we made a considerable leap forward in the standings and in the manufacturers’ classification we are now just five points behind Mercedes-Benz and clearly in front of BMW. If we manage a similarly strong team performance as we last did at the Nürburgring and at Zandvoort we might even become the front runner at Oschersleben,” said Ullrich.