Timo Scheider: “This is the hardest year of my DTM career”

Audi Sport Team Phoenix driver Timo Scheider won yesterday’s race 1 at Hockenheim, host of the ninth and final round of the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season. The result ended a five-year spell without victories for the German driver.

“It was very special to be able to win at the season finale”, Scheider told TouringCarTimes. “This has been a very difficult season for everyone, and to be able to win after five years is really good for us. I want to congratulate Pascal Wehrlein on his championship. I think our car was stronger, but they did it, they managed to prevail in the championship.”

The 2015 season brought many changes to the DTM, featuring a 2-race per weekend format. The 2008 and 2009 champion said: “This has been a very tough year for us. The racing weekends have been very tight, and the level of competitiveness has been very high. A small mistake can cost you a tenth of a second, and that can be the difference between being in the top ten or at the back of the pack.”

Timo Scheider was also at the centre of the “schieb ihn raus” controversy in Spielberg, which earned him a one race suspension: “This has definitely been the most difficult season in the 15 years I have been in the DTM. To have to stay at home, away from the track and the team, and watch Moscow on TV was very hard. But that’s behind us now and I’m glad to have won this weekend.”