During the three days of testing at Jerez, jointly contested by Audi, BMW and Mercedes-AMG, the DTM drivers were thrilled by the 2019 spec of the DTM cars.
The manufacturers used the second tests – the first were held at Estoril – to continue the work on the new cars meeting the CLASS 1 regulations.
Mike Rockenfeller and Nico Müller covered a lot of kilometres with Audi’s test vehicle to gather a lot of knowledge and experience for the 2019 season.
Rockenfeller tested the 600bhp racer with the new four-cylinder 2-litre turbo engine on Monday and Tuesday. The former DTM Champion completed a total of 211 laps at the 4.428-kilometre circuit. On Wednesday he was replaced by Swiss Nico Müller who also worked hard and did 118 laps. Over the course of the three days, the Audi pairing covered a total mileage of 1,457 kilometres.
“There are several differences, with the engine being the biggest,” said Rockenfeller. “100bhp more always are nice and I hadn’t minded if it had been 200. It was about time and now we’ve got it. At the same time, the aero package produces slightly less drag what also increases our top speed on the straights.”
“The lap times definitely will be faster than in 2018 and it also is great for the race action. As we achieve higher speeds we will have to brake earlier what hopefully will result in a lot of overtaking opportunities. The tyre will have to cope with a harder punishment, this will be a major challenge.” Fellow Audi driver Müller agreed: “We really enjoy driving these things.”
From our point of view, we never have got enough horsepower. The cars will be clearly faster. You will see broad grins under the helmets and the crowds will be provided spectacular motor racing. Wheel-to-wheel battles at 280kph on the straights, that’s quite a stunner. We will witness the fastest DTM ever.”
WITTMANN: “WE ALL ARE THRILLED“
At BMW, the former champions Bruno Spengler and Marco Wittmann alternated in the cockpit of the BMW M4 DTM’s 2019 spec. “During the tests it’s our main task to press forward with the development of the car. One of the top priorities is the new turbo engine: it’s about understanding it better and optimising it test by test.”
“And we used the three days at Jerez to extensively do so. After all, DTM is starting into a new era. And we all are thrilled and already look forward to it. More power always is cool for us drivers. The tests at Jerez were another important step towards the new season,” said Wittmann.
And fellow BMW driver Spengler added: “We are making good progress with our work on the BMW M4 DTM for the coming season. The conditions were consistent and so, we could do a lot of laps and completed our scheduled programme.”
“A very important achievement as our days of testing are limited. It was a productive test.” Now, the manufacturers will use the off-season for analysing the data – to return to Jerez in March.