19-year-old Aberdein will be one of six drivers taking part in the Audi DTM Young Driver Tests at the Lausitzring, 24th - 26th October.

Jonathan Aberdein (19, South Africa, Motopark) will take the next step in his career as one of the top-ten drivers from this year's ADAC Formula 4 season with four podiums to his name and ninth place overall.

He is now set to test a DTM car for the first time. Aberdein, whose father Chris drove for Audi in many South African race series, is one of six junior international drivers, who will participate in Audi DTM Young Driver testing at the Lausitzring, 24th - 26th October.

"It's like a dream come true for me," said a delighted Aberdein. "It is obviously a great honour to be chosen as one of six drivers worldwide for these tests, and my career path is taking a step in the same direction my father's took with a drive in a race-prepared Audi."

"Many thanks to everyone, who's made it possible, not least to my dad and to my team, Motopark."

Apart from Aberdein, who lined up in the ADAC Formula 4 for Oschersleben-based team Motopark in 2016 and 2017, the following drivers will also be busy testing at the Lausitzring: Austrian Formula 3 driver Ferdinand Habsburg, the two Formula 2 drivers Alex Palou from Spain and Nyck de Vries from the Netherlands and fellow Dutchman, Dries Vanthoor, plus French WTCC rookie Yann Ehrlacher.

Swiss DTM driver Nico Müller from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline will set the benchmark times.

The starting grid for the DTM race at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg on Saturday promises a thrilling 17th race of the season: for the third time this year, BMW driver Timo Glock is on pole position.

Glock had also been first on the grid for the Sunday races during the season opener and in Moscow.

With a lap time of 1m30.648s, the 35-year-old claimed the best starting grid position for the fourth time in his career. Next to him, his fellow BMW driver Maxime Martin will be lining up in second place after being 0.037 seconds short of Glock’s fastest time.   

"It wasn’t easy finding the right balance for the car. Yesterday, I only did four laps and then just the brief free practice session this morning." Said the Ex F1 driver

"As a team, we again did a very good job and got the changes done that we needed. I thought that my first push lap was the faster one, but there, I already made a slight mistake in turn one."

"On the second lap, I got it done over the distance, even though it wasn’t perfect either. In the first sector, I already lost a few tenths after a mistake, but I made up for that in the final part. Of course, I am glad to be up front."

"These three points are in the bag already. This is a very good situation to be in, but the Audis are very strong over the distance." Concluded Glock

Regarding the situation in the drivers’ standings, the second row on the grid is an interesting one: here, Audi drivers Jamie Green and René Rast are two of the six potential title candidates.

In the drivers’ standings, second-placed Rast is the fiercest rival of points’ leader Mattias Ekström, Green is third in the standings.

In the 20 minutes’ qualifying session, Ekström didn’t do better than tenth place on the grid. Behind the tzwo Mercedes-AMG drivers Edoardo Mortara and Robert Wickens in fifth and sixth place, two further title candidates are following with Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Wittmann.

Lucas Auer, the sixth candidate in the ranks of the title contenders, is in 15th place on the starting grid for the Saturday race.

The 17th race of the season will get underway on Saturday at 14.45 hrs. 

Bright sunshine, packed grandstands, thrilling duels and happy winners: the DTM race at the Hockenheimring on Saturday provided pure racing.

After 36 laps, Audi driver Jamie Green was able to celebrate as he was standing on the top step of the podium for the third time this year.

Behind him, his fellow Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller crossed the finish line in second place and completed the 1-2 for Audi. Third place went to BMW driver Timo Glock, who had started the race from pole position.

“I am really happy to have won the race,” Green said after having started from second place.

“I particularly enjoyed the duel with Timo. That was good racing and it was fair throughout.”

Pole sitter Glock, who was firstly overtaken by Green after a few laps and then by Rockenfeller on the final lap, was still happy with third place. “We knew that Audi would be very strong over the distance,” Glock said.

“I then concentrated on a good start after my pole position and pull a gap. When Jamie came to the fore, I had no way to defend.”

Rockenfeller benefited from a late pit stop on lap 23. After his stop, Rockenfeller overtook one opponent after another and worked his way up into third place.

On the final lap, ‘Rocky’ then also overtook Glock and came home in second place. “That was a race I really enjoyed. From seventh place on the grid, I made my way to the front and gained the positions on the track."

"With the fresh tyres, it was no problem,” the 2013 DTM champion said.

Maxime Martin, who started from second place on the front row, just missed out on a podium finish in fourth position.

Mercedes-AMG driver Edoardo Mortara finished fifth ahead of title candidate René Rast. Robert Wickens, Lucas Auer, Gary Paffett and Bruno Spengler took the final point-scoring positions in that order.

Prior to the 18th and final race of the season on Sunday, one thing is already clear: the 2017 DTM champion will be driving an Audi RS 5 DTM. Eleventh in today’s race, Mattias Ekström didn’t score any points and he saw his margin over his rivals reduced from 21 to nine points.

With Ekström (172 points), Green (163), Rast (159) and Rockenfeller (152), only four Audi drivers still have chances of the coveted DTM championship title.

Ekström and Green, however, will be handicapped for the finale: after his third warning, Ekström will be dropped five places on the starting grid while Green already received his fifth warning and therefore will be dropped ten positions.

Who will claim the 2017 DTM championship title will be decided in the race on Sunday from 15.00 hrs.

Prior to that, the starting grid positions will be determined in qualifying from 12.00 hrs.

Timo Glock is missing only one point. In the drivers’ standings, the BMW driver is 57 points down on Mattias Ekström. This weekend, 56 points are still at stake at Hockenheim.

Thus, the ex-Formula 1 driver is no longer in a position to win the title this season. And: he wouldn’t be too pleased to see the Swede winning his third DTM title. He would rather see it go to Ekström’s fellow Audi drivers who are currently following in second to fourth place. 

“When Mattias has fine-tuned Nico in the right way for this weekend, he has the best chances,” he can’t help but making a knock to his opponent of many years.

“During the last races, he has demonstrated how to maximise it and get it done correctly. At the end of the day, I would be happy to see René Rast, Jamie Green or Mike Rockenfeller winning the title, because they have made it by themselves.”

This season, Nico Müller was often criticised by Mercedes and BMW drivers who accused him of having plotted his strategy to the benefit of ‘Eki’.

Glock himself is looking back upon a successful fifth season in the DTM. He was particularly strong in the races on Saturday. At Hockenheim and Budapest, he finished second.

At Zandvoort, he even won. With 115 points, he is currently seventh in the standings. So far, ninth place in 2013 was his best DTM championship result. “My season had many highs and lows. In my fifth year in the DTM, I wanted to make a step ahead and establish myself in the top five, which I largely managed."

"I can still make it into the top three when everything runs perfectly. That will be my goal for this weekend,” Glock said.

René Rast is looking back upon a surprisingly good year. The rookie managed to win one race each at Budapest, Moscow and Spielberg and scored a pair of pole positions at Budapest.

“Prior to my first race at Hockenheim, I was really nervous. I couldn’t estimate how fast I am. There were many question marks. Now, I am here for the finale, boosted by three wins. I know that I am competitive. I can win races. I have much less pressure. I have battled for many championships, but I never was as relaxed before."

"For me, the DTM was a door that was closed for many years. I always wanted to show to everybody that I deserved a seat in the series. The success has made me more relaxed,” Rast reflects.

With a gap of 21 points to Ekström, he is the main rival of his fellow Audi driver. “I am feeling very well in the role of the hunter. Going flat out is my plan for the weekend, there is no alternative. The weather should remain stable with sunny and dry conditions. That is good for our car.”

Paul Di Resta wasn’t able to fulfill the expectations for this season. The Mercedes-AMG driver is currently only tenth with 99 points.

Only in 2014, the Scot ended up in a worse position in the final DTM standings. At least, he managed to win a race at Budapest and scored a pair of podium finishes at the Nürburgring.

“I had many highs and lows and I am not really happy with my season. I always want to win races. But, to be realistic, I want to score a podium finish here. That would make the long winter break easier to handle for me."

"That would already be a big achievement.” In the battle for the title, Di Resta is expecting Ekström to come out on top.

“Mattias is in a strong position. He is a clever old hand. On the other hand, Lucas Auer also still has the chance to win the title. Making this happen has to be our goal.”