Ingolstadt, January 18, 2004![]() ![]() Five days of testing in Jerez ![]() After its successful roll-out shortly before Christmas which was followed ![]() by tests in the wind tunnel and on a dynamic suspension test bench, the ![]() Audi A4 DTM has passed its first examination on a race track at Jerez in ![]() Spain. After five days of testing and completing over 1,000 kilometres in ![]() Audi´s new touring car, Audi factory drivers Emanuele Pirro, Mattias ![]() Ekström and Tom Kristensen were impressed by their new “tool”. ![]() ![]() The A4 is real fun to drive ![]() “I felt well in the car immediately,” explained Emanuele Pirro, who, on ![]() Wednesday, was the first of the three Audi drivers to climb into the cockpit ![]() of the new A4 after getting accustomed to a DTM car at the wheel of an Abt- ![]() Audi TT-R. “The A4 is real fun to drive. The car is very forgiving, you can ![]() really attack. Following the seat fitting at Ingolstadt, I had some worries ![]() regarding the extreme position of the seat. However, driving the car, this ![]() was not a problem at all.” ![]() ![]() Similarly enthusiastic were the comments from Mattias Ekström. “After ![]() only 20 laps, I felt at home in the A4 DTM,” said the Swede. Having ![]() completed the past three seasons in the DTM, Ekström was in the best ![]() position to make comparisons: “Driving the car, there is no concrete ![]() difference to the TT-R. Nothing is in fact completely different, but everything ![]() a little better. Every detail is worked out and prepared absolutely ![]() professionally. The team of Audi Sport did not leave anything to chance ![]() while developing the car. Of course, after the first test, it is too early to ![]() evaluate the whole potential of a new car. In spite of that I am convinced ![]() that my team mates and I will have a lot of fun with the A4 DTM.” ![]() ![]() At Jerez, Ekström also acted as a “driving instructor” for DTM newcomers ![]() Emanuele Pirro and Tom Kristensen. Five times Le Mans winner ![]() Kristensen got to grips with a DTM car at the wheel of the TT-R on ![]() Saturday before driving the Audi A4 DTM for the first time on Sunday. “We ![]() practiced everything: practice, qualifying, long-runs, starts, pit stops – the ![]() full programme,” explained Kristensen. “I knew the DTM only from ![]() watching television and did not know what to expect. After this first test I ![]() feel much more comfortable. The speed was there immediately and I ![]() know more about the DTM now – for example that I will again use my left ![]() foot for braking as in former times.” ![]() ![]() The new Audi A4 DTM ran without problems ![]() Audi motorsport chief Dr Wolfgang Ullrich followed the tests at Jerez on ![]() site and returned satisfied to Ingolstadt: “The new Audi A4 DTM ran without ![]() problems and does not have any teething troubles. We got to know the car ![]() quite well during these five days and tried out various different set-up ![]() options. Our engineers have collected many valuable data which will help ![]() us developing the car.” ![]() |