DTM

Brno: Audi qualifying report

Third consecutive pole position for Audi For the third time in a row and for as much as the fifth in the total 2004 DTM season so far, an Audi A4 DTM car will be starting to the race from the top position on the grid. For the third time in a row ...

Edited: Sep 19, 2004, 12:23 AM

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Third consecutive pole position for Audi

For the third time in a row and for as much as the fifth in the total 2004 DTM season so far, an Audi A4 DTM car will be starting to the race from the top position on the grid. For the third time in a row and for as much as the fifth in the total 2004 DTM season so far, an Audi A4 DTM car will be starting to the race from the top position on the grid.

In the qualifying session at Brno (Czech Republic), Audi works driver Mattias Ekström clinched his fourth pole position of the year, thus giving him optimum prerequisites for the race in which the Swede could be claiming the DTM title even before the season has ended.

The qualifying session on the 5.403-kilometre circuit saw the Audi teams rendering a strong performance of the Audi brand as a whole: for the first time, five Audi drivers managed to get into the top ten, with the first two rows on the grid filled by three Audi A4 DTM cars.

Quotes after qualifying

Mattias Ekström:

"My super pole lap was good, but not perfect. In the previous qualifying session, I was a bit quicker. Still, my time was good enough to clinch pole and, needless to say, I'm very happy about that. Tomorrow's race will probably be a tough but fair fight with Christijan. He knows - as well as I do - that both of us have to make it across the finish line. "

Martin Tomczyk:

"The 17 thousandths of a second I'm behind Christijan Albers do irk me a bit. I went into a small spin just before the end of the lap. Ultimately, that was the time I lost. But I clocked my fastest time in the super pole yet again and so I'm satisfied. We're sorted out very well for tomorrow. Of course, the fight with Albers will be tough but, let's face it, he's practically surrounded by nothing but Audi cars."

Tom Kristensen:

"It's been great being at the very front here this whole weekend, being the quickest in the qualifying and the first to undercut the 1.53 minute-mark. We did not change anything on the car after the qualifying, and up to the third sector everything was going perfectly. But then my car started to understeer a bit too much. That threw me back to fourth place instead of the pole that might have been possible. Of course, I'm not satisfied with this result, but I'm confident that I'll have a very good car for the race."

Christian Abt:

"I'm satisfied with position eight on the starting grid, because this has not been an easy weekend for me so far. It took me a long time to come up with the right set-up. But - somehow - it was okay in the qualifying. In the super pole session I wasted two, three tenths of a second. My goal - now - is to drive a very good race tomorrow and to grab my first points this year."

Emanuele Pirro:

"I have mixed emotions about today's result. Of course, I'm happy to have finally made it into the super pole. Yet after the free practice session, I'd been sure there'd be a bit more in it for me. Seventh place in the qualifying was okay, although I had too much oversteering with the last set of tyres. With the set of tyres I used in the super pole things were less than perfect as well, the car was completely out of balance."

Frank Biela:

"After my good free practice session, the qualifying was a disappointment for me. Compared to this morning, we weren't able to improve as much as the others. In the third outing I was doing quite well until I made a mistake in the hairpin."

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline):

"Yet again our team has done a super job. To get all four cars into the top ten, considering the strength of this field, cannot be simply taken for granted. Mattias did everything right in the qualifying and has a good starting position for tomorrow's race. Again, we'll try to support him with perfect pit stops. But the race will probably be a thriller."

Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest):

"Finally, we've managed to make it into the super pole with Emanuele. During the whole weekend it was pretty sure he'd be getting into the top ten. Thank god, the qualifying went well this time, too, that was important for the motivation of the whole team. Now, we're hoping to be able to apply all this in tomorrow's race and to be scoring more points. It's too bad that Frank didn't quite make it. He was complaining about excessive oversteer."

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport):

"That was an incredibly tight qualifying session with a super result for Audi. We might have been able to achieve even better places for our cars on the starting grid, but considering how tight the field of the top runners is, even the smallest mistakes account for one or two positions right away. Mattias drove a completely perfect lap. The pole he's clinched is well deserved. And, what's more, he has four team-mates competing alongside him at the very front as well. That is a good team performance and a good starting base for the race."

Mattias Ekström
Audi Sport Team Abt / Audi A4 DTM #5
1st place "super pole", 1m 53.003s

Martin Tomczyk
Audi Sport Team Abt / Audi A4 DTM #6
3rd place "super pole", 1m 53.248s

Tom Kristensen
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline / Audi A4 DTM #12
4th place "super pole", 1m 53.314s

Christian Abt
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline / Audi A4 DTM #11
8th place "super pole", 1m 53.737s

Emanuele Pirro
Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest / Audi A4 DTM #44
10th place "super pole", 1m 54.094s

Frank Biela
Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest / Audi A4 DTM #45
14th place, 1m 54.224s

-audi-

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