We're now five rounds into my first season in the DTM and, although my results don't look great to the untrained eye, I think it's been a good start overall.
Taking the Norisring out of the equation, because that was something of an anomaly for us, the general trend has been 'getting better'. I've learned a lot and, up to the Lausitzring, it's been a steady progression, which has been good. I think the Norisring was difficult just because of the nature of the track, and the nature of our car on the track, but I'm really looking forward to Zandvoort now.
Of course, running in a 2006 car has been frustrating because, as a competitive person and a competitive driver, you want to be challenging and winning races, but I have to keep reminding myself that that's not the goal - well, it
is the goal, but it's not a realistic one.
I have Christijan Albers as my team-mate and, given a 2007 or 2008 car, I know that he would be challenging at the front of the field, so he's a really good yardstick to have at TME Futurecom. All I have to do is keep aiming at Christijan and I think that, if I can perform well against him, then people will notice that. I have to earn my stripes, do all the right things and earn the right to move up into a one-year old and a new car. That's the realistic goal this season.
The feedback I've been getting has been good, and I really couldn't be happier with the team or with Audi. I'm so well supported that it's been a joy and a pleasure to work with them. I don't know how to describe it really, but it's really different to what I've been used to because it is such a family. You have all the tools there that you need to get the job done, and it's been very enlightening.
Other than testing, I've never been to any of the circuits that we race on in the DTM, except for Brands Hatch, so it's been a new experience learning them all. I've been trying to learn Zandvoort on the computer for the next round, but the other drivers have all been really helpful too. I know that I can go to anyone of them and ask a question because they've been there and done that - even Oliver Jarvis has been to a lot of the tracks before. It's been a really good resource to be able to go and ask questions of such an experienced bunch.
I've liked all of the tracks that we've been to. It was good to go to Hockenheim because I'd never been there before, but we didn't really have a very good weekend and I guess you always favour the circuits where you have a really good race. Whatever the outcome, however, it's been a great experience to race at places like Mugello, Lausitz and Oschersleben and, with the DTM retaining much the same calendar for 2009, it will be experience I can call on in the future.
With the Norisring, I thought it'd be good for us because I'd been racing on street circuits for the past three years but, of course, I know now that it's nothing like the street courses you get in America.
There are only four corners, but it's really tough - both on the car and on the drivers. Not physically tough, but every lap is different - you can place the car exactly where it was the lap before but, if you have 2psi more brake pressure, the car reacts completely differently. It's difficult, and it suits different kinds of car better than others, so a lot depends on your set-up, the car that you're in, your braking...
