Formula Master regular Sergey Afanasiev made his DTM debut at the wheel of one of FutureCom-TME's Audi A4s at the Circuito de Almería this week, receiving his prize test as the FMaster series' 'best team-mate' for 2008.

Despite never having driven a touring car before, and the obvious differences to his usual single-seater, the Russian adapted easily to the V8-engined machine as he spent two days with Colin Kolles' team, which ran Christijan Albers and Katherine Legge during the 2008 season.

"Today was a great experience, I really enjoyed driving such a different car," Afanasiev said, "Getting the opportunity to test something as powerful as a DTM car isn't common, so I must thank Formula Master for that. It's an important step in my career, as well as being really great fun!

"The feel of the car was quite similar to a formula car; the main difference is in the overall weight, which means you have to approach and go through corners in a different way. Acceleration is quite similar thanks to the powerful engine, so the main other difference for me was the temperature - it gets really hot in the cockpit!"

FutureCom-TME technical director Boris Bermes was equally enthusiastic about Afanasiev's first attempt behind the wheel of the Audi A4, commenting positively on the Russian's development during the test.

"It was very nice to work with Sergey," he noted, "He improved throughout the test, but adapted immediately to the way of driving required by this kind of car. Overall, he showed good potential and I can genuinely say that he proved Formula Master drivers are well equipped to test as powerful a car as the Audi A4 DTM."