by Russell Atkins
TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: CLICK HERE
Gary Paffett admits he was surprised to have won a race in a year-old machine during his DTM comeback last year, but standing up on the top step of the podium is clearly something he plans on doing a good deal more of in 2008.
The 26-year-old lifted the DTM laurels for Mercedes in 2005, but when he returned two years later it was behind the wheel of one of the three-pointed star's year-old C-Classes – hardly a strong starting point given the impressive strength of the competition in the pan-European tin-top series. Despite this disadvantage, Paffett was in the points on his return and emerged victorious at Oschersleben just two weeks later – in the process making history as the series' first driver ever to triumph in a non-current spec machine.
“It was great to come back,” he reflected, speaking exclusively to
Crash.net Radio. “It's a great series, and I really enjoyed racing again. It's racing that I missed when I wasn't racing in 2006, and that's what I really loved about getting back into the seat.
“The championship is as strong as it's ever been. I think the driver line-up gets perhaps a bit stronger in-depth every year, so it has if anything become more competitive. It's a real duel between the two German giants (Mercedes and Audi). Sometimes it gets a bit out-of-hand, but generally it's a good, tough battle and I think everybody really enjoys the series.
“Winning at Oschersleben was a massive bonus for me, and that's what I want to do – I want to be out racing and winning races. That's the biggest aim really.
