Exactly 182 days after Mattias Ekström won the 2007 DTM title at Hockenheim, Audi's title defence begins at the same venue with a number of new faces backing up the Swede.
Among them, Katherine Legge knows that she may only have a small part to play in Ekstrom's – and Audi's – attempt to win back-to-back crowns as she embarks on a learning year with the Futurecom TME squad, but the 27-year old is determined not to be overshadowed.
Having given up a place on the Champ Car grid to make the switch to the DTM, Legge admits that she has a mountain to climb – with a new team, new car and new circuits to learn in addition to getting to used to a new championship – but is determined to make every lap count at the start of the season.
“It's going to be a little nerve wracking for me, making my Audi, DTM and Hockenheim debuts all in one go, but I'll be aiming to learn as much as possible about the A4 and the DTM in general and to do a professional job for Audi and Futurecom TME,” she insisted.
“I'm really excited about my first DTM race with Audi - I can't wait to see what it's going to be like. It's important for me to get as many miles under my belt over the three days at Hockenheim.”
Just one week later, the series reconvenes at Oschersleben, and Legge – who follows in the wheeltracks of former Audi ‘lady pilots' Michèle Mouton, Tamara Vidali and Vanina Ickx - is boosted by the knowledge that, while stablemate Timo Scheider was fastest of all in testing at the eastern German circuit, the Audi marque's older cars, which are allowed to run with less weight, have a good chance of posting respectable results as well.
![Katherine Legge - Futurecom TME Audi A4 [Pic credit: Audi Motorsport]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/423757.jpg)
