“After my second pit-stop I caught Bruno – it was a very tough but always fair duel. I was lacking a tiny bit of speed to overtake him, but it was the first race so scoring points is more important than trying to force the issue.”
The significance of Audi's level of superiority over Mercedes – with Ekström lapping on average up to half a second quicker than Spengler and Paul di Resta, who was also in the mix for the rostrum before he was delayed at his second pit-stop, dropping back down to 13th – was not lost on Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, though the German remains aware that the upcoming meeting at Oschersleben this weekend proved to be rather more of a three-pointed star benefit last year.
“This is really a superb start for the new Audi A4 DTM,” underlined the Head of Audi Motorsport. “It was obvious that this car delivers very good performance. The front row on the grid and three podium places in the first race – it's hard to wish for a better result than this. Martin even came extremely close to clinching fourth place.
“A great achievement by the squad throughout the winter, as well as here on-site. We were strong in terms of driving performance, and the pit-stops – particularly with the new cars – were sensational. Now we've got a good base. Of course we need to continue working on it to sustain a consistently good performance.”
“This was a sensational day,” added Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline team director Hans-Jürgen Abt. “I really, really thank everyone. Everybody was fully in control while doing their job and the cars were perfectly prepared – everything fit.
“Such a made-to-measure opening race is hard to imagine. It wasn't sheer luck, but meticulous, detailed work throughout the winter. Congratulations to the entire team!"”
![Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline star Mattias Ekstrom celebrates victory in the 2008 DTM season-opener at Hockenheim [pic credit: DTM Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/428437.jpg)
