Double DTM champion Mattias Ekström travels to Dijon-Prenois convinced that his chances of winning the drivers’ championship are still alive.
After a troubled race in Barcelona, the Red Bull Audi A4 DTM driver insists his championship hopes are still alive and well, as the series goes into its penultimate round, at the world-famous Dijon-Prenois circuit.
“I’m convinced that, with 20 points to race for, your chances are not so bad if you’re only 12 points behind. The possibility is still there – what I need to do is focus on getting my job right and then we’ll see if that will be enough.”
Like many of his peers, the upcoming race is Ekström’s first racing visit to the former grand prix track, though most will have the benefit of a testing session earlier in the season to fall back on.
‘I’ll be giving it everything from the start’
“I was at the test at the beginning of the year, and I’ve tested here once before also, but that’s the sum total of my experience. My impression is that it’s a nice, solid circuit with lots of quick corners – though my experience of driving DTM cars suggests it will be really difficult to pass. But all of us go there knowing that, and it’s just something we have to cope with.
With a short lap time and a difficulty in making up places, there’s a premium on qualifying well. And thanks to the test, Ekström believes everyone will be fully focussed on that in practice, rather than feeling their way around in the early stages.
“It’s enough to go out there fully confident in the car and where to put it – the circuit isn’t going to be any different now to how it was earlier in the year, so I’ll be giving it everything from the start. What happens in Dijon will have a big part in determining the title, and how important the final race of the year, at Hockenheim, will be. From now until the end of the year staying focussed will be the key issue.”
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