Mattias Ekström finished off his 2011 season at the Race of Champions and one final DTM test, as he explains in his latest blog...
Everyone tends to think of December as a quiet time of year in motor racing but that really hasn’t been the case for quite a while. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been to the Race of Champions in Düsseldorf and been testing the new Audi A5 DTM car. Not really the off-season as it’s generally understood!
My performances at the Race of Champions didn’t exactly set the arena on fire. We had practice on Friday which was OK but I wasn’t at my best. I had to skip the Nations’ Cup on Saturday because I had a prior commitment to pick up a trophy at the DTM prize-giving ceremony, so I came into the Race of Champions lacking a bit of practice.
My first run against Sébastien Ogier was OK but I may have been a little bit too conservative. He did a great lap and was simply a bit faster. Against Jan Kopecký things were better in the very familiar Audi R8, and I managed to set the fastest lap of the weekend. Some of that’s down to having a very motivated guest in the car who pushed me really hard! I think he got quite a lot of enjoyment out of it. I got a very nice Tag-Heuer watch! Then racing Martin Tomczyk in the Skodas I made a mistake and touched the wall and that was it for me, end of story.
With hindsight I don’t think I was very well prepared for the event. Usually when I come to the Race of Champions I’m feeling good and ready to rumble but this time somehow I didn’t have the energy and I wasn’t quite on it, and the simple fact is in that competitive field if you don’t have a great day, you’re not going to win.
'With hindsight I don’t think I was very well prepared for the event'
I won’t be losing any sleep over it though. Had I gone to the event in top shape, had perfect preparation and done everything I possibly could and yet still lost, then I’d be pissed off well into next year but those weren’t the circumstances so I’ll take it in my stride and move on. I had a good time regardless of the result. It’s always fun to hang out with the other drivers at the RoC, and the atmosphere is nice.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on it anyway, as next up was a trip down the DTM test. I did two days driving the A5, which makes it seven in total. I’m starting to get a real good feel for the car. The development programme is coming along nicely and we are making improvements and progress all the time.
Coming back I had a real positive feeling that we’ve got a good one there. The other drivers are getting in a lot of laps too though, and you know the competition is going to be tight next year – but so far I’m pleased with what we’ve done, I know we’ve learned a lot and that’s pretty much all you can do at this stage.
My plan for next year is to concentrate solely on DTM. That’s not absolutely decided yet but it’s the way I’d like to go. The other racing I’ve done over the last few years hasn’t been a distraction, but going to NASCAR, GT racing, rallying etc tends to use up a lot of energy.
'My plan for next year is to concentrate solely on DTM'
The good thing about having all of those experiences is that you learn loads. You get to know new people, different racing philosophies, more about how you drive – but once you’ve done all of that and taken it in, there isn’t really a reason to continue doing it part-time because you’re using up a lot of the energy that should be devoted to the main job. I need to focus that on DTM: the target for 2012 is to have a season with ten perfect race weekends.
But right now my main focus is on doing the Christmas shopping.
Cheerio, thanks for reading. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Mattias
© Audi Motorsport
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© Audi Motorsport- Race of Champions 2011 in quotes
- Mattias Ekström profile
- Mattias's personal website
- Official DTM website
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