A rough race between Audi and Mercedes in DTM
Audi’s team in the 2007 DTM withdraws all seven Audi A4 DTM cars that were still in the race, due to a rough race. One Audi driver after the other was bumped off the track by Mercedes drivers, among them all four drivers of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline including the two candidates for the title, Mattias Ekström and Martin Tomczyk. 42,000 spectators at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona witnessed the event, but the title decision will be made in the finale at Hockenheim on 14 October.
Martin Tomczyk has been leading since the start of the race until he was bumped off the track on lap seven by the two-time Formula World Champion Mika Häkkinen. The incident caused Tomczyk to retire after getting in the eleventh place because the radiator of his Audi A4 DTM was damaged in the collision.
Mattias Ekström also had a good start as he advanced from tenth to sixth place.. While overtaking Daniel la Rosa, who had not pitted yet, he was hit hard by the Mercedes driver, which also caused him to retire.
Tom Kristensen had also been turned around by Mercedes driver Gary Paffett on the starting lap. It was when Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller, who was running in third position, were pushed off the track by Mercedes drivers that Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich decided to withdraw all seven Audi cars remaining in the race to send a clear message in favor of fair racing. The decision was made after consulting the Chairman of the Board of AUDI AG, Rupert Stadler
“What happened on the race track today was simply unacceptable,” stated Rupert Stadler, who witnessed the race live at the team garage of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline. “We’re proceeding from the assumption that emotions will cool down again before the Hockenheim race and that spectators will see a finale with fair sport. It’s also clear that we continue to be committed to the DTM. But a few things will probably have to change.”
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport said, “We wanted to see a tough, but fair touring car race today. But we had to get the impression that the Mercedes drivers used every opportunity to eliminate our cars. This is not the style in which we want to conduct motorsport. We want to see tough and fair duels but nothing of the kind we had today. That’s why we took the decision to withdraw all of our vehicles. That was not an easy decision, and it cost us points, and maybe even the title. But we wanted to send a clear message for fair motorsport.”