Audi beats BMW and Mercedes-Benz in DTM Manufacturers' Championship

155,000 spectators experience Audi one-two-three victory in DTM finaleMattias Ekström celebrates second victory in succession Audi beats BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the manufacturers' championship

Audi is the best manufacturer in the 2014 DTM. With a one-two-three victory in the finale at Hockenheim the brand with the four rings in front of 155,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) managed to recover the title in the manufacturers’ championship from BMW. The squad around Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport, with an impressive performance in the finale, converted a deficit of 21 points into an advantage of 30 points. In the 2014 season, Audi scored a total of 409 points, BMW 379 and Mercedes-Benz 222. One of the first people to extend their congratulations was soccer world champion Bastian Schweinsteiger, who watched DTM finale in the Audi pits.The runner-up’s spot and third place in the drivers’ championship were secured by Audi as well. The two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline celebrated his second victory in succession and finished the season as the runner-up. Last year’s champion Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix on clinching second place advanced to third place in the drivers’ standings. Jamie Green in the Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg in third place made for drivers from all three Audi Sport Teams mounting the podium in the season finale. “Today Audi showed ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’: before the start of the race with the driverless RS 7 and in the DTM finale with a one-two-three victory,” said Dieter Gass. “Our aim this weekend was to win the manufacturers’ championship. And in the end we clearly decided it in Audi’s favour – not least thanks to a brilliant team performance. That drivers from all three Audi Sport Teams mounted the podium today speaks a clear language. On this weekend everyone could see how strong the Audi RS 5 DTM is. 15 in 30 possible podium places this year are an impressive tally. Congratulations also to Mattias (Ekström) and Mike (Rockenfeller) on taking the runner-up’s spot and third place in the drivers’ championship. We’re already looking forward to 2015 when we’re aiming to recover car number 1 as well.” The race winner Mattias Ekström, just like Mike Rockenfeller, started on the harder standard tires and thus had the right strategy. The two maintained their positions in the top ten throughout, and in the final stage, after switching to the softer option tires, were able to make up one position after another. Favoured by a late safety car period, Ekström and Rockenfeller managed to intercept Jamie Green, who had been leading from the starting lap on, on the last two laps. “My Audi was again fantastic today,” beamed Mattias Ekström following his second victory in the space of just three weeks. “Ever since things have been going better in qualifying, the races have been working out as well. This was a great season finale for Audi, Team Abt Sportsline and also for me in front of a fantastic crowd. You can’t wish for a better farewell before the winter break.” With Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM) and Miguel Molina (Audi Sport Audi RS 5 DTM) in positions six and nine, a total of five Audi drivers finished in the top ten and thus in the points. Nico Müller (Audi Financial Services Audi RS 5 DTM) finished the last race of his rookie season in 14th place, following a tough race. Adrien Tambay (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM) and Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Audi RS 5 DTM) retired after collisions but were still classified in positions 19 and 22. Even before the start of the DTM finale, Audi caused a sensation. A driverless Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept did a fast lap on the DTM race track – without a driver. On track with a driver was the new Audi TT cup that will be fielded in 2015 as part of the DTM. At the wheel was Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of Audi’s Management Board for Technical Development, who after the race joined Chairman of the Management Board Rupert Stadler and the entire Audi DTM squad in celebrating the win of the manufacturer’s championship.

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “This was a great ending of the season for Audi with an impressive performance. We proved that we’ve got a strong team. We clinched many second and third places this year but it took a long time for us to win a race – that was tough for the squad that never gave up. The title in the manufacturers’ championship is a great reward for all the work. On the whole, it was a tremendous weekend for Audi with the world premiere of the Audi Sport TT Cup on Friday, the fast lap of the driverless RS 7 and culminating in an impressive performance in the DTM finale. We’ve now got a very good base for 2015 because at the end of the season the Audi RS 5 DTM was the car to be beaten.” Dieter Gass (Head of DTM): “Today, Audi showed ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’: before the start of the race with the driverless RS 7 and in the DTM finale with a one-two-three victory in front of a fantastic turnout of 155,000 spectators. Our aim this weekend was to win the manufacturers’ championship. And in the end we clearly decided it in Audi’s favour – not least thanks to a brilliant team performance. That drivers from all three Audi Sport Teams mounted the podium today speaks a clear language. On this weekend everyone could see how strong the Audi RS 5 DTM is. 15 in 30 possible podium places this year are an impressive tally. Congratulations also to Mattias (Ekström) and Mike (Rockenfeller) on taking the runner-up’s spot and third place in the drivers’ championship. We’re already looking forward to 2015 when we’re aiming to recover car number 1 as well.” Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM), 1st placeTires: standard/option“My Audi was fantastic again today. Ever since things have been going better in qualifying, the races have been working out as well. This was a great season finale for Audi, Team Abt Sportsline and also for me in front of a fantastic crowd. You can’t wish for a better farewell before the winter break.”Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM), 2nd placeTires: standard/option“This was a superb race today. I started from position seven and finished in second place. In the end, it was about who’d be winning: Mattias (Ekström) or I. I tried to take it easy on the tires in his slipstream in order to attack later. Then the safety car was deployed and mixed things up a bit. Afterwards, I no longer had a chance to overtake. But I still assess the race positively: Audi has won the manufacturers’ championship and I still took third place in the drivers’ championship, although I’d obviously been hoping for more than that before the season. We’re returning in 2015 and then will be giving it our all to have number one back on the car again.”Jamie Green (Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM), 3rd placeTires: option/standard“I’m happy about finishing the season with a podium result. I think I drove a good race, was running in front after the first lap and managed to pull clear of Pascal Wehrlein. But even without the safety car I wouldn’t have won the race because ‘Eki’ (Mattias Ekström) and ‘Rocky’ (Mike Rockenfeller) were faster on soft tires towards the end of the race. Due to the safety car I had to work a bit harder at the end to finish on the podium. It was a perfect day for me and for Audi.” Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM), 6th placeTires: option/standard“A good race with a good performance and a season that has ended on a positive note for Audi. Unfortunately, I was caught behind Pascal Wehrlein and Miguel Molina too long at the beginning so that Jamie (Green) was able to drive away at the front. In the end, as a driver on standard tires, the safety car cost me another two positions.” Miguel Molina (Audi Sport Audi RS 5 DTM), 9th placeTires: option/standard“I started from the pole position but made a braking mistake in turn two and lost ground. That was really a shame and I’m going to learn my lesson from that. Next year I’m going to come back stronger. Now I’m happy with my team about a good Hockenheim result and with Audi about winning the manufacturers’ championship.”Nico Müller (Audi Financial Services RS 5 DTM), 14th placeTires: standard/option“Above anything else, Audi managed winning the manufacturers’ championship. We were able to make use of the good starting base we created in qualifying. It’s nice to see a team-mate – Jamie (Green) – on the podium. Unfortunately, my race wasn’t quite as good. I had problems with the clutch right from the beginning. In my first season, I’ve been able to gather a lot of experience that will help me next year. But now I’m going to start the winter break without any worries.”Adrien Tambay (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM), 19th placeTires: standard/option“Congratulations to Audi on winning the manufacturers’ championship. For me personally, it didn’t go so well. At the start, the car moved by itself and, as a result, I received a drive-through penalty for jump starting. That ruined my race. But I didn’t give up and managed to advance a little. Then, shortly before the end of the race, I had a collision with Vitaly (Petrov). It’s a shame it had to end like this. But the most important part about it is that both of us are okay. Now the season’s over – it didn’t really go well for me, but I’m already looking forward to next year.” Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Audi RS 5 DTM), 22nd placeTires: standard/option“A difficult race because I had some problems with the clutch, and then I had a few contacts with rivals.” Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “This was an outstanding race today. Our mission was to clinch the manufacturers’ championship for Audi. We accomplished that with a victory and we’re very happy that both of these aims have been achieved. It’s great to end the season like this. It provides a lot of strength for the coming year.” Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “We’re overjoyed about Audi’s title win and one-two-three victory. A driver from each team was on the podium, you can’t do any better than that. Both of our cars were in contention at the front. Our pit stops were good. We’re perfectly happy. ‘Well done’ to the squad, to Audi, to the drivers and to the great car.” Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “I’m incredibly happy about Audi’s win of the manufacturers’ championship. The large crowd at Hockenheim got to see a great race. Jamie (Green) had a superb start and deservedly clinched a podium place. ‘Thank you very much’ to the whole squad for a tremendous year. We had highs and lows but the finale here ended on a positive note. I’m already looking forward to 2015.”


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