In the next phase of finalizing driver line ups for the 2013 DTM season, Audi Sport and Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich have decided on a veritable mix of experience and youth to spearhead Ingolstadt’s assault on this season, but it will be without Swiss racer Rahel Frey, which means that there are no women set to compete in this year’s championship, with both Rahel and Susie Wolff now moving on in their careers.
Frey will now move onto GT Racing with Ingolstadt, as the DTM has its weekend track time cut to just two days, which means that Audi elected not to go with rookie drivers this year, due to the more experienced being able to maximize their chances in the limited time now being permitted. Dr. Ullrich thanked her for her efforts so far for the ‘Four Rings”: ” I’d like to sincerely thank Rahel for her strong performances and her commitment in the DTM. She was a valuable addition to the DTM with her manner and poise and will definitely continue this way in her future commitments for Audi.”
Both two-time champions, Mattias Ekstrom and Timo Scheider, will be the drivers leading the way, along with the “King of Norisring,” Jamie Green, bringing a wealth of DTM racing experience between them. Mike Rockenfeller, Filipe Albuquerque and Edoardo Mortara bring their success as a welcome addition, with the youngsters, Miguel Molina at 23, who stays for his 4th DTM season, and Adrian Tambay at 21, bringing the average age of drivers for Audi to just 28 years of age.
But don’t be fooled by the those statistics, but concentrate on their racing pedigree between them all: Four DTM titles, 478 races, 39 pole positions and 34 victories. Need we say more…. Audi is gunning for glory in 2013, and it seems like their place is set. We’ll see just what happens when they all go full throttle at Hockenheim in just 3 months’ time.
