The “Pit View” is one of numerous new features announced at a press conference held in Hockenheim on Thursday on the occasion of the final tests before the season opener on May 6/7. The pit roof will be opened for the spectators at most of the DTM events as well. Also new will be a public pit stop practice, plus a dedicated Fan Village in the paddock featuring a program of shows, exhibitions and food trucks.
“These are exciting times for the DTM,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “With the Pit View we’re offering fans at the venues an opportunity to gain completely new insights by peeking behind the scenes. We intend to make motorsport even more spectacular and are bringing new cars with more power, a throatier sound and less downforce to the field for this purpose. The tires degrade faster, are no longer preheated and make even greater demands on the drivers than before. During the pit stops with fewer mechanics, every mistake will be immediately visible. The format is identical for all 18 races. I’m very much looking forward to the new season.”
Simulations of the new pit stop were part of the test schedule of the three Audi Sport Teams, Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg, at Hockenheim as well. However, gathering as much data and information as possible about the new Audi RS 5 DTM with different setup variants and the new tires on the three and a half test days was even more important. The fastest lap within the Audi squad was driven by Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM on Thursday when the test conditions were best due to cooler track temperatures. Clocked at 1m 30.559s, he beat the existing DTM track record at the Hockenheimring by more than 1.6 seconds.