On Thursday evening we grabbed hold of Lucas Auer, Thomas Preining, Clemens Schmid and Philipp Eng to make a small trip to the steel bull, the Red Bull Ring’s landmark. There was plenty of joking on the way, and we took advantage of that to ask a non-motorsport question or two. “Thomas, who is your favourite co-driver?” Preining: “My dog. He’s the best.” Philipp Eng surprised us a bit with his answer to the question of what he listens to before he gets into a racing car. “Zwickts mi by Wolfgang Ambros [a legendary Austrian popstar].”
On Friday it all got down to business. In the two practice sessions, the Austrian drivers had to find the perfect setup for a home victory at Spielberg this weekend. The first best lap time of the DTM weekend was set by Clemens Schmid of the Grasser Racing team from the local Styria region, with a time of 1:28.565 minutes. In the second practice session, championship leader Sheldon van der Linde prevailed over Preining. The best-positioned Austrian in the title race, Lucas Auer, took a good spot in the front of midfield (10/7). “BMW and Ferrari are favourites,” said Lucas Auer (Mercedes), who is 32 points behind van der Linde in second place overall, and stresses “rain would throw everything up into the air.” That is just what is forecast for Sunday and a dramatic race is therefore to be expected.
If you have not yet secured a ticket for the DTM, you still have the opportunity to get tickets there on Saturday and Sunday. The ticket points are open from 08:00. If you want to get the ultimate DTM feeling, then a trip to the paddock is a must. Paddock tickets are also available at box offices – but you have to be fast, as the first come, first served principle applies.
All the most important questions about the DTM weekend are answered in our FAQs.
The Ring is on fire
The motorsport starts tomorrow at 08:50 with DTM Classic DRM Cup qualifying. The DTM drivers will go on the hunt for pole position from 10:00. You should be all set for a trouble-free journey – no disruptions are expected on access roads to the Red Bull Ring and parking spaces are found within walking distance of the track. Just in case, you can download the free Red Bull Ring app to your smartphone today. With the app, you will not only be kept well informed about the racing action, but you also have your own personal guide on hand at all times thanks to the interactive complex map.
Do you want to try to a real once-in-a-lifetime experience? Then take a look at our mobile fan shop (Driving Center forecourt) and buy a ticket for our exclusive Service Road Tour. The Service Road Tour is a simple and brilliant concept – and your chance to experience the DTM cars and partner series up close. You drive with a provided vehicle around the side of the track and experience the drivers racing around the circuit from a truly unique perspective. All the information about the Service Road Tour can be found here.
Hirscher drives a taxi
“It’s incredible what goes on in a car like that. You can’t really put that into words.” In 2013, Marcel Hirscher was sitting in the passenger seat as Manuel Reuter chauffeured him across the Red Bull Ring in a DTM race taxi. This weekend, it will be turn of the ski legend to take the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS in the design of his ski company Van Deer and drive a taxi for the fans. The highly-coveted right to sit in the passenger seats was drawn among all ticket holders.