Zandvoort: Audi pre-race notes

Facts about the DTM race at Zandvoort

o Four Audi wins at Zandvoort in the last six years
o Home race for Christijan Albers
o Audi boasts dominant performance last year at Zandvoort

Ingolstadt -- Summer, sun, sand and almost 80,000 spectators, but also sand on the track, an extremely demanding track layout and correspondingly meticulous technical preparation dominate the impressions of Zandvoort. At a glance all the interesting facts about the mid-point of the season marked by the sixth race of the eleven round DTM season.

Did you know that...

... the DTM appears for the eighth time at Zandvoort and, as a result, the circuit is most established DTM event outside of Germany?

... the popularity among the spectators is unwaning and has climbed from 40,000 in 2001 to 74,500 last year? An average of 64,286 fans watch the race at Zandvoort every year.

... Audi has celebrated four wins at Zandvoort in the last six years?

... this run of success started in 2002 when Mattias Ekstrom won his first ever DTM race at Zandvoort with the former Team Abt Sportsline?

... at that time the privateer team around Hans-Jurgen Abt also celebrated a title at the same event, namely winning the DTM title with Laurent Aiello?

... after returning as factory team to the DTM in the 2004 season Audi celebrated victory in Zandvoort on the way to winning the title with future champion Mattias Ekstrom, and that Martin Tomczyk completed a one-two?

... Audi won the race near the North Sea again two years later with Tom Kristensen?

... the brand's fourth win in the dunes was claimed last year when Martin Tomczyk led home team-mates Alexandre Premat, Mattias Ekstrom and Timo Scheider in quite literally an Audi phalanx?

... almost one year ago no less than five Audi drivers, Timo Scheider, Mattias Ekstrom, Martin Tomczyk, Alexandre Premat and Tom Kristensen, had occupied the top five spots in Qualifying?

... in addition to the four wins, Audi has recorded a total of eleven podium finishes at Zandvoort since 2001?

... Mattias Ekstrom with five podium finishes -- including two wins -- is the most successful Audi driver between 2002 and 2007?

... thanks to Audi driver Christijan Albers the unusually enthusiastic Dutch public can cheer on a native driver in the DTM field for the first time since 2004?

... in Mattias Ekstrom, Tom Kristensen, Martin Tomczyk and also Christijan Albers, the 2003 winner, Audi has four former DTM Zandvoort winners in its ranks?

-credit: audi.ag