The Norisring race weekend is coming up this week (Saturday and Sunday, both live on ProSieben from 1 PM CEST). It is the highlight of the DTM season and the home race of ABT Sportsline. The Bavarian team has already celebrated highly emotional victories in the DTM on the short 2.3-kilometre street circuit at the Dutzendteich in Nuremberg, but has also shed a tear or two. Team Principal and CEO Thomas Biermaier looks back on the history.
What can the DTM fans look forward to at the Norisring weekend?
A pure motorsport festival. What the ITR has put together with all of the other series is worthy of all honour. According to the weather forecast, we’re in for a hot weekend. With all the concrete, the Norisring will be like an oven. There could also be thunder and lightning. We’ve experienced just about everything at the Norisring. I’m looking forward to great races, lots of excitement and hopefully a home victory for ABT Sportsline.
There will be split qualifying sessions with two groups for the first time – is this a good idea?
I think it makes perfect sense with so many cars on the short track. It’s fairer for everyone, otherwise we’d have a big problem with “blocking”.
The Norisring is a home race for ABT Sportsline and Audi. Is there also a home advantage?
Not really. There were many years when ABT and Audi didn’t win anything at the Norisring, even though we were almost always up front. But there are also many Norisring moments that we look back on with pleasure. When I think of our first victory in 2002 with Laurent Aiello, I still get goose bumps. After last year, we have something to make up for at the Norisring. We are looking forward to it.
A new book about the 22 years of ABT Sportsline in the DTM will be published at the Norisring and distributed to friends of the company and partners. Which Norisring stories do you remember most fondly, and which ones not so much?
The absolute highlight was the race in 2002, wherein we fought for 72 laps with Bernd Schneider, the most successful DTM driver of all time. Laurent Aiello overtook him in the last corner and clinched the victory. A particularly nice moment was also in 2013, when Mattias Ekström crossed the finish line as the Norisring winner. We celebrated that exuberantly in parc-fermé. A few hours later, it turned into the most bitter moment with the disqualification due to the water bottle affair.
Back to the current season: What is your overall impression of the DTM 2022 shortly before the end of the first half of the season?
Everything is very close together. You have to work on every little detail to be at the front. We have great drivers, good teams and many manufacturers. The races could be a bit more exciting now and then. But that’s a bit due to the fact that we have a relatively good Balance of Performance and many extremely good drivers. Overtaking is simply difficult, but I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of action and interesting races, not only at the Norisring.