The Oschersleben track in the eastern part of Germany is one that has been kind to Augusto Farfus in the past. Therefore, the Brazilian driver sees no reason why his good fortune there cannot continue for his Shell BMW M4 DTM on the seventh weekend of the 2015 DTM season.
Explaining why he has such a confident feeling ahead of the weekend, the BMW Team RBM driver said: “I won the race there in 2013, and so far in the DTM in Oschersleben I have always been in the points, which means I have some good memories. Despite the tough season we are having, I think we can have a good couple of races there again and am highly motivated for the weekend.”
Augusto also likes tracks where the crowds are enthusiastic, so this is another plus for the one in the Magdeburger Börde region, but he also knows how important qualifying will be for him and his fellow BMW works drivers. “I like the track and the area and we are always assured of having a big crowd of fans to support us. We tested there in the winter so that is always helpful. I think the car has the potential to be good there, especially as it is a high downforce track, which normally suits us. However, it is a track where overtaking is difficult, so qualifying will be crucial. Turn 1 is always difficult and there have been some big crashes there in the past. While it is always important to be as far up the grid as possible in the DTM, it is even more crucial here to ensure you have a good race result, which is our target.”
The 3.696 kilometre track, which is officially known as the ‘Motorsport Arena Oschersleben”, was opened in 1997 and provides the fans with great views of the action packed races that usually happen there. Last year it was much earlier in the season, as it was the second race on the calendar, but this year has gone back to its more traditional later slot.
The weekend’s action starts on Friday with two 15-minute roll-outs separated by a five minute break from 11.15 to 11.50. Free practice one is then from 15.15 to 16.05. On Saturday free practice two is from 08.20 to 09.10, followed by qualifying for race one from 11.00 to 11.20. The 40-minute race starts at 13.30. On Sunday there is a 15-minute warm up starting at 09.00, qualifying for race two is from 11.35 to 11.55 and the 60-minute race starts at 15.10.
