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DTM reigning champion, Bruno Spengler, spoke to Auto123.com about the DRS and the soft tires that will make their appearance this season.
During both collective test sessions held in Barcelona and Hockenheim, the DTM competitors had the opportunity to test the DRS, introduced by the series organizers in order to help overtaking and improve the show during races. Each driver has the ability to activate his mobile rear wing system once per lap if the gap between him and the car ahead does not exceed two seconds on the start/finish line.
Spengler, who just experiences these two new elements aboard his BMW M3 DTM, gave some information to Auto123.com in an interview.
"The gain of speed is clear when the rear wing moves,” he explained. “It's a gain of about 7-10 km/h. But we still have to wait and see how it will operate during the races to know what it will change for us. That will be a big novelty, with the option tires."
Indeed, the soft tires will also make their appearance for the first time this season in DTM. They will only be used during races and will increase the performance of the car.
"That will also change the game,” continued Spengler. “Option tires are faster -- 1 to 1.2 seconds per lap -- than standard tires. We will have one set of option tires for the race, and we can use them when we want.”
"We will all start from zero,” concluded the Canadian driver. “There are a lot of things we still have to discover, such as how the DRS will help us overtake; how long the option tires will perform, etc. This will all cause quite a headache for the engineers who will define the strategy. But I am quite confident, and I have great faith in the BMW team that proved its exceptional ability to adapt last year by winning all trophies for its DTM return."
During both collective test sessions held in Barcelona and Hockenheim, the DTM competitors had the opportunity to test the DRS, introduced by the series organizers in order to help overtaking and improve the show during races. Each driver has the ability to activate his mobile rear wing system once per lap if the gap between him and the car ahead does not exceed two seconds on the start/finish line.
Spengler, who just experiences these two new elements aboard his BMW M3 DTM, gave some information to Auto123.com in an interview.
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| Photo: BMW Motorsport |
"The gain of speed is clear when the rear wing moves,” he explained. “It's a gain of about 7-10 km/h. But we still have to wait and see how it will operate during the races to know what it will change for us. That will be a big novelty, with the option tires."
Indeed, the soft tires will also make their appearance for the first time this season in DTM. They will only be used during races and will increase the performance of the car.
"That will also change the game,” continued Spengler. “Option tires are faster -- 1 to 1.2 seconds per lap -- than standard tires. We will have one set of option tires for the race, and we can use them when we want.”
"We will all start from zero,” concluded the Canadian driver. “There are a lot of things we still have to discover, such as how the DRS will help us overtake; how long the option tires will perform, etc. This will all cause quite a headache for the engineers who will define the strategy. But I am quite confident, and I have great faith in the BMW team that proved its exceptional ability to adapt last year by winning all trophies for its DTM return."