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DTM: Some quotes from the Mercedes team before the Nürburgring

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Khatir Soltani
From dtm.com

After a four weeks break, the DTM championship is standing at the Nürburgring this weekend. The Mercedes teams look forward to drive again.

Bruno Spengler:
"The Nürburgring has some fast corners as well as some really tight ones, and it distinguishes itself from the other circuits on the DTM calendar by its uphill and downhill sections. This demands a compromise in the set-up between top speed and downforce, though the bias has to be towards the downforce. In 2006, I was also on 32 points after four races and won here in the Eifel forest. Last year, I came sixth. It would be fabulous if I could extend my championship lead even further here.

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Jamie Green:
"We’ve used the summer break to make thorough preparations for the Nürburgring. The fact that I’ve had three podium finishes out of four this season while driving last year’s model show’s the potential of our C-Class, but it also shows how good the Junge Sterne team is - we’re not called the ‘Young Stars’ for nothing! I want the fans who always turn out at the Nürburgring in such fantastic numbers to enjoy a really exciting race, and I’m hoping to narrow the gap to the leaders."


Ralf Schumacher:
"I come from the town of Kerpen which is only about 60 kilometres from the Nürburgring, so you could say it’s my ‘home track’. I know the circuit well and I’m familiar with the changeable weather here in the Eifel - the way the rain can suddenly set in. In the 2008 race here, I scored my first point in the DTM series in extremely wet conditions. I already have one race victory here - that was in 2003 when I was still a Formula One driver. I always enjoy the wonderful atmosphere at the Nürburgring and I’m determined to build on my solid qualifying performance at the Norisring to finally get in amongst the front-runners."



David Coulthard: "Any race at the Nürburgring is destined to be a classic - whether it’s Formula One or the German Touring Masters. The DTM spectators always get a sporting feast, especially as we drive on the shorter configuration than the one used in F1. I’m intending to play my part in making this a great race. Even though I know the track well, there are few parallels between the Grand Prix car I drove in Formula One and the DTM vehicle I’m competing in now. As a rookie in this series, I’m learning something new in every race."



Norbert Haug: "The fifth race of the 2010 DTM season will be an exciting one. Mercedes-Benz have won three times in the first four outings, and the opposition will be doing their level best to cut our current lead from 3:1 to 3:2. But let’s see if we can turn the score into 4:1. If we take a look at the statistics over the years in which Audi works cars have been up against Mercedes, the six races since 2004 have so far produced a 3:3 draw. The main thing for us is to lay on a spectacular event for the spectators at the track and for everyone watching it on TV. We’re working hard and in a focused manner to achieve that."



Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
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