New Team WRT signing Ferdinand Habsburg has had a strong showing in the first three days of DTM pre-season testing at the Nurburgring. The Austrian, preparing for his sophomore campaign as part of the Belgian Audi privateers, led proceedings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
DTM returned to the track after a multi-month absence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as Audi and BMW took part in testing ahead of the proposed season opener at Spa-Francorchamps in August.
BMW’s Philipp Eng concluded the first day at the top of the timesheets with a 01:19:203, ahead of Robin Frijns, Habsburg, Mike Rockenfeller and reigning champion Rene Rast. Eng’s Monday showing remains the only time a BMW has topped the timesheets at the end of the day.
Habsburg led the way for Team WRT on both the second and third day of testing. On Tuesday, he bested the field with a 01:19:319, beating out Eng by just 0.010s. Jamie Green was third, ahead of Marco Wittmann, Loïd Duval and Mike Rockenfeller.
The 22-year-old once again claimed the top spot in Wednesday’s running with the fastest lap of the test so far at 01:18:911.
“Considering that I have the most competitive car on the grid at my disposal, winning races just has to be the goal,” Habsburg commented after the conclusion of Wednesday’s running. “And the same goes for the championship. Only someone who sets himself high goals can also be successful.”
Habsburg led an all-Audi top three on Wednesday ahead of Nico Müller and Jamie Green while Sheldon van der Linde and Timo Glock were the best BMW runners in fourth and fifth respectively.
Loïc Duval had to relinquish most of his seat time on Wednesday after suffering from a collar bone injury caused by a mountain biking accident a number of weeks ago. The Frenchman completed 90 minutes of running before he was forced to make way for Mike Rockenfeller.
Robert Kubica also had his first official DTM outing since signing on to drive with the ART Grand Prix-run BMW privateer outfit. His best time yet came on Wednesday, as he placed seventh with 01:19:641.
“Being back at the race track, living the passion after the lockdown is something special,” Kubica commented. “It will be my maiden season in the DTM and there are many things for me to learn: the car, the procedures.”
The test session, which concludes with a final day of running on Thursday, gives perhaps the clearest picture yet of what a DTM championship under social distancing circumstances could look like. The sessions at the Nürburgring take place under a detailed infection protection plan.
Drivers wear face masks where possible, avoidable contact is circumvented as much as possible and each manufacturer and team have their own zones and sub-zones where each party is responsible for the hygiene in each area. If any personnel has to leave their zone, a FFP 2 mask is mandatory, as are protective gloves.
Medical testing is also carried out constantly, which every participant in the session having body temperature checked. If there are signs of symptoms, the person is isolated and tested. The data from the test can allow personnel to determine whether the person was infected recently or weeks in advance.
