By Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, December 7th 2011, 10:23 GMT
Mika HakkinenFormer F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen was delighted after completing his test at the wheel of Mercedes's new DTM car in Spain.
The Finn, who had last raced at the Zhuhai ILMC event in November, got behind the wheel of the C-Class that will be used by the German car maker during the 2012 season.
Hakkinen, the 1998 and 1999 world champion, completed 109 laps of the Monteblanco circuit for a total of 365 km.
He said he felt "fit and motivated" after the test.
"First of all I am very pleased, that I was given the opportunity to test the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupe in Monteblanco," said Hakkinen. "It was a great feeling to be working with the HWA Team and Gerhard Ungar again.
"I felt very good at the test. The car has changed significantly in comparison to my DTM experience from 2007. The wider tyres have more grip and the steering wheel mounted shift paddles mean that, with your hands on the wheel all the time, you can focus 100 per cent on getting the perfect line.
"I'm already familiar with the system from Formula 1 and it felt very natural. I am pleased that I was able to contribute to the development of the new DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupe for Mercedes-Benz and HWA.
"I feel fit and motivated, and I climbed out of the car today with a big smile on my face."
Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug added: "Once a racer, always a racer. Mika felt completely at home in the C-Coupe and did a lot of laps at a good level. The test helped us and him."
