15th July, 2010
Adria International Raceway added to 2010 DTM calendar
DTM
Wiesbaden. In 2010, the DTM will be racing in Italy as well. The most popular international touring car series has extended its existing calendar by one round and will have a race at the Adria International Raceway on October 31st, 2010. The race at the modern facility near Venice will be the tenth of eleven rounds in the 2010 DTM season. Four weeks later, November 28th, the DTM season finale will be taking place on the street circuit in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai.
This year’s race is not the first DTM event at Adria. In 2003 and 2004 already, DTM races were held at the Adria International Raceway. In the inaugural year, victory went to Dutch driver Christijan Albers (Mercedes-Benz). In 2004, eventual champion Mattias Ekström (Audi) managed to win the race at the compact circuit.
The Adria International Raceway was opened in 2002. A special feature is the indoor paddock: in a giant-sized hall, the race transporters can be parked directly behind the pit boxes. With four corners per kilometre, the Italian circuit is the most curvaceous track on the current DTM calendar. The 2.702 kilometres short track combines tight chicanes with 180-degree hairpins. Every lap, the programme for the drivers is: hard braking, finding the optimal turning point and accelerate quickly.
Five of the current DTM drivers already know the Italian circuits from 2003 and 2004: Mercedes-Benz driver Gary Paffett and Audi drivers Mattias Ekström, Timo Scheider, Martin Tomczyk and Markus Winkelhock. “The hairpins are the most significant points at the track. Here, you have to find the best braking point and then carry as much speed as possible onto the straights”, recalls Martin Tomczyk, who finished eighth in the race in 2004.
The 2010 DTM calendar at a glance:
25th April Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg (D)
23rs May Valencia (E)
06th June EuroSpeedway Lausitz (D)
04th July Norisring (D)
08th August Nürburgring (D)
22th August Circuit Park Zandvoort (NL)
05th September Brands Hatch (GB)
19th September Oschersleben (D)
17th October Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg (D)
31st October Adria Raceway (I)
28th November Shanghai (CN)
