Change of cockpit for Sébastien Ogier: The five-time world rally champion will race a Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM as a guest entrant during the penultimate DTM race weekend of the season at Spielberg in Austria (21st – 23rd September).
“This is a very exciting experience,” said Sebastien Ogier
“The DTM is something completely new for me, but I’m trying to learn as much as possible with each lap. I see it as an opportunity to broaden my racing horizons and gain more experience. Up to now, I haven’t driven much on permanent racetracks – only a couple of times in a GT car. A DTM car is obviously faster. Of course, you can’t expect to be competitive as a guest starter right away. I’m expecting a difficult first weekend at Spielberg, where my target will be to keep up with the other drivers as much as is possible.”
DTM cars are not completely new to the rally champion. During a DTM race weekend at Zandvoort, Sébastien once sat at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM race taxi to take out his wife, TV presenter Andrea Kaiser, on three laps of the circuit in the dunes. He will gain his first real experience of driving a DTM car during testing at Vallelunga in Italy on Tuesday and Wednesday, 7th/8th August.
“Sébastien is a real racing driver. He has demonstrated his ability more times than enough all over the world on gravel and tarmac by winning five world rally championships,” said Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM Ulrich Fritz.
“So it comes as no big surprise to me that he would now like to tame a DTM car”
“He will be making his DTM debut on a proper race circuit at Spielberg, and I know for sure that he and his fans will have a lot of fun as he does so. However, it’s also very apparent that it will be no walk in the park for Sébastien as a guest starter in such a hotly contested field. Still, that’s what drives a champion like him to put on a good show for the fans.”
YEAH!!! From the gravel road onto the asphalted track: five-time Rally World Champion @SebOgier is the guest driver for @MercedesAMGDTM @redbullring_! pic.twitter.com/qDGcQn8uEq
— DTM (@DTM) August 7, 2018
