Last Friday by recording best times in both 90 minute tests, Audi factory driver Ekstrom has proven that his victory in the DTM season opener at Hockenheim two weeks ago was not just a stroke of luck. Obtaining a time of 1m 23.417s, the Swede in the Red Bull Audi A4 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportline has been able to record the fastest time on the 3.696-kilometer Oschersleben circuit.

DTM newcomer Lucas Luhr was also the second quickest driver at the race who was also in last year's A4 of Audi Sport Team Rosberg. He was also two-tenths of a second slower than the former DTM champion. Adam Carroll who is a member of the Audi customer team Futurecom TME keep tracked of the fifth-best time of the day, suggesting that the 2005-spec Audi A4 DTM will also be a tough contender at the Oschersleben.

Drivers Frank Biela and Marco Werner, who are substituting in for Tom Kristensen and Alexandre premat for this weekend have concentrated in acquainting themselves with the A4 DTM and the circuit . Biela's day ended prematurely during the second test due to an oil leak. It was not stated however if there was any other problem with other parts like its VW fuel pumps.

Then on Saturday the team will again engaged in another 60 minutes of free practice that will start at 1:30 pm. The grid position for the DTM's second race of the season will be known in the qualifying session. ARD is going to cover the event and will be broadcasting live from Oschersleben on "Das Erste" starting at 1:30 pm local time.

Here are a few quotes at last Friday's tests:

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "Today, it was difficult to make good use of the day because conditions on the track kept changing. I do think, though, that we did a good job anyhow. The results look decent, which means we've got a good basis for Saturday. I'm particularly pleased about Adam (Carroll) being able to set good times with the 2005-spec A4."

Mattias Ekström: "A great Friday. I can't remember when I last set the best times in both practice sessions on Friday. But my Audi A4 DTM was very strong straight from the start, which is probably a result of the tests we did here as well. Track conditions are still likely to change a little, but so far our preparations for the race weekend have been going perfectly for us."

Lucas Luhr: "The morning session was okay. I'm also pretty satisfied with the afternoon. But that was not about setting good times, because I was running on used tyres all day. Now we've done enough work for the race. On Saturday, we've got one hour left to prepare for qualifying."

Adam Carroll : "That was a good day. Fourth place in the morning and third in the afternoon are great, even though these were only tests. I hope to be able to take this performance with me into qualifying. The basis for this is definitely good. I'm already looking forward to Saturday."

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