The 2012 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season has started incredibly well for the Mercedes-Benz team, with considerable leads in all three categories of the competition, namely the constructors, drivers, and teams championships. The Mercedes-Benz drivers competing this weekend are all prepped up and excited for the prospects of the team at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

“Everything about our new DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé is first-class, and it has shown itself to be fast on all types of track,” said Gary Paffett, who has won two of the first three races this year and is in the lead in the drivers championship. “In Spielberg, though, we’re expecting some new challenges. The circuit has a very different character to Brands Hatch where we raced a fortnight ago.”

Jamie Green, currently fourth place in the drivers championship, also chimed in. “So far this year, the field has been evenly matched on all types of track, and I’m expecting it to be very tight in Spielberg too.”

David Coulthard, racing for the Mucke Motorsport team under Mercedes-Benz, is very familiar with the track because he got an F1 victory here in 2001 when he was still racing for McLaren-Mercedes. “Spielberg is a fantastic circuit in a beautiful part of Austria. From a driver’s perspective, the track is hugely enjoyable, but it’s quite difficult to extract every last ounce of performance from the car.”