The rumour mill can stop turning - two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekström will indeed drive for Team Red Bull in Sonoma, USA later this month.
Team Red Bull announced on Monday that Ekström would run the June 20 Toyota/Save Mart 350 on the 12-turn, 1.99-mile Infineon Raceway road course in California’s Napa Valley.
“It’s always nice to try something new,” said the Red Bull Audi DTM driver.
“At the test I felt really at home, so now going to a race will be very nice. The biggest difficulty will be to race with 42 other cars. In DTM, we have 18. I’m sure it will be interesting and I’m really looking forward to the experience.”
"Mattias was up to speed in an hour — he’s a phenomenal talent." -Jay Frye
Relief driver Casey Mears will step aside for the California road course race and return to the No 83 in Loudon, New Hampshire June 27. But he has to run the race in Michigan this weekend before vacating the cockpit in California. Mears took over in the car after Red Bull’s regular No. 83 driver, Brian Vickers, was diagnosed with blood clots last month, which will keep him out for the remainder of the season.
Ekström got behind the wheel of the No 83 Red Bull Toyota in a successful Sprint Cup test two weeks ago at Virginia International Raceway. Although he had never turned a wheel in a Sprint Cup Car, he amazed Team Red Bull with his speed and adaptability, acclimatizing to his new ride almost immediately.
“We were worried about getting him up to speed in a day,” said Jay Frye, Team Red Bull general manager. “He was up to speed in an hour — less than an hour. He’s a phenomenal talent.”
Frye fuelled speculation about Ekström making his NASCAR debut in Sonoma when he confirmed in Charlotte a week ago that he was seriously considering putting the 31-year-old Swede in the No. 83 at Infineon Raceway.
Getty Images/Red Bull Photofiles
Ekström has an impressive resume after racing in the DTM Series for the past 10 seasons for Audi, taking the title in 2004 and 2007. He has 14 wins in 96 starts in the hugely competitive German touring car series.
The Audi driver also won the prestigious Race of Champions three times, taking the crown twice by defeating seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher in the final.
After a tough outing last weekend at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany where he was taken out by another driver in the first corner, Ekström is fourth in the DTM standings.
While he will race in Sonoma, Ekström is not available on August 8 when the Cup series races at another road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y. He will instead be racing his Audi at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany.
In case anyone is wondering, Red Bull Formula One drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel will be on their summer break when the race at The Glen rolls around...
For more from Team Red Bull, head to redbullracingusa.com.
Comments
Add a comment