ams editor Christian Gebhardt is driving René Last's DTM champion model in the downpour of Hockenheim. The Audi RS 5 DTM race car has more than 610 horsepower and weighs 981 kg.
This rain reminds me of the 2011 Hockenheim circuit. I was participating in the MINI Challenge Brand Cup competition, and I was in the 12th starting position. Although the weather is very dry, the sky in Baden is as dark as before the monsoon. The heavy rain is coming soon. Should I choose bald tires or rain tires? Among many racers, I am the only beginner who has just learned to drive a rain tire. Why did it catch up with the rain, it is really unfortunate, and it happens to be today? After several struggles, I chose rain tires. However, the heavy rain did not arrive as scheduled.
Just like I hoped to rain during the race in 2011, for me today, being able to drive the DTM champion Audi RS 5 DTM to test on a dry track is already a A distant dream. Because, at this time, there are already raindrops in the sky starting to fall.
"During driving, you may encounter a lot of trouble. Even if the third or fourth gear is in the third or fourth gear at a speed of 160 km/h or 170 km/h, the wheels will still slip." This is the DTM champion just now. René Rast's advice to racers who come to test drive. Okay, come on! So far, the Audi RS 5 DTM is the sixth DTM car I drove in the track test, but it was the first DTM car I drove on a rainy day.
When I got into the car, I felt as if I had entered a cave made of carbon fiber. Only when you really sit in the seat of a racer will you understand that not only is a DTM racer an outstanding endurance athlete, but the body is also as soft and flexible as a floor exercise athlete. The reason for saying this is that the racer will be fixed on the seat at a twisted angle, and the spine is in an abnormal shape. This posture reminds one of the distortion of yoga called "discover yourself" action.
After entering the cockpit, you need to lean back slightly and your legs are almost stretched. This sitting position seems to be half lying on a soft cloth sofa. After the guest racers get used to the seats, the DTM champion will explain the operation of the steering wheel.
In general, of the 10 buttons and two rotary switches on the steering wheel, today I only need 4 of them, and two for the six-speed sequence Shift paddles of a type gearbox. In any case, overtaking aids, such as the Push-to-pass system (an extra 30 horsepower can be obtained at the push of a button, for 5 seconds) or the DRS variable tail will be deactivated.
"The wiper is divided into three levels, and the third level is the highest level", René Last explained. The word "wiper" is written under the rotary switch, and the single-arm wiper will be effective soon. Then, the 4 kg lightweight carbon fiber car door slammed shut.
"Press the start button!" The sports car engineer Davide Mainò yelled to me over the radio. He has been playing in René Last's career. Plays an extremely important role.
When I press the "start" button on the steering wheel, the RS 5 rattles, the impact wrench resonates with it outside the car, and the staff outside quickly removes the heating cover from the rain tires. Pulled it off. "Although we now use a heating cover to preheat the tires, it is prohibited in DTM," Andreas Roos, DTM project manager of the Audi Sport department, explained to me in advance.
What is the weight of the engine? Only 85 kg!
Now the situation is a bit bad, and the temperature of the tires is still not high enough. The mechanic pushed the car to the front of the box. "Wait", on the radioThe engineer warned. 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, until the Bosch DDU-10 display behind the steering wheel shows that the water temperature has reached 80°C.
Although only a few seconds, I feel like a few hours have passed. At the same time, the rain hit the roof violently, and the crackle of the rain seemed to compete with the idling rumble of the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Some raindrops caught in the wind hit my helmet mask through the open window.
Let us use the waiting time to learn about the technical background information of this car. At the beginning of the season, DTM bid farewell to the design of a naturally aspirated engine. Audi engineers replaced the 348-kilowatt 4.0-liter V8 engine with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine. This turbocharged engine weighs only 85 kg and has a maximum speed of 9,500 rpm. The engine output has increased by about 100 horsepower to more than 610 horsepower, while the weight of the car has dropped by 50 kg to 981 kg.
"Go!" Finally, the long-awaited instruction is issued, and an intense water game is about to begin. I can't help feeling a little excited and nervous. The technical person in charge repeatedly told us in advance "please don't speed up". The operating instructions of the RS 5 DTM say "either start slowly with a zero percent accelerator pedal or start quickly with full throttle", which I read as a bedtime reading the night before the test.
Why not start with half-gas pedal? From the design point of view, the four-cylinder racing engine is obviously much larger than the previous naturally aspirated V8 engine. The project manager Ross later revealed to me: “The ordinary four-cylinder engine on the road car is equipped with a balance shaft, but our racing engine has a different structure due to weight and performance.” The vibration of the racing engine caused some at the beginning of the season. Technical issues, so various components must be strengthened.
"After a day of competition, you will feel a faint tingling of your fingers. This year's vibration amplitude has definitely increased, but you will get used to it after a while", René Last talked about his feelings of the game. When in first gear, high-frequency vibration occurs from the accelerator pedal to the entire body. According to the operating instructions, ideally, avoid letting the RS 5 DTM drive at a speed "less than 6000 rpm".
What surprises me is that this DTM car can be started by a manual transmission like a street car. At this time, I was approaching the exit position, "Close the stopper, open the ALS," David said to me by radio. ALS is the abbreviation of "Anti-Lag-System Offset Ignition System". The function of this system is to reduce the retardation effect of a single turbine with a maximum boost pressure of 2.5 bar. During the start-up phase of the vehicle, we always artificially keep the turbocharger running at high speed", Andreas Ross explained in advance.
The racers are all amazing guys
Thevehicle is operating in excellent condition: fast throttle response, indulgent cornering fun, and exciting and charming sound. I believe these will also attract fans who love naturally aspirated engines. Green, Yellow, red-the switch light on the edge of the display is busy. The 2.0-liter engine makes this driving icing on the cake. The shift paddle on the right is toggled again and again, and the vehicle continues to upshift at lightning speed. Passing fast At the second corner, there is a high fountain splashing behind RS 5, which is hard to see when driving in many big cities. Brake, downshift, fourth gear, third gear, second gear. Accelerate again. Step to accelerate Pedal, first half throttle, then 3/4 throttle. Even when cornering at high speed, the smooth rear is full of confidence.
The next corner requires turning the steering wheel in reverse , You must always keep your head clear, this car can train your "reverse steering response" well. Of course, driving assistance systems such as ABS and traction control are expressly prohibited in DTM competitions. Especially in the next In rainy weather, a person who can dominate the DTM arena is a true hero.
Carrying out in the rainIn the last race of "Rain King" René Last drove at a speed of approximately 260 km/h. When the speed exceeds 220 km/h, the front of the car is slightly raised. Hurry up, hurry up! Put in one gear again, and this is the fourth brake. Turn sharply, accelerate, and the wheels spin again at high speed.
speeded up again, and then made an emergency brake on the 8th corner in front of the Mercedes stands, and the wheels splashed high water. The blue LED lights on both sides of the left side light up on the display, meaning: when braking, the wheels have been locked. Slightly reduce the braking speed, and the grip is back. Occasionally, understeer may occur when the wheels are driving to a corner, especially on such rainy days, you need to be more careful when accelerating. Audi's new four-cylinder engine turbocharger can burn fuel as efficiently as possible, and high efficiency and low fuel consumption are the keys to this DTM. Well, due to oversteer, the RS 5 DTM had a rather gorgeous drift during the final acceleration.
As the vehicle drove into the entrance of the racing track, the rain began to decrease. Throughout the test, nothing special happened, except that the body tilted again when braking in a corner. I quickly turned the steering wheel in the opposite direction, well, I'm still not as good as a professional racer. But in the last two laps, my performance was good and I completed the final test very easily. In the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt, position 33 has been reserved for this car. Audi asked me to drive this champion model for three full laps on the field. When the test was over, the rain stopped completely.
During the test drive, the reason why I was a little nervous was not because I didn't trust the Audi RS 5, but because I didn't trust my ability to control such rain tires. In DTM, all teams must use Hankook's standard tires. What is their grip level? It's like summer tires driving on snow. Whether it is braking or accelerating, it is a test of vehicle skills. In the future, if I have the opportunity to participate in the 24-hour endurance race at the Northern Circuit, before the 13 races, if it happens to be rainy, I must make the right decision whether to install rain tires on the car.
Of course, driving in the rain will inevitably reduce the driving pleasure. "This kind of rainy tire is really tricky," the champion Luster also admitted, because it is a problem even for professionals to grasp the moderate grip of this kind of rain tire. But in order to make the game more thrilling, DTM boss Gerhard Berger is still happy to see the scenes where racers face these extreme challenges, and at the beginning of the season, the competition rules have also changed. We believe that the outstanding performance of the Audi RS 5 is the most dazzling hero even in the majestic rain.
