MotoGP's Andrea Dovizioso says he enters his first ever DTM weekend "without any expectations" and just wants to enjoy his first competitive race on four wheels instead of two.
The Ducati rider has been entered as a wildcard for this weekend's Misano round with WRT Audi, replacing Pietro Fittipaldi – who will now stand in for Jamie Green at Team Rosberg – and expressed pleasure in being invited to take part in the series, particularly at a home circuit.
"For us Italian racing drivers in particular, the circuit is hugely important because of its tradition, of course. I grew up not far from the race track," said the Italian.
"Last year I won the MotoGP race at this circuit. So for me personally, there is something very special about this track. It made me very happy and a little proud as well to be asked whether I’d like to take part in the DTM as a guest driver at Misano."
Although Dovizioso knows the Misano circuit well, he says he found it difficult to adjust to a completely different racing line and carrying so much speed through the corners compared to a bike.
"The greatest challenge for me was the racing line. It’s of course completely different with the RS 5 DTM compared to the Ducati Desmosedici.
"This is a completely new experience for me. The Audi RS 5 DTM has such incredible power and downforce – you can really feel it in the fast corners.
"The biggest challenge for me was to reach the limit in the fast corners, especially in the first six or seven laps. I simply lacked a feel for it. Actually, the DTM race cars generate so much downforce that theoretically you can do so much more.
"It’s very different than the MotoGP bike. I knew that the DTM drivers tackle certain corners flat-out. When I drove those passages myself with the RS 5 DTM, I thought it was impossible. But then Mattias [Ekstrom] helped me a lot."
But Dovizioso enters the weekend with one aim; to have fun!
"I’m really looking forward to the weekend and I just want to enjoy it – without any expectations, because the level of competition in this championship is extremely high."
