German automakers spur popularity of motorsport

Audi, the largest foreign automaker in China, brought a brand new racing event to China last weekend.

The DTM (Deutsch Touring Masters) race, Europe's most popular touring car series, was staged in the city's Pudong District.

Thousands of spectators came to watch the street-legal cars power around tall buildings - including the 88-floor Oriental Pearl TV Tower.

"I have never experienced such a feeling before. When I drove my taxi,the racing car roared right past me and the engine was really deafening," said a Shanghai cabby.

With more racing events on the horizon, China is becoming an attractive market for international motorsports.

In September the finest racing machines in the world will inaugurate the Shanghai International Circuit for China's first-ever Formula 1 Grand Prix.

In November the V8 Supercar Championship Series from Australia will hit Shanghai, marking the first time the prestigious event has been staged outside Australia.

Despite the scorching heat, more than 10,000 spectators turned out for the DTM street race.

"It is so hot these days, but to watch a racing car up close was really exciting. My heart was beating fast when the cars were right in front of me," said fan Zhou Jie.

Organizers said the audience enthusiasm bodes well for the upcoming F1 and V8 events.

"I am very impressed with the country and China is a very big market for Audi. Because the car on which our race car is based is in production here, this is very important to us from a marketing point of view," said Wolfgang Ullrich, director of Audi Motorsport.

"We have further races in the near future to consider," he added.

Like Audi, fellow German automakers Opel and Mercedes-Benz have taken steps to establish their brands in the Chinese market.

The intimate car-fan relationship is one of the biggest reasons why racing is attracting more fans in China.

"DTM is different to F1 because our cars are based on manufacturers' specifications, while F1 cars are designed completely for competition," said Wolfgang Knoll, Audi's marketing manager. "People get excited to see their own car model on the race course."

Former F1 driver Alex Yoong believes Australia's V8 Supercar Championship Series has broken new ground with its decision to race in China.

Yoong, born in Malaysia, is regarded as an overseas Chinese. His grandfather is Chinese and he still has relatives here.

He said international motorsport events are still in their infancy in China but the support base is constantly growing and officials are aggressively pursuing co-operation to step up development of the domestic auto market.

"What you have to remember about China is that most people are first generation car owners, so motorsport is a completely new experience for them,"said Yoong, who is racing in the V8 Supercar series with Australia's WPS Racing.

He believes China will become a huge motorsport market and said he's looking forward to how fans will respond to the V8 Supercars.

To share a slice of the big cake, Audi joined the Supercar series for the first time last year and unveiled a new model - the A6 V8 quatro.

As the host, Shanghai International Circuit is learning from the DTM and other races while busy preparing for the F1 and V8 events.

The DTM was delayed for more than four hours after a manhole cover popped out of place and caused an accident.

"The international practice for street races is to weld the manhole covers in place prior to the event," said Luo Xiaoyun, a Shanghai reporter who visited Germany last month to cover the DTM series.

Source: China Daily