Russian enthusiasm encourages Mortara

Audi's Edoardo Mortara believes Russia's first ever DTM race will be a 'resounding success' as the Italian embarks on his third season.

Mortara, who enjoyed his most successful DTM season to date with two victories in 2012, spoke of his enthusiasm for the race during a recent fan event at Moscow's iconic Red Square alongside Audi team mate and former champion Mattias Ekstrom.

The Italian admitted he was surprised by the level of interest as the series unveiled itself to Russia.

"This was my first visit to Russia. It was really exciting to be standing on Red Square with the Audi A5 DTM. I was particularly surprised about the high interest of the media," said the Italian.

"They [the fans] were clearly thrilled. I haven't signed such a large number of autographs as I did at this event in a long time."

The 26-year old also expects to see a full house come August 4th when the Moscow Raceway will host the first ever Russian round.

"After my experiences during this brief visit I'm sure that the race will be a resounding success. The people are obviously very enthusiastic about motorsport. I'm already looking forward to running there.

"I'm definitely expecting to see full grandstands at the race and am already excited about my next visit to this fascinating metropolis," Mortara concluded.

by Simon Evans