Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Audi have confirmed a raft of talented young drivers will have the opportunity to test the 2015 specification Audi RS 5 DTM including grandson of Grand Prix legend Sir Jack Brabham and GP2 regular Mitch Evans.
Confirmed to be driving for Audi in Jerez are Matthew Brabham, Mitch Evans, Alex Palou, Ben Hanley, Arthur Pic and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Giovinazzi is no stranger to DTM racing in 2015 after filling in at the Audi Sport Team Phoenix during the Moscow round with a best finish of 19th in the first race. At 21 years of age, Giovinazzi is considered a promising talent and recently completed won the Formula 3 Masters event at Zandvoort alongside finishing runner up for the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin team in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship.
Matthew Brabham (21) is best known for his prominent surname in motorsport circles, however the young Australian/American has had a successful career in American junior series securing titles in the established U.S. F2000 National Championship and Pro Mazda Championship in 2012 / 2013 respectively. Currently Brabham competes for Andretti Autosport in the IndyCar supporting Indy Lights Series where he finished in forth position last season. Brabham also competed for the Andretti team in selected rounds of the Formula E series during 2014/15.
Arthur Pic (24) is the younger brother of former Grand Prix driver Charles Pic and ply's his trade with Campos Racing in the GP2 Series. Pic finished the 2015 GP2 season at Abu Dhabi in 11th place in the standings finishing on the podium twice during the season. 2015 has been somewhat of a disappointment for the likable Frenchman following a strong debut during 2014 where he secured a victory in Hungary on route to 7th place in the final standings.
Arguably the most established driver to be offered a test with the German DTM squad, Mitch Evans is a 21 year old New Zealander and former GP3 champion who currently drives for the Russian Time GP2 squad where he has just finished 5th in the standings with 7 podium positions (including 2 wins) to back up his 4th place championship finish in 2014.
Evans has a reputation of being a hard charging driver with an energetic attitude towards passing other cars. Possibly an ideal candidate to try his hand a tin top touring cars and their lack of exposed wheels and breakable front wings.
Less well known is 18 year old Spaniard Alex Palou, currently enjoying his debut year in the GP3 championship driving for Campos Racing and finishing 10th in the final results and celebrated his maiden GP3 victory at the final round of the season at Yas Marina. Palou sampled DTM machinery for Audi in a test at Jerez last year.
Ben Hanley was somewhat of a surprise inclusion for the upcoming test. At 30 years old Hanley is one of the more senior drivers to be announced and hasn't competed in a full championship since finishing 6th for Campos Grand Prix in the now defunct GP2 Asia Series. Hanley returned to karting from 2009, finishing third in the Karting World Championship and winning the European Championship in 2015.
Audi have confirmed no changes to the driving strength in 2016 for its DTM and WEC teams.
