Aiello gives Audi its best DTM finish

The 1999 BTCC champion, who was second fastest in Saturday's second free practice session, was able to lap on the pace of fourth-placed Eric Helary's Opel V8 Coupe and described the weekend as a major breakthrough for the team. In race two, he finished 11th, one place out of the points.

"I'm definitely pleased with the weekend and the result," he said. "If I hadn't had a problem in qualifying with an anti-roll bar [which put him 15th], I think we could have been even higher.

"The development we've done on the car is obviously paying off, especially when you see how I could stay with Helary's Opel, and it's always a good boost for a driver and a team when they are suddenly not far off the pace."

However team boss Hans-Jurgen Abt expressed a note of caution, saying that the car was as far down its development path as it could go without re-homologating its aerodynamics for the 2001 season.

Next year's version of the TT-R is set to have a significantly revised aerodynamic package, and Aiello is now tipped to stay with the team for a second season, regardless of whether Audi gives the project its official blessing.