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Audi didn't want to 'force' Ekstrom to respect 2018 DTM contract

Audi motorsport boss Dieter Gass says it was important that Mattias Ekstrom was not "forced" to race in the DTM next season despite having a valid contract

Two-time champion Ekstrom announced on Monday he would call time on his career in the German tin-top series, having first joined Audi's line-up back in 2001, to focus on his World Rallycross Championship commitments.

The 39-year-old has driven for his EKS team, which has Audi factory support, in World Rallycross alongside his DTM duties for the past three seasons, and skipped the 2016 DTM finale as it clashed with a World RX event.

Although Gass said the initial plan was for Ekstrom to contest another DTM season, he acknowledged that insisting he saw out his contract would benefit neither party.

"I said last year we have a contract for Mattias for DTM in 2018, and that I hoped he would fulfil it," said Gass.

"But I would never force a driver to do a programme that he doesn't want to do.

"We know that emotions and commitment is one of the big points for a driver, and if a driver doesn't want to do a programme, it's better for me to look for another driver, even if he's not at the same level, but I will get more out of him if he's committed to it.

"We know Mattias would never do anything he's not committed to, and at this stage it became reasonably obvious what to do."

Ex-Formula E racer and Blancpain GT Series champion Robin Frijns will replace Ekstrom in Audi's DTM set-up in 2018, joining Rene Rast, Jamie Green, Nico Muller, Loic Duval and Mike Rockenfeller.

Gass explained that finding a substitute in DTM was more straightforward than doing so in World RX, given Ekstrom is so central to Audi's rallycross presence.

"The rallycross programme really circles around Mattias," he said.

"His performance is paramount there. The team works very well when he's there, and it's less competitive when he's not there.

"On the DTM side, we generally have a strong team with six drivers, and we have seen very clearly last year that it's not only Mattias who can compete.

"So it was a bit easier for us to find a replacement in DTM than in World Rallycross, where we know that you simply wouldn't find someone who is at that level."

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