Aiello wants to take the fight to Mercedes

Despite the privateer Abt team finishing his car only hours before Friday's first practice session, the Frenchman qualified seventh and was set for a top five finish in the 100-kilometre feature race until a slow pitstop dropped him to seventh at the end - the best non-Mercedes.

"The basis is there to win races," said Aiello. "In practice we rarely did more than three laps at a time, but we learned a lot and we've shown that we can already fight with Mercedes.

Rule breaks agreed by Mercedes and Opel have allowed the TT-R to run a longer wheelbase and more effective rear wing in order to fix the handling and aerodynamic deficiencies the stubby coupe suffered from in 2000.

"In fast corners you can really feel the extra grip," said Aiello, who rejected an offer from Mercedes in order to stay with Audi. "Compared to last year's car, it's immediately obvious that this is a major improvement."

Abt fields four 2001-spec TT-Rs, with Aiello joined by Christian Abt and DTM rookies Martin Tomczyk and Mattias Ekstrom.