Audi driver Oliver Jarvis has won praise for his performance in his rookie DTM year from a former series champion and double 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.
The former A1GP race-winner made a good start to the season with eighth grid position in the opening outing at Hockenheim and also secured a fourth-place qualifying spot at the Oschersleben circuit.
His best race finish, at the wheel of the 2007-spec Audi A4, was at Mugello in Italy where he finished fifth.
In DTM only the drivers with the latest-spec cars can realistically hope to challenge for race wins and the title. Everybody else must use their more dated equipment to try to prove they deserve a better drive.
And Jarvis certainly seems to have done himself no harm since he has been retained by Audi for another season among a line-up of drivers that is virtually unchanged.
Jarvis himself was typically modest about his 2008 performance: “It was a great season. I failed to score as many points as I had resolved to do but that’s normal. We succeeded in demonstrating that we were competitive.
“In motor racing, you always encounter moments you’d love to forget. But it’s vital to learn from these moments – and that’s what I’ve done.”
But double 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and veteran DTM champion Manuel Reuter thinks differently, saying: “When it comes to the pure pace, he was the fastest of the 2007-spec car Audi drivers.
“Mugello is a driver circuit. Finishing fifth there represents a great result. Nonetheless, if you want to make it to the very top you also have to have what it takes to cope with setbacks.”
Watch the complete analysis of Jarvis’ season here – but, be warned, it’s in German >>