Opel's motorsport manager, Volker Strycek, sh🃏ook down the new Ope♈l Vectra GTS V8 at the French test track in yesterday [Monday], completing the first laps with the car that will take the fight to Mercedes and Audi in this year's DTM.

Strycek - the first ever DTM champion in 1984 and overall w𒆙inner of last year's N?rburgring 24 Hours together with Opel works drivers Manuel Reuter, Timo Scheider and Marcel Tiemann - maintained the tradition of being behind the wheel at the first outing of each of Opel's DTM cars in recent years. In sunny, but cold, conditions, the German completed♛ a total of 55 laps.

"A roll-out of a new race car is always an exciting affair," Strycek commented, "Although the data acquired in such a test are only of limited use, you get at least a feel of the car - which, in this case, i🥀s very good."

Strycek p🔯raised the driveability of the Opel, 😼as well as the response of the 476bhp V8 engine.

"The development and technical department of the Opel Performance Centre real💦ly have done a tremendous𝔍 job in the past few weeks," he said.

Tiemann, Opel's official test driver, also got behindꦚ the wheel during the roll-out at Colmar, but a more extensive test programme will be carried out in the next few weeks.