The DTM will be under new management next year, which will result in a number of important changes. james_newbold explains how the DTM reached this point and what lies ahead for its future. ⬇️
Switching organiser from ITR to the ADAC may not look like such a big change compared to that experienced by the DTM over the winter of 2020-21. But, to the teams that went through the shift from Class 1 tin-tops with full manufacturer teams to becoming GT3 customers, it has been an unwelcome reminder of the uncertainty that brought.
But following the loss of Mercedes to Formula E at the end of 2018, the onset of the pandemic prompted the hammer blow of Audi pulling out in 2020. With only BMW still committed to the series, Berger had to switch the platform to GT3 cars to stay alive. Suddenly, DTM was now up against the ADAC GT Masters championship that already used GT3 cars in a fight to secure entries. This domestic rivalry, many DTM team bosses believe, helped nobody.
Berger soon turned attentions to opening a dialogue with the ADAC to safeguard the series’ long-term future, and has begun proceedings to wind down the ITR.What will change “They might have a slight advantage initially,” says Liimatainen, whose team last competed in GT Masters in 2018 with DHD2 tyres that have been replaced twice since. “But I think if you test then you will work it out. At least, that’s the plan!”
Existing DTM support series will also be affected. The DTM Trophy series, a sprint championship for single drivers in GT4 machines, has been canned as the ADAC already has a GT4 series where two drivers split budgets. Mucke Motorsport has only run a single GT3 car in the DTM for the past two seasons, but entered two cars in the Trophy Series in 2022. Although it plans to support the ADAC’s GT4 Germany series, Stefan Mucke laments that the Trophy series is no more.
“We don’t know what’s the litre price of that,” explains Mucke, “so if the ADAC can find partners to support that, that would be great because that can add a lot more cost or save a lot more cost. We expect more details in the next coming weeks.” after they were cited as a factor in expensive crashes last year at the Norisring and Hockenheim.
No mention has so far been made of the DTM Classic platform for older machinery, organised by former DTM racer Peter Oberndorfer in 2022. “With the rescheduling of the motorsport pyramid in Germany, under the roof of the ADAC, they’ve clearly shown that DTM is like the pinnacle of German motorsport,” says the two-time Le Mans winner, who raced in GT Masters as a driver in 2018 and 2019 following the conclusion of Porsche’s 919 LMP1 programme and fielded his team in the series until 2021.
“This new concept is a disappointment,” said Christian Land, whose Land Motorsport squad won the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2017. “It’s an affront to us and a backward step for German motorsport. The ADAC GT Masters was a professional top series, which has now been relegated to the status of a support series.” Perspectives will naturally depend on what side of the fence the proponent is sitting.
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