The DTM deserves more recognition, as in the last few years the German Touring Car Series has declined in viewership and, in the UK, is no longer available on free-to-air TV. Instead being shown on BTSport/ESPN, occasionally just as highlights. Naturally, viewership and attendance is high in Germany, however in the UK, which some might say is the heart of motor racing, there is no longer a race, despite there being British interest in the series with the likes of Paul di Resta, Gary Paffett, Tom Blomqvist and Jamie Green.
The DTM has a huge amount of heritage, drawing in top class drivers, former F1 drivers as well as promoting young talent from their FIA European Formula 3 feeder series. The tin top category has seen many high class manufacturers come and go and currently sees Mercedes, Audi and BMW battle it out since DTM’s rebranding in 2000. Since then, there have been 11 drivers that have won the championship, outlining the fierce competition the DTM provides. Indeed, the competition between the 24-car field today still provides drama. At the Norisring, less than a tenth of a second covered second position and last position during qualifying. What’s more, although Marco Wittman and BMW looked to run away with the title in 2014, this year, Audi and Jamie Green have now come to the forefront, battling with a resurgent Mercedes, proving how high the standards are in the series and how hard you must fight to maintain your championship status.
DTM organisers have realised that changes need to be made to the series in order to expand its viewership and sell more tickets. In fact, ex-F1 and DTM driver David Coulthard has stated that the DTM is a “super-professional organisation, like Formula 1, in terms of the set-up, the media that are attracted to it, the sponsors, so it’s a step above all the other formulas”. Reinforcing his words is the DTM’s decision to change its race format, having a sprint race on Saturday followed by another qualifying on Sunday for a longer second race. So far, this has proved successful. The drivers are happy as there are more races and teams are happy as you can recover in the second race if faced with a bad race one. So why is the DTM struggling for recognition?
Somewhat controversially, it has been left off the series’ that graduate for F1 super-licence points. Coulthard points out that the non-existent FIA Formula 2 Championship qualifies for more points, which “take[s] the piss” according to the Scotsman in an interview with Autosport. Currently the DTM cars reach the same speed as the Formula 3 cars, due to the downforce they have, but the series is more than that, it allows drivers vital experience in honing their race craft by competing in the best touring car machinery, using the same technology Formula 1 does. On top that, given its touring car nature, door-to-door contact provides excitement for the fans too.
It’s clear that a large majority of the motoring world recognise DTM has certainly been blanked by the FIA, despite former drivers including Jean Alesi. However, this underlines that it is certainly doing its best to become more recognised globally. Already, it provides top class and entertaining racing, much more than F1 at the moment. There is also scope for the calendar to be widened and for races to take place at dusk.
Perhaps one of the most exciting things to come for the DTM series will be in 2017. The next generation of DTM cars will have reduced levels of downforce, when the Class One Framework being jointly developed with Super GT is introduced. Work between organisers of the two series and their manufacturers carries on, with Audi, BMW and Mercedes holding weekly meetings, and then monthly briefings with Honda, Lexus and Nissan. Both categories already share chassis and aerodynamic DNA, and while the cars will continue to resemble the existing machinery, current work is focused on arriving at reduced levels of downforce to reduce speeds and costs.
Also, cars from the DTM and Japan’s Super GT class will race against each other in two standalone events in 2017 and ’18. A meeting between DTM, Super GT and representatives from America’s IMSA was held earlier this year at the Nurburgring, where further details such as the engine regulations were passed. Two-litre, four-cylinder turbo engines producing 600bhp will also be developed. Aerodynamic specs were also refined, with the incoming cars to resemble existing DTM and Super GT machinery. The first year of the new package will culminate with a showcase race in Japan in late 2017 between Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz from the DTM and Honda, Lexus and Nissan from Super GT.
The second race will then be held in Germany in early 2018, and when IMSA adopts the platform, manufacturers from America will also be eligible. The hope being that one day, all ‘Class One’ vehicles from around the world will compete with one another.
The 2015 DTM Season has provided some of the most exciting racing of any series so far this year with multiple winners and podium finishers. Drivers carving their way through the field with alternate pit strategies as well as rain which always spices things up. On top of this, the DTM organisers are doing a sterling job of coordinating the series and adapting and expanding as necessary. Currently the field is thriving, financially and sportingly with 10 teams operating, and the three manufacturers working in tandem to improve the series. The FIA will surely come around and rethink their Super-license scheme, with the Formula Renault Series also being undervalued.
However, for the DTM at least, the only way is up.
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