The calendar for DTM for next year will travel further into unchartered waters, as 2012 Champion driver Bruno Spengler and the rest of the field, including the BMW Motorsport, Audi Sport and Mercedes-Benz contingents, will venture into Russia for the very first time next August, as racing will hit the streets of Moscow for the very first time.
It looks as though DTM is becoming truly international, on a step-by-step basis, with ITR e.v. Chairman, Hans Werner Aufrecht saying that this new move into new territories, is crucial for braking into new markets: ‘‘For the series and our manufacturers — Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz — racing in a country such as Moscow represents a big chance of presenting themselves internationally in front of a new crowd.’’
But the majority of the calendar remains in Germany, with the new season kicking off at the Hockenheimring circuit on May 5th, and ending there on October 20th, along with Laustizring, Norisring, Oschersleben and Nurburgring, with the Munich Show Event being dropped after a very successful two years on the calendar. Brands Hatch, the Red Bull Ring and Zandvoort will remain on the schedule as other races outside of Germany, with the penultimate round to be held in Spain, but the venue is as of yet, undecided.
Even though the success of the Munich Show Event was fantastic, the realization of keeping it as a part of the schedule, and as a championship round, was simply not possible, according to Aufrecht, who praised the Olympic Stadium’s effort to bring such a showcase to DTM: ‘‘We had two great years in Munich’s Olympic Stadium and we thank all those involved for this opportunity to entertain the DTM enthusiasts in an unfamiliar environment and virtually right at their doorsteps.
‘‘Meanwhile, we weren’t able to make the next step — turning the event into a championship round — as ensuring absolute equality of opportunities is just impossible, on a parallel racetrack.’’
Ralph Huber, the Olympiapark GmbH CEO, stated that the only way of keeping the unique “Race Of Champions” style event, was to turn it into a championship round, but it was not going to be the case, but he gave credit where it was due: “That’s what we owe to the Munich crowds that are true sports enthusiasts. Nonetheless, we have to thank ITR for the extraordinary cooperation in the past two years.’’
We first have the joint venture for 2014 between DTM and Super GT being signed recently, and with the way the calendar now shapes up for next season, it is truly exciting times for the future of the series, as well as its further expansion in the coming years…
Date | Location |
5th May | Hockenheimring |
19th May | Brands Hatch |
2nd June | Red Bull Ring Spielburg |
16th June | Lausitzring |
7th July | Norisring |
21st July | Circuit Park Zandvoort |
4th August | Moscow |
18th August | Nurburgring |
15th September | Motorsport Arena Oschersleben |
29th September | TBA (Spain) |
20th October | Hockenheim |