René Rast Keeps the 33 for 2018 DTM Series

The numbers which the 2018 DTM Series drivers will race under have been confirmed.

René Rast has opted for the same approach as Lewis Hamilton in Formula One and Marc Márquez in MotoGP by not contesting with the #1 that is reserved for the title defender but maintain the #33 he debuted with last season.

However, this requires the approval of the DTM commission.

Rast said: “I think the #33 looks just great and in addition, remembering a number with identical digits is easier for me.”

Marco Wittmann in 2015 was the last time a reigning champion contested a title-defence campaign with the #1 on his car. The German also did not run with the one in his title defence last season, although he did have two #1s on his car with the #11 on his BMW.

“Twice the #1 always is good – and in addition I was born in November. The #11 has turned into a kind of a trademark for me.”

Series returnee Pascal Wehrlein retains the number 94, the number which the 2015 DTM champion raced with in his first stint with Mercedes AMG C DTM that made him the youngest champion in the history of the sport.

Fellow returnee Dani Juncadella has opted to switch from number 23 to 12 for his return to the series.

 “I wanted the #5 but that’s ‘Eki’s’ (Mattias Ekström) number. The 33 unfortunately also wasn’t available,” said Juncadella. “A close friend of mine past away last year following a motorbike accident and he had the #33. He was born on 05th May. 2 + 3 = 5 and two threes are 33. Therefore the #23.”

Rookies Philipp Eng, Joel Eriksson and Robin Frijns have chosen to run with the 25, 47 and 4.

The cars of the remaining 11 drivers will be decorated with the same numbers as last year.

DTM Driver Numbers 2018