DTM 2024

[FIRE]

in 2024 Abt wil enter two Audi R8's for Kelvin van der Linde and Ricardo Feller. Red Bull is the main sponsor. No factory support from Audi.

So no switch to Lamborghini.

[Matt K]

Red Bull's return is a big news for Abt and I'm glad they're sticking with Audi for at least one more season. Nice to see some confirmations already. Manthey also confirmed they stay with two cars and suggest they want to keep Preining and Olsen.

An interesting thing is AiM GT, who will start with two Hondas and act more like a charity team - so no paydrivers, instead they want to invest in young talents - one male driver and another female if I understand correctly. Don't believe in a particular longevity of that project, let alone success but this will be some source of interest next year. If they really run the project at the end.

[airbusA346]

Team75 won't return in 2024 and I've seen a couple of comments saying Toksport are out too.

So is Porsche going to be Manthey only with 2 cars...

[Matt K]

My thoughts exactly, if Bernhard is out, I'd be surprised to see Toksport stay. That would mean just 2 Porsches but given Porsche's newfound enthusiasm for DTM, who know, maybe there'll be another Porsche-supported team.
In other news, Team Rosberg is working on the return to DTM and talking to various manufacturers, allegedly a chance could be with BMW. Would be glad to see second strong BMW team after Schubert. Project 1 is certainly level below what's required to fight up front in the DTM...

[GT3_Fan]

Simple question is will we get teams for all 6 main manufacturers back? So we can have at least 2 of every type. Perhaps will someone come in and enter a car that is not German or Italian by some chance?

[Matt K]

Rumour has it McLaren will enter DTM next year with Project 1. I expect a new BMW team alongside Schubert - Marco Wittmann is pressing BMW for equal chances as he (rightly) feels disadvantaged to van der Linde and Rast. Perhaps Rosberg will be back with BMW.
Porsche is a bit of mystery for me. With Bernhard out and Toksport also likely to go, who can fill the void?

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by Matt K

Rumour has it McLaren will enter DTM next year with Project 1. I expect a new BMW team alongside Schubert - Marco Wittmann is pressing BMW for equal chances as he (rightly) feels disadvantaged to van der Linde and Rast. Perhaps Rosberg will be back with BMW.
Porsche is a bit of mystery for me. With Bernhard out and Toksport also likely to go, who can fill the void?

Not the team I expected to be tied up with Mclaren. I know Mcl are ramping up their GT presence, hope Project 1 can do the car justice. Needs to be a 2 car programme with some really decent factory talent (Tom Gamble or Kirchoffer) to be taken as anything more than a back of grid filler

[v8supes]

Gounon to DTM?

[FIRE]

“Road to DTM”
The best young driver in 2024 ADAC GT4 gets full season seat in 2025 ADAC GT Masters. In GT Masters are no longer platinum drivers allowed.
The best young driver in 2024 GT Masters gets seat in 2025 DTM.

Source: https://autosport.nl/klasse/nieuws/3...-en-gt-masters

[Matt K]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

Not the team I expected to be tied up with Mclaren. I know Mcl are ramping up their GT presence, hope Project 1 can do the car justice. Needs to be a 2 car programme with some really decent factory talent (Tom Gamble or Kirchoffer) to be taken as anything more than a back of grid filler

Kirchhofer seems almost a certainty if McLaren enters DTM. Can Project 1 do the car justice? Not so sure given their performance with BMW this year but who knows.

[airbusA346]

Preining returning with Manthey.

https://sportscar365.com/other-serie...title-defense/

[airbusA346]

The 2nd Manthey Porsche won't be driven by Olsen. He's announced he won't be with Porsche next year.

[airbusA346]

SSR have registered two Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2s and an all-professional crew for next years championship.

https://gt-place.com/2023/12/07/dtm-...rhin-am-start/

[airbusA346]

Grasser Racing:

- Car 1: Christian Engelhart
- Car 2: TBA

https://www.motorsport-total.com/dtm...pilot-23120703

[Matt K]

Dennis Rostek has confirmed Nicki Thiim will be back in the DTM although declined to comment as to where. According to Motorsport Magazin, it will not be with Aston Martin, which probably confirms that Aston will not be on the grid.

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by Matt K

Dennis Rostek has confirmed Nicki Thiim will be back in the DTM although declined to comment as to where. According to Motorsport Magazin, it will not be with Aston Martin, which probably confirms that Aston will not be on the grid.

SSR with Bortolotti.

https://sportscar365.com/other-serie...series-return/

[Matt K]

Pretty interesting. Curious to see how he goes compared to Bortolotti. Wonder if Perera remains on the grid, with Grasser for example. Him and Bortolotti were rumoured to be on not so good terms and Perera had a nightmare season, no surprising he was dropped.

[FIRE]

https://www.motorsport.com/dtm/news/...frey/10562926/

Unofficial confirmation Emil Frey Ferrari will be back. One car driven by Vermeulen.

[Matt K]

I must say the (almost) complete silence regarding this year's DTM is quite worrying. Last year ADAC was adamant they don't want to make it look like in previous years when DTM was disappearing from the stage between the seasons yet this is what's happening this year. Also, given their initial plan to announce the grid before Christmas, the one-month delay (and counting) also doesn't look too good. There are also some unofficial information suggesting there's a lot of uncertainty for many teams, even with indications that if the grid size is 20 cars it'll be good. Honestly, I hadn't expected that ADAC's takeover of the championship would bring in so much negativity after only one season.
Economic circumstances are difficult, however, and it seems motorsport in such a form as DTM is slowly becoming less and less affordable even for the most professional teams. It all looks pretty bad I must say.

What we know so far when it comes to the grid size:

Abt Audi - K. van der Linde
Abt Audi - Feller
Manthey Porsche - Preining
Manthey Porsche - ?? (rumours about Guven)
SSR Lamborghini - Bortolotti
SSR Lamborghini - Thiim
Grasser Lamborghini - Engelhart
Grasser Lamborghini - ?? (wonder if it could be Perera, Schmid left the team)
Schubert BMW - S. van der Linde
Schubert BMW - Rast
HRT Mercedes - ??
HRT Mercedes - ??
Winward Mercedes - ??
Winward Mercedes - ??
Emil Frey Ferrari - ?? (most probably Vermeulen)
Emil Frey Ferrari - ?? (Aitken working on coming back)

As for AMG camp, we can assume Engel, Auer and Stolz will be back. Auer at Winward and Stolz at HRT seems almost a certainty. Heard some contradictory rumours about Maini - IMO there's not a reason to retain him but who knows. Schumacher will probably go to GTWC/GT Masters. Landgraf still uncertain.

Porsche seems the most obvious example of DTM going backwards. Bernhard will not return and Toksport allegedly still working on continuing but wouldn't bet on them staying - this would mean just two Porsches on the grid.

As for Audi Abt will be the only Audi team I presume, Attempto probably not returning, while if Engstler returns, I guess that will be with a different car. Luca Engstler's future is another matter as he could be at Mercedes or any different team.

BMW will probably shrink to just two cars as well, Project 1 will certainly not go back as a BMW team. The only possibility of BMW expanding is Schubert fielding three cars, the third for Wittmann. As much as that'd be a great scenario, I fear Wittmann will miss out - another indication of how bad things are going. Personally, I'd hoped for Rosberg coming back with BMW but now I don't think they will come back at all.

There are some rumours about Project 1 switching to McLaren and according to various sources this is quite likely. Less likely is Comtoyou entering DTM with Aston Martin though. It might as well be that the 2024 grid will be just the 16 entries we know as confirmed (or semi-confirmed) at the moment.

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by Matt K

I must say the (almost) complete silence regarding this year's DTM is quite worrying. Last year ADAC was adamant they don't want to make it look like in previous years when DTM was disappearing from the stage between the seasons yet this is what's happening this year. Also, given their initial plan to announce the grid before Christmas, the one-month delay (and counting) also doesn't look too good. There are also some unofficial information suggesting there's a lot of uncertainty for many teams, even with indications that if the grid size is 20 cars it'll be good. Honestly, I hadn't expected that ADAC's takeover of the championship would bring in so much negativity after only one season.
Economic circumstances are difficult, however, and it seems motorsport in such a form as DTM is slowly becoming less and less affordable even for the most professional teams. It all looks pretty bad I must say.

What we know so far when it comes to the grid size:

Abt Audi - K. van der Linde
Abt Audi - Feller
Manthey Porsche - Preining
Manthey Porsche - ?? (rumours about Guven)
SSR Lamborghini - Bortolotti
SSR Lamborghini - Thiim
Grasser Lamborghini - Engelhart
Grasser Lamborghini - ?? (wonder if it could be Perera, Schmid left the team)
Schubert BMW - S. van der Linde
Schubert BMW - Rast
HRT Mercedes - ??
HRT Mercedes - ??
Winward Mercedes - ??
Winward Mercedes - ??
Emil Frey Ferrari - ?? (most probably Vermeulen)
Emil Frey Ferrari - ?? (Aitken working on coming back)

As for AMG camp, we can assume Engel, Auer and Stolz will be back. Auer at Winward and Stolz at HRT seems almost a certainty. Heard some contradictory rumours about Maini - IMO there's not a reason to retain him but who knows. Schumacher will probably go to GTWC/GT Masters. Landgraf still uncertain.

Porsche seems the most obvious example of DTM going backwards. Bernhard will not return and Toksport allegedly still working on continuing but wouldn't bet on them staying - this would mean just two Porsches on the grid.

As for Audi Abt will be the only Audi team I presume, Attempto probably not returning, while if Engstler returns, I guess that will be with a different car. Luca Engstler's future is another matter as he could be at Mercedes or any different team.

BMW will probably shrink to just two cars as well, Project 1 will certainly not go back as a BMW team. The only possibility of BMW expanding is Schubert fielding three cars, the third for Wittmann. As much as that'd be a great scenario, I fear Wittmann will miss out - another indication of how bad things are going. Personally, I'd hoped for Rosberg coming back with BMW but now I don't think they will come back at all.

There are some rumours about Project 1 switching to McLaren and according to various sources this is quite likely. Less likely is Comtoyou entering DTM with Aston Martin though. It might as well be that the 2024 grid will be just the 16 entries we know as confirmed (or semi-confirmed) at the moment.

While I think the concern here is probably pretty valid, I would say that we had similar concerns last year and the grid ended up very healthy.

I don't think we will see a repeat of that, but hopefully 20-22 cars.

Realistically, 20ish competitive cars can make for great racing, more active chance of movement up the grid as there is less congestion. I think anything about 25 cars in a sprint race is a bit pointless, you just get big processions.

It is going to be interesting how GT3 series in Europe are fielded this year.

Essentially the WEC is taking a lot of the professional focus potentially harming the PRO grids in DTM and GTWC.

If GTWC becomes less PRO orientated, then they need to be hanging on to their amateur driver interest, and global economics are likely pinching those a little at the moment.

Theres also a few too many opportunities for a Amateur driver to drive a GT3 car now, between GTWC, ELMS, Le Mans Cup, GT Open, GT Masters, British GT etc.

I imagine several, or all of these series will be hit with lower grids this year.

It is very quiet on the GTWC front....

[GregoryDG]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

While I think the concern here is probably pretty valid, I would say that we had similar concerns last year and the grid ended up very healthy.

I don't think we will see a repeat of that, but hopefully 20-22 cars.

Realistically, 20ish competitive cars can make for great racing, more active chance of movement up the grid as there is less congestion. I think anything about 25 cars in a sprint race is a bit pointless, you just get big processions.

It is going to be interesting how GT3 series in Europe are fielded this year.

Essentially the WEC is taking a lot of the professional focus potentially harming the PRO grids in DTM and GTWC.

If GTWC becomes less PRO orientated, then they need to be hanging on to their amateur driver interest, and global economics are likely pinching those a little at the moment.

Theres also a few too many opportunities for a Amateur driver to drive a GT3 car now, between GTWC, ELMS, Le Mans Cup, GT Open, GT Masters, British GT etc.

I imagine several, or all of these series will be hit with lower grids this year.

It is very quiet on the GTWC front....

WEC GT3 has 15 good drivers in total but will harm the Pro grids of other championships?

Very surprised about what I read here about DTM and GTWC. Both championships will have similar grids in 2024, maybe a bit less cars in DTM and even some more Pro's in GTWC...

[Matt K]

According to latest interview with Thomas Voss, we should expect around 22 cars (give or take 2) in this year's DTM. So, basically should be 20-24 cars. If it's closer to 24, not bad. If 20, that can be a bit poor. Another question is, however, what about the quality of this grid? ADAC is adamant it'll be even stronger than last year.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by GregoryDG

WEC GT3 has 15 good drivers in total but will harm the Pro grids of other championships?

Very surprised about what I read here about DTM and GTWC. Both championships will have similar grids in 2024, maybe a bit less cars in DTM and even some more Pro's in GTWC...

Available Pro drivers are not the problem, but with no Am co-drivers available (or rather lack of) budget is a problem...

[airbusA346]

DTM have announced that McLaren will be represented on the grid this year.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

DTM have announced that McLaren will be represented on the grid this year.

Project 1?