Breaking News | Audi Announce DTM Exit

[Salvatore Sirignano]

Good riddance!

It's a simple process -
Manufacturers get into a motorsport series, (be it F1, WRC etc) spiral its costs, push out the privateers, ruin the formula to push the agenda of the day and then pull out when the wind changes direction, leaving a completely ruined series behind.

I can't think of a series that wouldn't be better off without manufacturers. That way the focus would be on the series and spectacle, not on what sells more cars.

 

[Barry Waterfield]

ITR need to adopt the NGTC regs there is plenty of chassis available. No it wont be DTM anymore but what other tintop category does Germany have?

 

[boomn]

This was rumored three years ago. It was inevitable. We could make an American Grand Touring Challenge (AGTC). over here =o). Hellcats vs GT500's vs ZL1's with that DTM style bodywork.

We do already have the loud and awesome Trans-Am TA and TA2 silhouette muscle cars! What we really need are the high level of drivers that DTM had. That was one of perks of heavy manufacturer involvement and funding (and now DTM are dealing with the negatives of that manufacturer dependency). I wish there was a different way to get good pro drivers into the exciting cars that already exist in different series around the world

 

[bumblebeetuna]

what the hell is the point of the class one regulations if all the teams are just gonna leave immediately?

 

[UMC 22]

Just throwing it out there, but if DTM now shuts down is it actually realistic to expect it to return at all?

I mean, like it or not we're living in a world where fossil fuels are considered an evil that must be eradicated. Various series still using combustion engines are slowly losing the support of manufacturers and sponsors for this reason, because they want to jump on the "green" bandwagon. So if DTM really does die in it's current form and is gone for even a year or two, is there really any chance that a bunch of teams will be willing to invest the large sums required to start from scratch? Will there be any manufacturers left willing to provide the fuel-burning hardware required for a reinvented series? Wouldn't a return only be truly viable if it switched to electric?

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of electric racing. It would be great to see DTM reinvent itself in one of the ways others have mentioned in this thread, as a proper touring car series. But I just can't see it happening in the current climate.

 

[Humphrey Koga]

I will never watch DTM again

 

[Blaze016]

This is really sad. I've always loved DTM, so I hope this means the series will come back as a "normal" touring cars championship. Like it used to be back in the day with the M3, 190E, 155, etc. To me, the best they could do is take the rulebook from GT3, and change the homologation rules so that only sedans can enter. That way they'd have GT3 speed and cost with the cars that have basically made DTM what it was, at least to me.

 

[MrLonguinha]

The Golden era DTM, Mercedes, Audi, Opel, Alfa Romeo, BMW. How can DTM end? Here in Brazil, we will have the inclusion of the Toyota Corolla in the StockCar Brasil series, joining Chevrolet. The grid has not lowered 30 cars for a long time. The European structure (German in this case) cannot be compared, but DTM has been dying for years, a sad end. Who knows, maybe it will come back with a regulation in which the teams can have a good championship, but not so high costs. We have the example of the old WTCC, which after taking the TCR regulation, becoming the WTCR, has very good races. So I look forward to the future of DTM.

 

[Amanda]

Yeah DTM basically ended when they took away every reason for Mercedes to stay

Can you elaborate on this?

 

[Michel Bélisle]

Volkswagen PR BS...

 

[Dirk Steffen]

For some reason this still sticks to me with this day.
This has forever changed how I have viewed Audi's motorsports efforts - maybe not logically so but for some reason it defined to me how Audi handled their involvement in motorsports.

I have had the greatest respect and admiration of the achievements of Dr. 123 but that day has forever damaged that hero image of a great man to me.

Ever since I have never seen Audi motorsports the same.

I have no negative feelings about their leaving of the DTM and what looks surely like a complete collapse of a racing format that was sorely overdue for a complete rebuild and hung on a thin thread for years.

I deeply regret that a cooperation / merger of the DTM format and the Japanese SuperGT has never came to fruition as this would have been an awesome format to see these cars race together and have the talent from Europe and Japan race in the same events.

I do hope that we can find a way to have a few years left of ICE racing on a very high level in a new format that is more attractive to manufacturers.
Perhaps a FIA GT4 based concept as a national racing series would be a good start and lure in a few more manufacturers to produce GT4 homologated cars into the series with an emphasis on production cars outside the realm of super cars and high end sports cars - how about a Skoda Octavia GT4 or an Opel or European Ford, ...

 

[Cheesenium]

Do you have a source regarding Bentley leaving GT3?

Bentley interested in electric endurance racing | Autocar

British luxury marque prepares to end Continental GT3 programme, but would look at long-form EV racing

www.autocar.co.uk

It is more like potentially or at least it sounds like Bentley won't be putting as much time and resource in the GT3.

They want an electric prototype series.

 

[DrRob]

Bentley interested in electric endurance racing | Autocar

British luxury marque prepares to end Continental GT3 programme, but would look at long-form EV racing

www.autocar.co.uk

It is more like potentially or at least it sounds like Bentley won't be putting as much time and resource in the GT3.

They want an electric prototype series.

Bentley? I thought M-Sport was doing their work?
But then Bentley being a marque in the Volkswagen Group.....

 

[TheLoudAssassin]

It's a shame but the cost's were spiraling out of control and the cars are far to expensive for a 1 race formula, Ever since the modern DTM car was introduced i never liked it, It was never a true DTM car in my opinion just a glorified touring car prototype , I had a feeling ever since Mercedes left that it was going down hill and Aston Martins short stint prove's it, The racing series that thrives are the one's with cheap running cost's for teams, It's the reason WTCC died off and now DTM there's no profit to be made from innovation unlike formula E.

 

[eco2006]

To be honest, Audi did its best to push away any motorsport fan left with its teamorders and strategic decisions in the past few years, making the races totally unwatchable.

 

[Cheesenium]

Bentley? I thought M-Sport was doing their work?
But then Bentley being a marque in the Volkswagen Group.....

Bentley still has major involvement as it is their engine and car. It could be like Audi LMP1 program that Audi dumped, Joest had to go elsewhere to race.

VW had pulled out from any form of ICE racing and Audi only working on customer racing which I think it could be a reason from up top. Racing does develop the technology of road cars but it seemed like there is a large gap to jump through for endurance GT cars so VW really wants to push for EV to do endurance. Particularly for fast charging in EV.

IDR is fun to drive in R3E but I really don't know if I want a grid full of them as a GT or prototypes. Hey, at least old Grand Turismo car sounds would be realistic now.

 

[T.J. Teegarden]

This is a Deutsche series. If you're Deutsche, then step up and be Deutsche instead of a bunch of Deutsche-bag manufacturers.

 

[dragonbeard]

I can't think of a series that wouldn't be better off without manufacturers. That way the focus would be on the series and spectacle, not on what sells more cars.

While I don't disagree with you, some series don't suffer nearly as much.
The GT500s in Super GT Are a manufacturer series between Honda, Toyota and Nissan.
The GT300 class is a free for 3 different regulations, resulting in a crazy privateer free-for-all.
You can watch GT500 for the driver skill and overall victory, while GT300 is a great show where you can see a hybrid Prius battling a BRZ and an Itasha GT3 car.

That said, I think Japanese culture has a pretty big impact on how they make the manufacturers in the GT500 class work together well.

 

[Herlev]

Just throwing it out there, but if DTM now shuts down is it actually realistic to expect it to return at all?

I mean, like it or not we're living in a world where fossil fuels are considered an evil that must be eradicated. Various series still using combustion engines are slowly losing the support of manufacturers and sponsors for this reason, because they want to jump on the "green" bandwagon. So if DTM really does die in it's current form and is gone for even a year or two, is there really any chance that a bunch of teams will be willing to invest the large sums required to start from scratch? Will there be any manufacturers left willing to provide the fuel-burning hardware required for a reinvented series? Wouldn't a return only be truly viable if it switched to electric?

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of electric racing. It would be great to see DTM reinvent itself in one of the ways others have mentioned in this thread, as a proper touring car series. But I just can't see it happening in the current climate.

Absolutely agree in this. Motorsport as we know it is unfortunately a dying breed and I think we will see more and more of manufactors pulling out.
Let's face it, we are all stuck in the 90's with our passion for loud engines and burning rubber... Some might even call us dinasours

I just hope that whatever takes over from fossil fuels is capable of giving us some good racing.

 

[MustartMatters]

Ed Jones must be livid