DTM | GT3 Regulation Shift For Post 2020 Season

[Wachu]

... and Formula 1 died in the 80's, and US open wheel died with CART, and nothings as good as it was so get off my lawn so I can watch old races on my VCR... did I miss anything?

Yes. You've missed the whole point of this argument. It is not older=better, lets kill technological advancement. The point is keep DTM - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, touring car series, not sprint race prototypes it became in 1992 when homologation requirement was discontinued and Alfa inspired other manufacturers to ditch road car platforms, which made many manufacturers and privateers quit, ending with slow death of DTM, that was losing audience and participants every year without getting new ones. BTW you can see the scheme here: DTM launches new formula, it gets popular and successful, new formula transforms, rules become less strict, cars get faster, few guys scream in happiness as most of manufacturers walk away due to impossible to sustain costs and most of fans walk away due to lack of diversity on the grid and lack of interest in another silhouette prototype series. I think DTM should try to create modern group A, inspired by GT4/GT3 and BTCC technical regulations. Go back to the roots. And again, not go back to coal engines, unsynchronized gearboxes cross-ply tires, but the idea behind DTM that made it such a hit in 1984-1992. Require homologation, require similarity between road cars and race cars, limit costs, create formula friendly to privateer teams to develop their own racecars. Basically I want something in style of NGTC2/Pro/+, called it however you want, but one that would require suspension and engine block from road car with option to use ready2race, fixed spec engine bought from organisers itself. (NGTC allows replacing suspension with dual wishbone setup and using any engine from manufacturer line-up or TOCA engine manufactured currently by Swindon Engines).

 

[fatal4you]

Today I learned that the BMW in DTM is based on the M8 coupe. When did they forget that the T in DTM stood for touring?

 

[Cheesenium]

No for me, I rather see a LMDh type program than GT3.

I can't see what they can do that is cheap to differentiate it from GT3, other than what the Japanese had been doing by taking out the restrictors for some races.

 

[Will Mazeo]

No for me, I rather see a LMDh type program than GT3.

Yep. I feel like ACO is missing a huge chance with LMDh. I mean GT500 for example, they could have picked Dome instead of one of the Euro chassis manufacturers and SGT could use that for GT500 cars. ACO could approach DTM and work on numbers to make possible to use one of the tubs there as well.
Lots of extra cars for Le Mans that way and many WEC one off entries.
Well, GT3 will get to Le Mans grid sooner or later anyway, especially with SRO next rule cycle.

 

[Mitja Bonca]

There have been enough alarm signals and examples in the past showing why a comparable series like BTCC is still going strong and why DTM ceases to exist for the second time. It's just too reminicent of 1996 when the ITC died as the cars became too technological advanced with F1 tech and too expensive. When we think about late 80s and early 90s the cars resembled their average joe day life counterparts and you knew that they were an M3, A4 or a 190. Today, the cars look like spaceships and have nothing in common with the road cars, they all look the same, they sound sh*t and are as expensive as it gets.

If they followed the same approach as BTCC they would have no issues fielding more than twenty cars and it would garantue some great racing without those stupid gimmicks like DRS. Next to the fact that DTM is just too international. This might sound a bit nationalistic, but why does the German Touring Car Championship not race at tracks like Sachsenring, Oschersleben, Nordschleife or Bilsterberg, while they race basicly everywhere in Europe, Covid19 or not? Do you see the BTCC racing at Moscow raceway? Why not race at Tempelhof? Airfield races have been great in the racing history and many venues that we know today started as airfields. With this comes the problem that the traveling times and costs for the teams rise and that the German spectators have no access to the supposed to be prime German Touring car series. It all screams for failure.

Cannot agree more on all you stated. I think the same way.
And you made me think ones more what racing should be all about, not the have 100x better replicas of their original cars (who everyone can buy and drive on a daily base), but the actual cars with minor modifications (so far from what dtm and gt500 are). High cost will never last, besides its not even entertaining.

 

[LagunaSeca]

... and Formula 1 died in the 80's, and US open wheel died with CART, and nothings as good as it was so get off my lawn so I can watch old races on my VCR... did I miss anything?

You know people complain cars to be "souless" when it first came out and gradually replaced the horses.

Now apparently those old cars are the ones with souls now. History goes in circles. Come back and check when the e-DTM replaces the new GT3-ish DTM in a few years.

 

[Richard Dastardly]

DTM has always been a level if not more higher then all other series around the europe (if not globe). Only series which can compared with, is Japanese SuperGT GT500. Its really a shame they won`t join - and it looked so good a year ago. And now its all braking a part
So now going levels down its really a SHAME. Would be better to put it on hold of some kind, and wait with it for better times.

For a period of time just before the original Class 1 we had compatible regulations in DTM, BTCC, ETCC and Australian TC, and there were events when they all raced together. This was a time when there was hardly any GT racing & the touring cars were putting out 500+bhp, but there was this grand crossover of seriously high level but relatively inexpensive motorsport. And then BTCC went Supertourers & DTM went Class 1... and look who lived. All that money that fell out of ITC at it's demise produced the original GT1 cars, so you can see how much was being poured in there..

The manufacturers in GT500 were never seriously going to enter - the format is different, the regulations didn't favour them & what were they going to gain out of it? that was a last gasp effort by DTM to shore up a dying format. GT1 died in 1999, DTM restarted in 2000... and manufacturers have been bailing out of the WEC in favour of Formula E just because it's so much cheaper, there's no surprise they're bailing out of DTM too, it's all the same bucket. Back to roots, back to much cheaper programmes, something privateers can afford, back to success. A GT3 series that doesn't even use stock GT3 cars has very little attraction for *anyone*.

 

[RichardHessels]

Would be great if Volkswagen and Audi would do hot hatches GT3 spec.
Like BMW already does with their M series.
People would love to see over the top versions of their own cars racing.
Instead of openwheeler chassis cars with a touringcarcover.

 

[Patrick van der Meulen]

Well, it looks like they go back to their roots. And that's a good thing imho.

If they differentiate enough from GT3 by dropping ABS, allow tuning up the engines significantly and optimize aero, it will be the salvation of this class imo.

 

[Butzemann]

R.I.P. DTM.