2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season preview and entry list

  • 2019 DTM season preview
  • DTM Lausitzring Test 2019

The 33rd DTM season will kick-off at the Hockenheimring this weekend. Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is entering not only the new season but a new era with many changes, including new technical and sporting regulations, new manufacturer and new drivers, and revised schedule of races.

The season will have nine rounds, instead of ten as in 2018, traditionally starting and ending at Hockenheimring. Hungaroring, Red Bull Ring and Zandvoort dropped out from a calendar, Zolder is returning for the first time since 2002 and TT Circuit Assen would be a brand new venue. The other tracks are Misano, Norisring, Brands Hatch, Lausitzring and Nürburgring.

DTM Lausitzring Test 2019 Aston Martin

Aston Martin will be represented with four cars in the DTM

The biggest novelty for the 2019 DTM season is a new manufacturer in the championship – Aston Martin. The British brand is replacing Mercedes, becoming the first non-German manufacturer in the DTM since Alfa Romeo back in 1996.

Aston Martin would be represented by four cars operated by the Swiss team R-Motorsport. When choosing drivers’ line-up, they opted for a combination of experience and youth, taking former Mercedes drivers Paul di Resta and Dani Juncadella plus two rookies Ferdinand Habsburg and Jake Dennis.

DTM Lausitzring Test 2019 rookies

There will be five rookies on the 2019 DTM grid (Pietro Fittipaldi is missing on the picture)

In total, five rookies will be on the 18-place grid. BMW hired South African Sheldon van der Linde to drive the #31 car. Audi will also have South African flag on one of its cars, taking Jonathan Aberdein to drive the #27 car for Audi Sport Team WRT. The Belgian squad will make its debut in the DTM with two rookies, the other is Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

Audi will have eight cars, BMW will complete the grid with six cars. Besides two WRT’s rookies, the other Audi drivers are Robin Frijns, Nico Muller, Loic Duval, Mike Rockenfeller, Rene Rast and Jamie Green. BMW will rely on one rookie and five experienced drivers Bruno Spengler, Marco Wittmann, Timo Glock, Philipp Eng and Joel Eriksson.

Audi DTM drivers Nico Müller, Loïc Duval, Robin Frijns, René Rast, Jamie Green and Mike Rockenfeller

Audi DTM drivers Nico Müller, Loïc Duval, Robin Frijns, René Rast, Jamie Green and Mike Rockenfeller

On the technical side of the story, the season 2019 marks the beginning of a new era. The new two-litre turbo engines were introduced, replacing naturally aspirated V8s.

Turbo engines are returning to the DTM for the first time since 1987, featuring approximately 610 hp and 650 Nm torque. Minimum car weight has been reduced to 986 kilograms, making the power to weight ratio of 1.6 kg per horsepower — the best in DTM’s history. Aral remains the official partner of the championship, meaning that all engines will run on Aral Ultimate 102 unleaded fuel.

2019 DTM BMW drivers

BMW’s choice of six drivers for the 2019 DTM season

To spice up the action, DTM retains both push-to-pass system and DRS (drag reduction system). The push-to-pass system is increasing engine performance at the touch of a button. The use of push-to-pass is limited to twelve activations per race.

New DTM cars have new rear wings that are 520 mm wider than their predecessors but now feature just a single element. The DRS is featuring a pneumatic mechanism on the wing that allows the flap to be lowered at the touch of a button. The DRS now may be used when the distance to the car in front is three seconds, previously it was just one second. In the race, every driver is allowed to activate the DRS for a maximum of 12 laps.

BMW Turbo Power

Turbo engines are returning to the DTM

For the ninth year in a row, Hankook stays the official tyre partner of DTM. The ‘Ventus Race’ slicks will be used for the fourth consecutive season, with dimensions 300/680 R18 (front) and 320/710 R18 (rear). The wet-weather version would be the ‘Ventus Race Rain’ tyre.

The race format has been changed compared to 2018. Now, each race will be held over a defined number of laps, depending on each respective racetrack, based on a race duration of approximately 58 minutes. Another new feature is the possibility of ‘extra time’: after a safety car period, the race director can extend the race by up to three laps. The maximum permitted race time is 70 minutes.

Hankook is the official tyre partner of DTM

Hankook is the official tyre partner of DTM

The partnership with the Japanese Super GT Series is not new but it will step to a new level in 2019. DTM will host several Super GT cars at season’s finale at Hockenheim. In November, the DTM and Super GT will appear together again in the Super GT non-championship event at Fuji Speedway.

The support programme during DTM weekends is refreshed. The biggest novelty is the brand new all-female W Series single-seater championship. The other supporting series will be Porsche Carrera Cups of Germany, Benelux and France, then Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup and the attractive Tourenwagen Classics.

2019 DTM entry list

NumberDriverTeamCar
3Paul di RestaR-MotorsportAston Martin Vantage AMR Turbo DTM
23Daniel JuncadellaR-MotorsportAston Martin Vantage AMR Turbo DTM
62Ferdinand Habsburg (R)R-MotorsportAston Martin Vantage AMR Turbo DTM
76Jake Dennis (R)R-MotorsportAston Martin Vantage AMR Turbo DTM
4Robin FrijnsAudi Sport Team Abt SportslineAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
51Nico MullerAudi Sport Team Abt SportslineAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
21Pietro Fittipaldi (R)Audi Sport Team WRTAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
27Jonathan Aberdein (R)Audi Sport Team WRTAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
28Loic DuvalAudi Sport Team PhoenixAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
99Mike RockenfellerAudi Sport Team PhoenixAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
33Rene RastAudi Sport Team RosbergAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
53Jamie GreenAudi Sport Team RosbergAudi RS5 Turbo DTM
7Bruno Spengler BMW Team RMGBMW M4 Turbo DTM
11Marco WittmannBMW Team RMGBMW M4 Turbo DTM
16Timo GlockBMW Team RMGBMW M4 Turbo DTM
25Philipp EngBMW Team RBMBMW M4 Turbo DTM
31Sheldon van der Linde (R)BMW Team RBMBMW M4 Turbo DTM
47Joel ErikssonBMW Team RBMBMW M4 Turbo DTM

Photos: Hoch Zwei/DTM, Audi, BMW Motorsport,

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