The DTM searches for the Audi-exit with the end of the season continues after a solution for the Future. A entry of one of the three Super GT manufacturers Honda, Toyota and Nissan, have cars according to the same rules, in Gerhard Berger’s plans, but no specific role, such as the DTM Boss makes it clear. “I’m not of the opinion that time is in harmony print with the Japanese culture,” says the Austrian. “I doubt, therefore, that there is a Surprise.”
it was, according to Berger for 2022 the Plan is that Japanese cars in the DTM to be used after the project for 2021 not implement. “We had the end of the year-on-year, intensive discussions, before Audi dropped out. And that definitely came early for you. You have not cancelled, but you have moved it, basically a year,” explains Berger.
“you said: ‘Let us yet for a year or two, of common race, of marriage, we are ready for the next step’.” Actually, it was, according to the information of ‘motorsport-total.com’ planned, in 2020, again a joint race with the Super GT field in Fuji out. This project was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Berger wanted to be included “slow to trust
build up” to make The Declaration of intent by the Japanese, 2022 with the DTM common thing that was “positive, since it was important to us to slowly build the trust so that the future can grow,” says Berger. “But now we are through the Audi-the decision of course under time pressure.” And that is exactly what was in a view to a cooperation with the Japanese is not a good base.
in This case, both series use the of the ITR-created Class-1-rules and regulations, and the cars were aligned, in part already for 2020, with each other. Why it aside from the Dream-Race in Fuji last November, and the DTM season finale in front of it at Hockenheim, which had taken place with Japanese participation in, any exchange?
Audi: cooperation failed due to finances
according to the Audi sport chief Dieter Gass financial reasons. “The situation is very complex,” he says at the request of ‘Motorsport-Total.com’. “There are national interests and individual strategies, what are the manufacturer is concerned. We have made it clear that we would, in theory, interested in Japan cars under the Class 1 rules, but this would have clear implications also serious financial.”
Therefore, it would have been impossible, in addition to the currently nine in the DTM cars more cars in Japan. “For us to use in Japan would only have been possible if we reduce the number of cars in Germany to the same amount,” says Gass.
“And the Japanese are in a very similar Situation, because they have their own championship in Japan. For you the cost would be to use additional cars in Germany, extremely high. And if there are no German cars in Japan, to compensate for this somehow, then we must accept this decision.”
This was going to be so “lack of interest” failed, my Audi-sports Director, “but rather to the difficult implementation”.
BMW: the Japanese, despite all their efforts, “not very
interested in” it had been given by the Japanese Super-GT-Team study, which uses the GT300 class BMW cars, even the interest, the DTM cars from BMW in the GT500 class, but the project failed due to the rejection from Munich. To a use in the DTM, there were from Japan little interest, says BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
“We are now in a completely different location, but also in the previous year, it is not possible for us, together with Gerhard and the ITR, to convince the Japanese manufacturer,” refers to Marquardt on the conversations in the Dream Race and plays on the Ball in order to the Japanese.
“We of BMW, but also Audi and even Aston Martin would have been willing to go to Japan, but it looked as if they were not very interested. At the end you would have to make more of the Japanese the question of why it didn’t come to that.”
Marquardt is mourning missed the target after
in fact, Aston Martin had had-licensee R-Motorsport plans in the bag, together with the use of team JOTA 2021 in the Super GT series, but after the DTM-exit, you also went at a distance.
Marquardt to mourn the missed Class-1-goal: “When we had started with the Class 1 regulations, it was the default, that at some point we have a global rules” that he plays on the original plans, to convince also in the USA a series.
Even if that was not possible, so it was at least the Plan, between the DTM and Super GT “car share,” says Marquardt. “Your mastery works a little differently than ours, with regard to the positioning of the Teams, the tyre manufacturers and the tyre competition, but generally speaking, it was always the goal. And it is a bit of a shame that we have not reached.”
This article was written by Sven Haidinger, Co-authors: Rachit Thukral, Jamie Klein
*The post “DTM-Boss Berger: entry of the Japanese year would have come too late,” published by Motorsport-Total.com. Contact with the executives here.
Motorsport-Total.com
