(Redirected from International Touring Car Championship)
The current DTM logo
The 'Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft' (German Touring Car Championship, or 'DTM') was a
touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in
Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in
Europe and later worldwide.
The original DTM had resumed racing with production based cars, as the former
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft had switched to
Group 5 in the mid 1970s and even to expensive
Group C sportscars in the 1980s, leading to its decline. Since 2000, a new DTM has been run as the
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, again organized by ''ITR''.
History
Rise of the original DTM
The original DTM was started in
1984 with cars entered by privateer teams and under
FIA Group A rules, but was extensively modified throughout the years, allowing more modifications. In the late 1980s, works teams joined the DTM, and it became one of the most pouplar
motorsports in Europe. In 1993, the Group A rules were abandoned in favor of a more liberalized 2.5 L engine series called FIA
Class 1, with extensive use of electronics,
ABS,
four-wheel drive and
carbon fibre chassis.
Opel,
Mercedes-Benz and
Alfa Romeo all fielded works teams after
Audi and
BMW had abandoned earlier.
DTM to ITC and demise
Having expanded its horizons for the 1995 season to include several non-German rounds dotted around Europe (including rounds in
Helsinki,
Finland and
Donington Park,
England), the DTM made plans to morph into a completely international championship known as the ITC (International Touring-Car Championship) for 1996. The ITR governing body then sought approval and support from the
FIA to begin the new series. In exchange for FIA support, the ITR let the organization take control over many aspects of the way the ITC was run: crucially, the financial side of the championship was revolutionized. A large proportion of the revenue generated by the championship went to the FIA, with the result that less went to the teams who subsequently complained of little return on their increasingly large investment in the high-tech series (this was further exasperated by the travel costs to the new international rounds in
Suzuka,
Japan and
Interlagos,
Brazil). The FIA also increased the price for television rights dramatically with the result that television coverage of the series disappeared from all European countries except
Italy, Germany and Finland, prices for tickets to races were almost doubled, and access to the circuit paddock to meet the drivers (which had previously been a big hit with fans) was drastically reduced. The choices of circuits on which to hold rounds of the championship were also unsuccessful - the rounds at
Magny-Cours,
France and particularly Interlagos suffered very poor attendance. Questions were also raised by the manufacturers as to why they were racing in countries in which their cars were not actually sold (Alfa Romeos were not sold in Brazil, and neither Opels nor Alfa Romeos are sold in Japan).
Opel and
Alfa Romeo both left the championship after the 1996 season, leaving only Mercedes; the championship was consequently cancelled.
The new DTM
The DTM returned in the year 2000 with different rules and without Championship status. The DTM initials now stand for
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (German Touring Car Masters).
DTM champions 1984-1996
★ In 1995 there were two different series with same drivers and teams competing. DTM consisted of seven German (2x
Hockenheim,
Avus,
Norisring, Diepholz,
Nürburgring and Singen) events and
ITC five non-German (Mugello, Helsinki,
Donington,
Estoril,
Magny-Cours) events.
External links
★
DTM official site
★
Audi Sport
★
AMG-Mercedes
★
Opel Motorsport
★
Schnitzer Motorsport
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