The 90th time at the Nürburgring: Hot DTM title battle entering its decisive stage

25.08.2022

DTM is getting the second half of its season underway with a jubilee at Nürburgring. Introduced in 1984, the long-standing series will have its 89th and 90th race at the legendary 3.629 kilometres long race track in the Eifel during the “DTM Nürburgring powered by Mercedes-AMG” event this weekend (26 till 28 August). After eight intense races so far this season, the battle for the title is entering its decisive stage with four events in a bi-weekly rhythm: Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Red Bull Ring, Hockenheim. It will be demanding, it will be tough and it will surely be spectacular, too. Will points’ leader Mirko Bortolotti win the first DTM title for Lamborghini? Will Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) secure the cup for BMW in the debut season of the new M4? Or will René Rast (GER) seal his fourth DTM crown? But DTM wouldn’t be DTM when the result could be predicted in any way. Seven different winners from the first eight races reflect the extraordinary variety and the hot battle.

> more info & tickets

Mirko Bortolotti (GRT), a resident of Vienna, is leading the drivers’ standings with 89 points and would like to secure the maiden DTM race win for Lamborghini at Nürburgring. Sheldon van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport), the only double winner of the season, has 80 points to his tally, one more than René Rast (ABT Sportsline, 79 points), who has a strong comeback in the DTM following a one-year absence as a driver. Next up are Nico Müller (SUI, Rosberg Audi) with 62, Lucas Auer (AUT, WINWARD Mercedes-AMG) with 60 and Felipe Fraga (BRA, Red Bull AF Corse Ferrari) with 50 points. As a result, five brands are represented among the first six places in the drivers’ standings. Halfway through the season, Schubert Motorsport is leading the teams’ standings from GRT and ABT Sportsline while Audi is currently on top in the manufacturers’ standings ahead of Mercedes-AMG and BMW.

History was made at Norisring most recently as Austrian Thomas Preining gave Porsche its maiden DTM win. History will be made at Nürburgring as well with 17-year-old Theo Oeverhaus from Osnabrück making his DTM debut as a guest driver with the Walkenhorst BMW, replacing Pascal Wehrlein as the youngest driver in DTM history. Oeverhaus is also the first driver to make the step from the talent pool DTM Trophy into the high-quality DTM. The youngster is pulling double duty as he will be racing both in DTM and DTM Trophy.

Last Sunday showed how meticulously teams and drivers have prepared for the second half of the season. Apart from Schubert Motorsport and ABT Sportsline, all teams used a day of unofficial testing at Nürburgring. For the race weekend, the Eifel is also attracting motorsport enthusiasts and DTM fans with summerly temperatures. Of course, the focus is on DTM with its two races on Saturday and Sunday (start at 1.30pm CEST on both days, live on ProSieben from 1pm). With a total of 15 races, the long-standing event at the attractive sprint circuit configuration is a veritable motorsport festival, also featuring DTM Trophy, DTM Classic DRM Cup, BMW M2 Cup, TCR Europe Series, Lotus Cup Europe and P9 Challenge.

Traditionally, DTM offers an up-close motorsport experience with many fan attractions and great entertainment, making it an event for the entire family. Tickets for “DTM Nürburgring powered by Mercedes-AMG” can already be ordered starting at ten Euros (Friday) from the DTM Ticket Shop (tickets.dtm.com) and the DTM Ticket Hotline +49 1806 991166. Qualifying sessions and the races of all series will be streamed live at DTM TV (tv.dtm.com).