Not altogether surprising as we've known for some time that DTM wants in to the U.S. racing scene at Mercedes-Benz's insistence. What is surprising is they're aiming to jump full-long into an all out dozen race championship rather than testing the waters with a one or two-off race. The stumbling block is NASCAR's involvement. This being the case, the DTM franchise will be little more than NASCAR's step child twice removed and the culture clash could not be more extreme. What will happen when it's proven that the DTM cars are faster than both NASCAR and the GrandAM? Anyway, it all looks rather speculative currently. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87473 BHW
I really can't see how the 2 series (Stock car and DTM) could live under the same umbrella: they attract completely different audiences! DTM is highly technical (almost to the level of F1) and ran on road course; NASCAR imposes limited technology and is based on oval courses mostly.
I would love for DTM to be here. NASCAR getting involved doesn't make sense though. Is is a possibility that NASCAR is getting involved just so that they can protect their popularity? Does anyone care about the Grand-am cars anymore? Do the Grand-am cars even race anymore?
The entry into Japan is curious too as there already is the hugely supported Super Touring Series. A colleague in the UK has his own theroy about this, "It is BMW who are behind the globalisation of DTM, they no longer have F1. NASCAR is doing this as a defensive measure, the €100 million DTM marketing push will put beer in the cowboy boots in Daytoner. It also ****s with the ALMS, and probably GrandAm which will be morphed into the new entity." BHW
IIRC I read that the manufacturers involved in DTM and that Japanese series have agreed on working together in a way that their cars can race together, so that the Japanese and German manufacturers can gain popularity in the other country, and the series as a whole will both benefit from increased number of manufacturers. I have however no clue if they followed this path or got into another agreement.
Are you kidding...? Is Grand-Am still around...? LMFAO It's the biggest road racing series in the US right now, boring? Yes. Big? Yes. They may even get FIA GT3 cars next year.
Really ? What about ALMS, then? They ALREADY have FIA GT2 !! ALMS can get you an entry at Le Mans. Can GrandAm do that? NO...
I hope that the DTM races they have planned here stay intact within their formula. I can't see DTM running on an strictly oval course but I've been wrong before. Now, any guesses as to which NASCAR venues they'll race? NASCAR: Watkins Glen Infineon Daytona (Roavl) Indy (Roval) Road America Lime Rock Grand-AM: VIR Barber Montreal Mexico City Thunderbolt Mid-Ohio Miller
Since the dealer networks will be involved (if this all comes off as announced), they will want to be in the major market venues first so add Homestead to that list. Thinking about it further, how will the teams be structured? Participants in the DTM currently are full-factory new cars or factory-supported year old cars. So, it stands to reason that they want to get participating manufactueres Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and whomever else throws in with the series (rumors about Toyota and Honda surfaced not too long ago) to commit full-factory and factory supported privateer teams to commit to this tri-continental championship. In the case of Audi, this would come at the expense of the LMP-1 TDI in order to oversee such a vast project. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. BHW
What about ALMS? It's a great series and my favorite but it's not the biggest. Grand Am is a LOT cheaper to run hint the huge fields. Not to mention the CTSC is huge in its own right. Who already has FIA GT2? ALMS? Not exactly the same rules. ALMS might also get GT3 to as well as Grand Am so teams could run both series. It seems you have a lot of research to do, sir!
You have a good point. ALMS is better but not as big in car count. Maybe this is Gran Am's way of catching up with ALMS in technology, atleast on the surface. I won't even go to or watch a GA race, other than when they ran Maserati's. If they ran DTM cars in Grand Am or as a support race(main event ) I would watch the series and go to a race or two. Tom Tanner/Scale Designs/Ferrari Expo 2011-Chicago April 2011
First, I think that the DTM racing is absolutely one of the best shows in the sport. I'd much rather watch a DTM race than F1, so if it comes to the U.S. I'll be right there to buy a ticket. Second, this could be a huge win-win for the manufacturers and for NASCAR Third, to assume that NASCAR doesn't understand any aspect of racing is foolish. People at the top of NASCAR, like Joey Chitwood managed IMS when they held F1 races there and fully undestand all aspects of the sport. NASCAR would love to have a product that appeals to the wine and cheese crowd as opposed to the beer and chips bunch, but that product hasn't been viable...... until now. The problem is that there hasn't been manufacturer interest in road racing in the US, save the Corvette and past Viper efforts, and some support for a few cars in some of the other support series. In short, if the manufacturers aren't going to support and promote the series, nothing is going to happen. Remember how big TransAm was when the factories were involved? And how it died when they pulled out. Having factory teams from BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Nissan, Honda and Toyota would be a huge racing series, and one that would provide growth to NASCAR, which has pretty much peaked with their present program. Cadillac would probably want to come in because they want to compete with BMW and Mercedes and and seeing American cars against the European makes would fill a lot of seats. Since the cars are production based, it makes the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" a lot more viable, something that NASCAR has pretty much lost over time. NASCAR also has the financial muscle to pull it off where there simply isn't another sanctioning body in the US that can provide the venues, and the kind of stable platform that will get the manufacturers involved. Like I said, win-win. Look at it from the manufacturers standpoint. Most of the deveopment of the cars already running DTM is a sunk cost. They have to make a few more cars, and provide some support to the private teams, but the payoff in advertising in the U.S market could be huge. I think that this could be a fantastic series, and, while it won't eclipse NASCAR in the US right now, it gives them a product with a real growth potential that the Cup series lacks.
