The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a

touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move a ...

series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, it held additional rounds elsewhere in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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 1977 and even to expensive Group C sportscars in 1982, leading to its decline. Since 2000, a new DTM has been run as the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, again organised by ITR and former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger.

History

Alfa Romeo 155 Alfa Corse in Arese 20070608

Rise of the original DTM

The original DTM was started in 1984 as Deutschen Produktionswagen Meisterschaft (German Production Car Championship), 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 popular

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

championships in Europe. Turbochargers were banned at the start of 1990 season due to costs. In 1993, the Group A rules were abandoned in favor of a more liberalised 2.5 L engine category called FIA Class 1 Touring Cars, with extensive use of ABS,

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

, electronic driver aids and

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

chassis, the former three were technologies that were banned from F1.

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

and Alfa Romeo all fielded works teams after

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

and

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

had abandoned earlier.

DTM to ITC and demise

The DTM expanded its horizons for the 1995 season and the teams contested the inaugural FIA International Touring Car Series as well as the traditional DTM.1995 DTM schedule and standings
Retrieved from www.motorsport-archive.com on 17 November 2009 The former was contested over ten races, all held outside of Germany and the latter over fourteen races within Germany. Plans were then made to combine the two into one new series, the 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 organisation take control over many aspects of the way the ITC was run: crucially, the financial side of the championship was revolutionised. 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 exacerbated by the travel costs to the new international rounds in Suzuka,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and Interlagos,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

). 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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 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 Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is o ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and particularly Interlagos suffered very poor attendance.

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 2000 with different rules and with semi-International Championship status. The DTM initials stands for Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

Champions

* In 1995 there were two different series with same drivers and teams competing. DTM consisted of seven German (2x

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" ( ...

, Avus, Norisring, Diepholz,

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

and Singen) events and ITC five non-German ( Mugello, Helsinki, Donington,

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

) events.

External links

DTM official website

Audi SportAMG-MercedesOpel MotorsportSchnitzer Motorsport

References

{{Authority control Defunct auto racing series Touring car racing series Auto racing series in Germany Auto racing series in West Germany Organizations established in 1984 Organizations disestablished in 1996 1984 establishments in West Germany 1996 disestablishments in Germany Defunct sports competitions in Germany