Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as ''German Racing Championship'') or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM as Germany's top national series.

History

The DRM began in 1972 as a

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal The alkaline earth metals are six chemical elements in group (periodic table), group 2 of the periodic table. They are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (B ...

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

and

Group 4 Group 4 may refer to: *Group 4 element Group 4 is the second group of transition metals in the periodic table. It contains only the four elements titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), and rutherfordium (Rf). The group is also called the t ...

GT racing series for cars like ( BMW 2002) and ( BMW Coupé), in addition to the (German circuit racing saloon car championship). In these years, the same or similar cars were also entered in the

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

. Races were run separately as ''big'' Division 1 (for 2 to 4 liter) and ''small'' Division 2 (under 2 liter) in a sprint format. In 1977,

Group 5 Group 5 may refer to: * Group 5 element, chemical element classification * Group 5 (motorsport), FIA classification for cars in auto racing See also * G5 (disambiguation) {{Disambig ...

cars were admitted into the series, making the series better supported with Group 5 cars than the World Championship of Makes they were intended for. These fast and spectacular turbocharged cars with wide fenders and wings were initially popular, but they were proved to be expensive with each round struggling to bring in more than 10 cars for each class during the 1978 season. At the same season, it became clear that a turbo-charged engine was a necessity to maintain competitiveness, especially in Division 2. Not even a weight increase (up 885kg from 735kg) for the 1979 season could prevent this. Kl81-01

In 1979, the Rennsport Trophäe (Racing Trophy) was introduced for the cheaper original series protagonists, the Group 2 and 4 cars. It consisted of combined races with the DRM until 1981. In 1982, following the FIA rule changes, new

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

sportscars (along with existing

Group 6 Group 6 may refer to: * Group 6 element, chemical element classification * Group 6 (motorsport), FIA classification for sports car racing * Group 6 Rugby League, rugby league competition in New South Wales, Australia {{disambig ...

) replaced the Group 5 machinery at the renamed International Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. Meanwhile, the Rennsport Trophäe held separate races and events in 1982 and 1983, except for the 1982 ADAC Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. In 1984, with just three races held, organisers used three WEC ( World Endurance Championship) races as additional IDRM point races. Also, the Rennsport Trophäe was replaced by the DPM ( Deutsche Produktionswagen Meisterschaft), run with

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

cars. 1985 was the final year of the now called ''DSM'' (), with just one race was held at

Norisring The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the 19 ...

, the rest of them held in conjunction with the popular

Interserie Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series. Created in 1970 by German Gerhard Här ...

. This meant CanAm entered from the latter series, as it had always been, had to be counted for points The series would be replaced by the

-only Supercup in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. At that time, the less expensive DTM () had taken over as Germany's most important racing series. Since 2005 the AvD the AvD organizes a "Revival Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft" race at his great "Oldtimer Grand Prix".

Champions

References

External links

* http://www.research-racing.de/tw-d04.htm early DRM cars * http://www.research-racing.de/tw-d05.htm Gr.5 DRM cars * https://web.archive.org/web/20061022040646/http://schwede.de/motorsport_fotos/galerie/Revival_Deutsche_Rennsportmeisterschaft_OGP_2006 Pictures from the "Revival Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft" at the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2006 {{Authority control Touring car racing series Sports car racing series Auto racing series in West Germany 1972 establishments in West Germany 1985 disestablishments in West Germany Defunct auto racing series Defunct sports competitions in Germany