A word from ... Dieter Gass

The Head of DTM at Audi Sport about the new rules in DTM.

Mr. Gass, behind the scenes a lot of time was spent on fine-tuning the new format for the DTM race weekends. Now the key parameters have been established. As Head of DTM at Audi Sport, are you happy with the result?

We manufacturers extensively discussed the new format with the ITR as the marketer of the series and the German Motorsport Association (DMSB) for a long time. There were numerous constructive ideas and proposals. I think we came up with a good approach. The DTM fans can look forward to a thrilling season and to DTM weekends with high entertainment value. One thing happens right after the other and our teams still have a lot of work to do especially after the first race on Saturday.

You have to explain this to us...

We are driving two races per weekend this year – one on Saturday and one on Sunday. After the first race, there is not much time to prepare the cars for the next day – especially if there are any accidents during the race. This will be a great logistical challenge. We’ll have to make even better use of every minute.

The first race on the DTM weekends lasts 40 minutes without a pit stop and the second one for 60 minutes with a pit stop. What does that mean?

For one, the tires have to last for 40 minutes in the first race – that’s basically not a problem but may well pose a minor challenge on some of the race tracks. In addition, qualifying and the grid position are particularly important in the first race because without a pit stop the drivers can only overtake on track. That’s why they can activate the DRS, in other words the adjustable wing flap, three times per lap this year. This is intended to result in as many overtaking maneuvers as possible – of course during the second race on Sunday as well.

The qualifying format has been changed too: Q1, Q2, Q3 or even Q4 are DTM history...

The motto is: ‘Keep it simple.’ There’s only a 20-minute qualifying session now per race – the fastest driver is in front. With 24 cars now and such a short time, conflicts are preprogrammed. Going out on track and not getting into traffic will be crucial. While in the past the drivers were able to get into their rhythm in Q1 everybody now has to immediately deliver their full performance. So the fans can look forward to very intensive 20 minutes during which almost all of the 24 cars will be out on track. I’m already curious to see if anyone will be bold enough to go out only once in order to save a set of tires for the race; the grid position is too important for that. It’ll be thrilling for the fans

What does the increase from ten to 18 races mean?

That one or two races without points do not automatically mean that there’s no longer a chance of winning the championship. I’m assuming that we’re going to see more drivers in the battle for the title for a longer time in the future. I hope that we’re going to profit from that at Audi. After all, we have a particularly homogeneous driver squad that we clinched the manufacturer’s title with last year. We’re the only brand that doesn’t have a new driver in its line-up. I see that as an advantage for Audi.