The DTM will not make it’s planned début in the United States of America until at least 2017, it was announced today at the Norisring event in Nürnberg.
It had been announced earlier this year that the German series was to establish a North American series in the USA in conjunction with the organisers of NASCAR and GRAND-AM. The series for DTM-spec car was planned to run in the USA in 2016, but this has now been put back by a year to 2017 at the earliest.
DTM bosses are holding negotiations with American manufacturers Cadillac and General Motors, with a view to having the German brands competing alongside US brands when the series kicks off.
“The decision on who drives where depends upon the market – these are purely marketing decisions,” said ITR chairman Hans-Werner Aufrecht. “For our German manufacturers, it has been clear from the start that they will be able to go to Japan and America.”
The DTM will also switch to two-litre turbo-charged engines from 2016 onwards, switching from the current V8 four-litre units.
“We need a comittee that is responsible for ensuring that the [engine] regulations are developed simultaneously,” added Aufrecht.
With a meeting of the international steering committee taking place at the Norisring this weekend, it was also confirmed that the Japanese Super GT series will begin to use the DTM regulations from 2014 onwards. The next meeting of the committee will take place in January 2014 at the Daytona 24 hours.
Wir brauchen also ein Komitee, das dafür verantwortlich ist, dass ein Reglement sich gleich entwickelt”, folgert Hans-Werner Aufrecht, der seine Unterschrift unter eine entsprechende Zielvereinbarung gesetzt hat.