With a forward-looking agreement, the three manufacturers involved in the touring-car series DTM have cleared the way to abolish the highly controversial performance weights.
Together with DTM promoter and rights holder ITR, Audi, BMW and Mercedes amicably agreed upon completely abolishing the performance-dependent handicap weights with immediate effect.
Subject to agreement by the DMSB (German Motor Sport Association), all the racing cars will contest the two remaining race meetings at the Red Bull Ring (22nd to 24th September) and Hockenheim (13th to 15th October) with identical weights while no performance weights according to the achievements of a manufacturer in the previous races will be assigned.
“All those involved listened to the fans. I am really delighted about the fact that the manufacturers act in consent and for the benefit of the series,” said ITR Chairman Gerhard Berger and added: “That’s a strong signal for DTM. We will submit a proposal at DMSB before long. And as DMSB already indicated that they will support a proposal unanimously submitted by ITR and the manufacturer I expect the approval of the association.”
The abolition of the handicap weights is supposed to also be in force in the seasons beyond 2017. In addition, the manufacturers agreed upon optimising the aerodynamics for 2018. As a reult, standardised geometries are supposed to be stipulated for selected aero components.
Audi Motor Sport Director Dieter Gass:”I’m happy that the performance-weight discussion finally is no longer an issue and that the racing again will be given priority. There still are four races to be contested and every manufacturer is represented by at least one driver in the top four. The battle for the title still is wide open and will remain thrilling up to the final race.”
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt: “This is a good day for DTM, its fans and real motor racing. Today, everybody is a winner. In the past weeks, we and all the parties involved have intensely been looking for a solution and found it with a consensus. For the coming months we will build on that to make DTM fit for the future. This platform will be made even more attractive – and it’s open for other manufacturers.”
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport’s DTM Team Principal Ulrich Fritz: “We are really delighted with finally having found a solution and with the way for abolishing the performance weight having been cleared. With this decision, DTM fulfils the wishes of fans and drivers. I’m convinced that we are about to witness a hot battle for the title. A battle we look forward to and even more so as the discussions about the performance weights finally is over and the sport is back in the spotlight.”