DTM boss Gerhard Berger has admitted that the championship could close its doors after 2020 if it does not receive the required manufacturer support.
Audi dealt the championship a major blow when it announced earlier in the year that it would be leaving the series after 2020. It marked the third time in recent years that a manufacturer has chosen to depart the series, with Mercedes leaving in 2018, followed by Aston Martin’s exit in 2019.
“To put it in a nutshell, the time has come to think about winding-up the DTM,” Berger said in an interview with ServusTV. “If none of the German manufacturers are willing to support this platform and series anymore, things will get tight.
“As we all know, we have to cope with Audi’s withdrawal. Coronavirus also means we’re up against nothing but headwinds.”
While Audi has chosen to leave, BMW has previously stated that still believes that DTM has a future, but has not yet made a public decision regarding its future presence in the series.
“No decision has been made yet at BMW,” Berger said. “This is dragging on and on. In the meantime, we are actually overdue to clarify this issue.
“Many jobs are attached to the DTM. I believe that we have to say clearly what we’re going to do in the near future.”
One of the suggested solutions for DTM’s problems is to abandon the Class One regulations and make the switch to GT3. Berger states that the jump to GT3 could be the only way forward for the series.
“If we continue as ITR we have to do GT3 because it is the only technical regulation in which many manufacturers are involved,” he said. “There are 13 brands [involved in GT3]. It stands to reason that you go into GT3.
“Audi was relatively quick to go along with the proposal. They said that despite the withdrawal they would like to see somebody continuing to maintain the ITR and the DTM platform so that history doesn’t die.”
