DTM – Stars and Stories from the race weekend in Oschersleben

• ADAC President Christian Reinicke thanks the marshals
• Record champion Bernd Schneider celebrates season-opener with DTM legends
• Minister Dr. Tamara Zieschang hands trophy to winner of Sunday’s race

ADAC President Christian Reinicke rewards track marshals
Track marshals are an indispensable part of motor racing. The volunteer helpers perform a variety of functions and ensure that race operations proceed smoothly at all the circuits. They represent race control, observe the track and warn drivers about dangerous situations with the relevant flag signals. ADAC President Christian Reinicke rewarded these invaluable volunteers for their important contribution with 250 drinking bottles from series partner BWT and thanked them for their tireless commitment.

Meeting of motorsport legends
On Saturday, motorsport legends celebrated the start of the DTM season 2023 in ADAC Hospitality at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. These included DTM icon Bernd Schneider, who claimed 43 wins for Mercedes, reached the podium on 102 occasions and remains the record champion of the race series after recording five overall wins. Also present was another DTM champion, Mike Rockenfeller, who is working as a TV expert on ProSieben throughout this season. ADAC Sport President Dr. Gerd Ennser and ADAC Motorsport Director Thomas Voss also welcomed “Mr. DTM” Hans Werner Aufrecht, who was responsible for the fortunes of the race series for many years, former Mercedes Motorsport Director Norbert Haug and Hans-Jürgen Abt. The Abt Sportsline racing team has been on the grid since 2000 and boasts the longest DTM history of all the current teams.

Former international footballer visits the paddock
Tim Borowski was a goalscoring midfielder for Werder Bremen, Bayern München and the German national team. At the DTM race weekend in Oschersleben, the former professional footballer inspected the paddock and was happy to pose for selfies and sign autographs for fans, as did actor Carsten Spengemann. Stock market correspondent Michael “Mick” Knauff also accepted an invitation from new DTM partner IG Europe to visit the event taking place southwest of Magdeburg.

Welcome evening in the paddock
This year, the DTM is taking place under the aegis of the ADAC for the first time. A paddock party on Friday evening was the perfect way to kick off the opening weekend in Oschersleben. The ADAC, Schaeffler and the BMW M2 Cup opened the doors to their hospitality areas to celebrate together with drivers, teams, partners and organisers.

British ski star as announcer for Sunday’s race
Unlike the DTM drivers, Dave Ryding loves a slick surface but the slalom specialist is also used to making swift changes of direction. In 2022, he won the Ganslernhang slalom in Kitzbühel, making history as the first British skier to win a race in the Alpine Ski World Cup. In Oschersleben, Dave Ryding stood still and got the drivers going with the “Drivers start your engines” sign.

Fans gather around Schubert Motorsport
Schubert Motorsport were the local heroes in Oschersleben. The team headquarters are not even five minutes away from the racetrack. Visitors swarmed to the reigning top team with champion Sheldon van der Linde as the DTM made its comeback in Oschersleben after eight years. Fans mobbed the pits for the autograph signing sessions on Saturday and Sunday. It was astonishing stuff, even for three-time DTM champion René Rast, team-mate of defending champion Sheldon van der Linde: “There’s so much going on here, the support from the fans is unbelievable. Then you have all the guests and partners of Schubert Motorsport, plus the friends and families of the mechanics who live nearby. It is rare to have such close contact with the fans. We want to reward this loyalty with plenty of points.” Schubert Motorsport also presented a special edition of the BMW M4, limited to ten cars, in a red and yellow design inspired by the DTM championship-winning car driven by Sheldon van der Linde in the 2022 season.

TV presenter Andrea Kaiser making announcements without a microphone
DTM fans are familiar with the the likeable ProSieben presenter Andrea Kaiser. In Oschersleben, she swapped her microphone for the “Drivers start your engines” sign before race one on Saturday and enjoyed her new job. “I was a bit nervous to start with but then it was a lot of fun giving orders to 27 men.”

Warm-up for the DTM Classic
The DTM Classic will be at full strength at the Norisring for the first time. In Oschersleben, fans were treated to a taste of what awaits at the street circuit in Nuremberg. A show event from Mücke Motorsport presented fans in the stands with a Ford Capri (Group 5) and a Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth (Group A) as motor racing history came alive.

Highlights for the fans
New season, new attractions for the fans: in Oschersleben, these included in the Fan Zone in the middle of the paddock. Visitor were able to see the DTM stars up close at the “Meet the Drivers” event and the attractive programme including face-painting and tattoos for kids, as well as the DTM reaction wall. The highlight was Europe’s largest mobile ball pit, with 85,000 balls.

Mission for the future
A look at the future of motorsport: Saturday featured an Innovation Talk with Dr. Jochen Schröder (Head of E-Mobility at Schaeffler) and Matthias Zink, CEO Automotive Technologies at Schaeffler. Media representatives were able to discuss up-and-coming technologies in motorsport and their relevance for series production with the official DTM innovation partner.

Politician presents winner’s trophy
Politician Dr. Tamara Zieschang did not want to miss out on the DTM season-opener in Oschersleben. The Minister of the Interior and Sport in Saxony-Anhalt attended Sunday’s race in person and then presented the winner’s trophy.