DTM – Stars and stories from the Nürburgring race weekend

• Track Safari thrills fans on its DTM debut.
• Former German international David Odonkor and cabaret artist Django Asül visit the Nürburgring.
• Tim Heinemann challenges journalists in the virtual cockpit.

Buses and race cars share the circuit – Track Safari thrills fans
An impressive debut: the first Track Safari in the history of the DTM took place at the Nürburgring. In a special session on Friday afternoon, buses took spectators onto the 3.629-kilometre track in the Eifel Mountains, from where they were given an insight into the features of the circuit. In the meantime, the powerful DTM cars raced past them, sending shivers down spines and providing some spectacular images. The Track Safari sees the ADAC continue its efforts to make the DTM even more attractive and accessible for fans. To be continued at the Lausitzring.

David Odonkor and Django Asül visit the Nürburgring
Former football international David Odonkor played his way into the hearts of many German football fans when he set up Oliver Neuville for the all-important 1:0 against Poland in the 2006 World Cup. With a sub-eleven-second time for the 100 metres, he was also one of the fastest players of his generation. He was impressed by the DTM cars at the Nürburgring, as well as the fans and the atmosphere. “I can only recommend this experience to everyone. Only when you are actually there do you feel how much power the cars really have,” said Odonkor, who presented the trophy to third-placed Thomas Preining after Saturday’s race. Django Asül also enjoyed the atmosphere in the Eifel, particularly on the grid walk in front of packed grandstands. On Sunday, the cabaret artist played a role in the on-track action, getting the field up and running with the command “Drivers, start your engines”.

DTM drivers sent into a spin
Patric Niederhauser, Dennis Olsen, Clemens Schmid and Luca Stolz were put through their paces as early as Thursday. At the Driver Safety Centre Nürburgring, the DTM drivers had to show that they have perfect control of their cars off the track, as well as on it. The training programme included a skills test on a narrow course, which Niederhauser dominated. At the end of the session, the DTM stars did some drifting on a wet surface across a hydraulically operated skid plate, completed with water fountains that suddenly appeared from nowhere. “That was a great start to the event at the Nürburgring, and I really enjoyed driving the Porsche 911 GT3 with the Manthey Kit. I was a bit nervous at first, but then it was just pure fun. The wet track was also perfect preparation for what awaits us here in the Eifel Mountains,” said Olsen.

Electrifying DTM premiere
The race weekend at the Nürburgring saw a fully-electric series line up on the DTM support programme for the first time ever. The iconic track in the Eifel region was the venue for round three of this season’s NXT Gen Cup. The Swedish touring car series features a standard car – the fully-electric, 230-hp LRT NXT1, which is based on the road-legal Mini Cooper SE. The 18 young drivers produced some thrilling action, with plenty of wheel-to-wheel battles.

Solar-powered race car at Project 1
DTM team Project 1 has taken up the cause of sustainability in the field of mobility. In a green room at each DTM race weekend, the team presents a project that shows what the mobility of the future may look like. At the Nürburgring, visitors could marvel at a race car powered solely by solar energy, which has been designed by the Sonnenwagen Aachen team. The aerodynamically-optimised and futuristic car can reach a top speed of up to 100 km/h with just one kilowatt of power in continuous operation. The first big test comes in October, at the world championship for solar vehicles. The team must complete a distance of 3000 kilometres in the Australian desert, powered only by the sun. The team of students is hoping to prove down under that you can go a long way with very little energy consumption.

Tim Heinemann challenges journalists
DTM driver Tim Heinemann is not only fast on the racetrack, but is also an ace when it comes to virtual motor racing. Media representatives got to experience this for themselves on Saturday evening, when they were able to take on the Porsche driver on a simulator in the RaceRoom Simracing Arena on the RingBoulevard. After a 15-minute qualifying and a race of the same duration, the competition was comfortably won by Heinemann. The fastest of the media representatives was Michael Bräutigam from Motorsport Aktuell, ahead of the PR man from GRT Grasser Racing Team, Florian Becker.

Virtual taxi rides with Lucas Auer and David Schumacher
Mercedes-AMG Team Winward offered virtual taxi rides for the first time at the Nürburgring. On a moving platform, which recreated the g-force generated in a race car, fans were able to experience various DTM circuits as a passenger in the car of David Schumacher and Lucas Auer. VR headsets provided perfect 360° vision, while 3D audio with original engine sounds enhanced the race experience acoustically. As well as the fans, DTM icon Bernd Schneider was also impressed by the virtual taxi ride, which allows participants to experience rapid race action and pit stops from an extraordinary perspective.

Two Niederhausers under one hood
Patric Niederhauser from the Tresor Orange 1 team has married his long-term girlfriend Marylin. The wedding took place in their native Switzerland last weekend. The pair made the headlines in 2018, when they won both races in the GT4 Central European Cup together in the Czech city of Most. The newlyweds need not worry about which surname to take: like her husband, Marylin is also a Niederhauser.

Glimpse behind the scenes
The race weekend in the Eifel was a home outing for Manthey EMA and Mercedes-AMG Team HRT. That was a good enough reason to offer journalists a glimpse behind the scenes at the DTM event at the Nürburgring. Manthey invited guests to a backstage tour in Meuspath on Friday, while HRT presented the newly-constructed HRT Race Base in Drees on Saturday.