Fastest city tour in Germany: High-speed adventure awaits DTM stars at the Norisring

• 40 years of the DTM: Birthday event with DTM Classic and stars of yesteryear
• Electric premiere: Fully-electric NXT Gen Cup with four races at the Norisring
• Football fever: Magath and Augenthaler in the Schaeffler Innovation Taxi

Munich. High-speed extravaganza in the city: This weekend (5th to 7th July), the DTM is in Nuremberg at the only street circuit in Germany. The first half of the DTM season draws to a close at the Norisring. Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde (Abt Sportsline) travels to Nuremberg as the championship leader. However, the South African cannot afford to get stuck in traffic in the DTM, as Lamborghini racer Mirko Bortolotti from Italy is lurking just eight points behind him. The DTM support programme features a premiere: when the Norisring hosts its 81st race, spectators will witness an electric racing series lining up at the famous street circuit for the very first time: the fully-electric NXT Gen Cup will stage four races there. On top of all this, the DTM is celebrating its 40th birthday at the Norisring. Fans can look forward to two races with vintage race cars from across four decades of DTM history and stars from the past 40 years. ProSieben is showing the races at the Norisring live on German free-to-air TV, with coverage starting at 13:00 on Saturday and Sunday.

Key facts, Norisring, Nuremberg, races 7 and 8 of 16

• Length: 2,162 metres
• Layout: Four corners (one right, three left), driven anti-clockwise
• 2023 winner, race 1: Sheldon van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3)
• 2023 winner, race 2: Thomas Preining (Manthey EMA, Porsche 911 GT3 R)

Local favourite looking to maintain momentum
One DTM driver particularly looks forward to his trip to the Norisring: Marco Wittmann. The weekend is a home event for the BMW works driver from Fürth. Few know the track as well as Wittmann, who this year lines up at his eleventh Norisring race weekend. “The anticipation ahead of the Norisring is huge. It would be a dream to win there, or at least to finish on the podium,” says the local favourite. Wittmann did triumph in Nuremberg in 2018 – one of the highlights of his career. “That was by far the most emotional victory. It felt awesome to celebrate with the fans in the grandstands, my friends and my family. That was very special,” the 34-year-old recalls. Wittmann’s has hit form, just in time for his home outing: last time out in Zandvoort, the two-time champion from Schubert Motorsport claimed his first win of the season. Team-mate Sheldon van der Linde also has fond memories of the Norisring. The South African won there last year. Now living in Munich, van der Linde also has a short journey to Nuremberg.

Kelvin van der Linde out in front, the chasing pack close together
Championship leader Kelvin van der Linde’s goal for the Norisring is to still be sitting pretty at the top of the table after the two races at the Norisring. However, five different winners in the first six races shows just how fiercely-competitive and evenly-matched the DTM is in 2024. Van der Linde is looking to continue his good record in Nuremberg, having claimed three podiums in the last four races: “I have always had the pace to compete at the very front there, but have not yet had the luck you need. I hope we can celebrate our first podium this time.” He can call on some big-name support, who will also be able to help him when it comes to discussing football: the Abt team has invited football legends Felix Magath and Klaus Augenthaler, who will both experience the Norisring in the Schaeffler Innovation Taxi, driven by former Formula 1 driver Lucas di Grassi. Lamborghini figurehead Bortolotti is van der Linde’s closest rival and is hungry for top results at the Norisring. The SSR Performance driver has been particularly impressive in qualifying in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, picking up no fewer than eight points as the top DTM driver against the clock.

Behind the two leaders, the 2024 is a particularly close affair: just nine points separate Kelvin van der Linde’s team-mate Ricardo Feller (CH) in third place from Schubert Motorsport driver René Rast (Bregenz) in ninth. Between them lies defending champion Thomas Preining (A). The Porsche works driver from Manthey EMA is yet to rediscover the consistency he showed in his championship-winning season, when he claimed the first of his four race wins at the Norisring. Maro Engel (Monaco) from Mercedes-AMG Team Winward is in for a very special weekend. The experience racer, currently sixth in the table, will contest the 100th DTM race of his career on Sunday. Lamborghini driver Nicki Thiim arrives in Nuremberg with plenty of confidence. The Dane from SSR Performance won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps last weekend.

Challenging Norisring
Almost entirely straight and flat-out, punctuated by two tight turns – at first glance, the Norisring does not really look anything special. However, the street circuit definitely poses some serious challenges for the DTM stars. Instead of run-off zones and gravel beds, the track is largely lined by walls and crash barriers. Approaching the Dutzendteich and Grundig hairpins, the drivers must brake hard. Between those two corners, spectators are treated to flat-out racing with slipstream battles. At just 2.162 kilometres, the Norisring is also by far the shortest track on the calendar.

Electric premiere and anniversary festival
As well as the DTM, the NXT Gen Cup will also serve up a feast of racing action around the Dutzendteich lake. The world’s first fully-electric junior touring car series from Sweden is set to make its debut at the Norisring. The standard car used in the series is the 230-hp LRT NXT 1, which is based on the road-legal Mini Cooper SE. DTM Classic will radiate nostalgic flair. DTM legends like Hans-Joachin Stuck, Harald Grohs and Altfrid Heger will go head to head in two races. Any smoke on the Dutzendteich water is likely to have come from the Red Bull Driftbrothers, who will put on a spectacular show in their 1,000-hp BMW M4 drifters. The DTM celebrates its 40th birthday at the Norisring. Among other things, visitors can look forward to talks with motorsport legends in the DTM Fan Zone. On Saturday evening, the paddock will be transformed into a party venue, with DJ Falk on stage at the After Race Party from Sunshine Live.

Tickets for the DTM race weekend at the Norisring start at € 74 and are available online at dtm.com. Admission is free for under 16s when accompanied by an adult. All tickets also include free travel on public transport in the Nuremberg region.