Beach, Steep Turns, Thrills: The DTM Heads to Zandvoort

• First stop outside Germany this year at the Dutch dune circuit
• Morris Schuring and Thierry Vermeulen excited for home event
• BMW driver Marco Wittmann to celebrate DTM milestone in Zandvoort

Munich. The DTM heads to the dunes on the North Sea coast of the Netherlands this Whit weekend (6th to 8th June). As well as wowing fans with its unique backdrop, the Circuit Zandvoort also promises thrilling sporting action. Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer (A) is top of the table heading into the third round of the DTM – but he has no time for a beach holiday: brand colleague Jules Gounon is ready to pounce, trailing the Austrian by just six points. The Dutch DTM fans can also look forward to seeing two local heroes: Porsche driver Morris Schuring, and Thierry Vermeulen, who will be racing in a Ferrari 296 GT3. Tickets for the weekend in Zandvoort start at 49 euros online at dtm.com. Admission is free for under 16s when accompanied by an adult. ProSieben will be showing both races live on TV, and the two championship races will be streamed free on Joyn and ServusTV ON. Saturday’s race gets underway at 13:30 CEST, while the starting lights will go green at 16:30 CEST on Sunday.

Key Facts, Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Season Races 5 and 6 of 16

• Track length: 4,259 metres
• Layout: 14 turns (ten right-hand turns, four left-hand turns), driven clockwise
• 2024 winner, race 1: Jack Aitken (Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3)
• 2024 winner, race 2: Marco Wittmann (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3)

Rising Stars Auer and Gounon
The current man of the hour in the DTM is Auer. The 30-year-old from Tirol got a win in both Oschersleben and at the Dekra Lausitzring and claimed two pole positions in his Mercedes AMG GT3. So, Auer is in strong form heading to Zandvoort, however, he has not yet managed to win a DTM race there. Brand colleague Gounon has got off to a fantastic start in his first season in the DTM: Auer’s closest rival has finished in the top five in all four championship races thus far, and the man from France has even finished on the podium twice. All eyes will also be on defending champion Mirko Bortolotti (I) in Zandvoort. The Lamborghini factory driver is under pressure after his mediocre start to the season and needs to make up points at the dune circuit to ensure he does not lose sight of the frontrunners early on. At the Lausitzring, the man who lives in Vienna made his first mark by fighting his way up through the field from 20th on the grid into sixth place.

Double Home Event and a Milestone
It will be a special weekend for Schuring and Vermeulen: The two Dutchmen are looking forward to their home event. “Seeing as I now live in Amsterdam, Zandvoort is very close to my home. It’s wonderful to have family and lots of friends at a DTM event,” said Schuring, who is a big fan of the steep turns: “The Hugenholtzbocht in the first sector is particularly exciting. You rarely see high banking like that at other tracks. It’s really challenging to drive the racing line there.” Vermeulen also has a favourite passage: “The middle section is still very old and it’s there that you can get a lot out of the car. If you make a mistake there, it can ruin your whole weekend. Which is why it’s one of the key passages that you really do need to get right.”

BMW factory driver Marco Wittmann is all set for a historic race weekend. The two-time champion will celebrate a milestone as he contests his 200th DTM race on Sunday. The man from Fürth made his DTM debut in the 2013 season – Wittmann celebrated the most recent of his 19 race wins at Zandvoort last year. With Ferrari driver Jack Aitken (GB), Mercedes-AMG ace Maro Engel (Monaco), Audi racer Ricardo Feller (CH), McLaren newcomer Timo Glock (Kreuzlingen), and René Rast (Bregenz) of BMW, there are five additional Zandvoort winners in the current starting field.

ADAC GT Masters, Porsche Power and Formula Action
The DTM is taking an elite support programme to the Netherlands: In the ADAC GT Masters, spectators can enjoy motorsport with cars from six different manufacturers. For the first time this year, the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland is part of the DTM. Doubling the one-make cup action in Zandvoort is the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. There is also a junior formula racing series, the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.