Aston Martin linked to DTM entry with Red Bull and HWA for 2020
Aston Martin could be represented in the DTM from 2020 with a four-car team
R-Motorsport, the Swiss company that operates an Aston Martin team in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup run by Arden International and Jota Sport, is weighing up taking on incumbent manufacturers Audi and BMW in the German series.
Paddock sources suggest the project could come with backing from Red Bull, and that HWA - which will have spare capacity after Mercedes leaves the DTM at the end of this season - would build the cars.
The team would be run by Arden. CEO Garry Horner is the father of Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner, and has a long history running Red Bull junior drivers in his single-seater operations.
Red Bull-backed Formula E star Sebastien Buemi and Toro Rosso F1 racer Brendon Hartley, together with current R-Motorsport Aston factory pilots Nicki Thiim and Maxime Martin, have been linked with the programme. Martin has DTM experience with BMW.
Although the DTM's new four-cylinder, two-litre turbo engine regulations do not appear to fit Aston Martin philosophy, speculation suggests that the cars could be powered by the Honda unit used in Japan's Super GT series, which has identical engine rules to those that will be adopted by the DTM.
R-Motorsport team principal Florian Kamelger told Autosport: "We are a motorsport brand that's growing fast and are certainly looking at different series as we search for new opportunities.
"The DTM certainly would be of interest. There is certainly potential, but nothing is concrete."
R-Motorsport will continue in Blancpain GT next year, using the new V8-engined Vantage GT3 that was unveiled at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
R-Motorsport parent company AF Racing played a role in the conception and funding of the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar.
It is understood that the continued long-term participation of Audi and BMW in the DTM will be much more secure if a third manufacturer commits to the series in 2020.
Numerous other manufacturers have recently been linked with the DTM, with the most concrete rumour appearing to be that surrounding Ferrari sister company Maserati.
Previous article
DTM Zandvoort: Race two safety car left Audi leader Rast 'screaming'
Next article
Coulthard: DTM not good at promoting itself to international fans
About this article
| Series | DTM |
| Drivers | Maxime Martin |
| Teams | HWA AG |
| Author | Marcus Simmons |
The slow-burner threatening to unseat Audi's DTM king
It's taken him a while to emerge as a consistent title challenger, but in the final year of DTM's Class One rule set, Nico Muller has smoothed the rough edges and has double champion stablemate Rene Rast working harder than ever to keep up in the title race
How a DTM failure became an unlikely Nurburgring conqueror
Opel's fortunes in the DTM had taken a turn for the worst by 2003 - hardly the pedigree that suggested it could take on the toughest 24-hour race of them all. But that's exactly what it did
The season that revitalised a sleeping giant
On the 20th anniversary of the resumption of hostilities in the DTM, Autosport revisits a classic season that brought a staple of German motorsport back to life with a bang and set in motion the careers of some notable names
Does 2000 hold the answers to DTM's current crisis?
It's 20 years since the DTM roared back into life at a packed Hockenheim with a back-to-basics approach as the antidote to its high-tech past. Now it's on its knees again, so is it time to recall the lessons learned in 2000?
The last-chance saloon of Germany's forgotten tin-top champions
The Opel Vectra GTS was the last in the line of the marque's DTM challengers, but failed to hit the lofty heights of its predecessors when financial constraints hit
Ranking the 10 best Audi DTM drivers
Audi last week announced it would be exiting the DTM at the end of 2020, bringing the curtain down on 20 years of continuous participation since the series' reboot in 2000. Autosport's expert panel ranks its 10 best drivers from the period
How the DTM landed itself in crisis
Audi's announcement that it will withdraw from the DTM was the latest bodyblow for a series that has lost three manufacturers in as many years. Some major soul-searching will now be required to assess how it can survive
The FE cynic who had to accept change in his series
DTM boss Gerhard Berger was an ardent detractor of Formula E and was reluctant for his series to embrace greener engine technologies. But this cynic's tune has had to change to ensure the DTM's existence in the future of motorsport
