Autosport Plus

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?

"As I see it, the DTM's future now hangs by a thread".

That's a widely-held sentiment in recent times as Audi's impending exit at the end of 2020 leaves the DTM teetering on the precipice, with BMW its only remaining manufacturer. It points to an alarming trend, the series having also lost Mercedes at the end of 2018 and ambitious Aston Martin privateer R-Motorsport in January this year.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the DTM was set for an entry of just 16 cars this year, despite ART returning to run a customer BMW for Robert Kubica and Audi squad WRT expanding to field three cars. That would have been its lowest grid since the modern DTM's return in 2000, 20 years ago this week, with 19 cars.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.