DTM gets Moscow race

The new race will be the centrepiece of a dramatically revamped 11-race calendar that will feature five races outside of Germany with rounds at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Avignon in France and even a round at the new Turkish grand prix circuit in Istanbul.

"To invite DTM to Moscow has been a great decision for the city and the Russian sport," said the Russian sports minister Vyacheslav Fetisov - a former world-class ice hockey ace. "We will do our very best to make sure that this race will turn out to be a success."

Estoril in Portugal, Adria in Italy and Czech circuit Brno have all been dropped from the calendar, which retains events at traditional DTM tracks Hockenheim, Nurburgring and the Norisring.

"Thanks to five rounds taking place in European foreign countries, DTM will be even more international, in 2005," said ITR Chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht. "And the fact that many countries have applied for a DTM round underlines DTM's international popularity.

"With events such as Moscow, Istanbul and Spa-Francorchamps on the calendar and with new aces such as Mika Häkkinen and Allan McNish Europes enriching the DTM grid, Europe's leading touring car series is even more attractive than it has been in the past."

Two more German venues - EuroSpeedway Lausitz and Oschersleben - the Norisring - also stay on the calendar.

Hockenheimring (Germany)
Eurospeedway Lausitz (Germany)
Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
Oschersleben (Germany)
Moscow (Russia)
Norisring (Germany)
Nurburgring (Germany)
Zandvoort (Netherlands)
Avignon (France)