Aston GT driver Thiim enters DTM with T3 Lamborghini
Factory Aston Martin driver Nicki Thiim will compete in the DTM for the first time this year, joining Lamborghini outfit T3 Motorsport for the full season.
The 32-year-old will partner Esmee Hawkey at the German outfit, taking the place vacated by new Walkenhorst BMW signing Esteban Muth.
With this announcement, he follows in the footsteps of his father and touring car star Kurt Thiim, who won the 1986 DTM title in a Rover Vitesse before becoming a part of Mercedes’ works effort in the championship.
“DTM! What shall I say? The biggest dream of my career is coming true,” a buoyant Nicki Thiim says.
“I grew up with DTM. During breakfast, during lunch and dinner, there always was DTM on TV and my dad was my hero, of course.”
“Actually, it has always been clear that DTM was my DNA and that it has always just been about racing there. And now, having made it with T3 Motorsport after 20 years, the occasional detour and some title wins, absolutely is something special. I am happy to be able to race there as the first son of a DTM champion.”
Thiim became a factory Aston Martin driver following his GTE Am triumph at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2014, moving up to the GTE Pro division the following year as part of his deal.
He went on to become a stalwart of Aston’s Prodrive-run factory effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship, clinching his first class title in 2016 before repeating that feat in the British’s marque last season in the category in 2019-20.
Esteban Muth, T3-Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan Evo GT3
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
He has remained on Aston’s books despite its exit from WEC’s GTE Pro division and most recently represented the brand in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, finishing 12th in the GTD class in a NorthWest AMR.
However, for his “dream” debut in the DTM, Thiim will drive a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo for T3 Motorsport, a team which finished on the podium last year with guest driver Mirko Bortolotti.
T3 Motorsport team principal Jens Feucht described Thiim’s signing as a major step for his squad.
“The fact that Nicki Thiim as a two-time world champion is giving us his confidence is a real honour for us,” he said.
“He is highly motivated, he is a particularly likable driver, has clear ambitions and is keen to be in contention at the front of the field, just as we are. Signing Nicki Thiim is the next big step in the still brief history of our team.”
Tomczyk was "naive" to expect team order compliance during DTM career
Red Bull signs Fraga, Cassidy for 2022 DTM season
Horner: F1 drivers shouldn’t be “robots” amid ban on political statements
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has cautioned Formula 1 drivers should not be a “load of robots” in the wake of the FIA’s new restrictions on making statements.
NASCAR Cup LA Coliseum: Truex wins chaotic Clash race
Martin Truex Jr held off Richard Childress Racing team-mates Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch to win the NASCAR Cup pre-season Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Castroneves: “Too early” to think about potential replacement by Blomqvist
Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves says it’s too soon to consider Meyer Shank Racing might want to swap him to the IMSA squad and bring Tom Blomqvist over to IndyCar.
Why some DTM teams take out crash insurance but others gamble
The 2022 DTM season featured several major pile-ups and accidents, costing teams several hundred thousands in repair costs. While some had insured cars against such damage, others weren’t so well prepared…
Autosport writers' most memorable moments of 2022
The season just gone was a memorable one for many of our staff writers, who are fortunate enough to cover motorsport around the world. Here are our picks of the best (and in some cases, most eventful) from 2022
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
The longest-serving Red Bull driver revealing F1’s true brutality
His day of days in Formula 1 came at Indianapolis in 2005, a day grand prix racing strives to forget. But Patrick Friesacher, the long-serving Red Bull lieutenant, remains active today driving a two-seater that provides ordinary people with a glimpse of an F1 car’s savage potential, including this writer...
How the DTM has come back stronger from its Norisring nadir
OPINION: Questionable driving standards and farcical team orders meant the DTM's first season under GT3 regulations ended under a cloud. But the organisation has responded firmly by banning team orders and welcomed new manufacturers, making for an intriguing season ahead as new and returning names prepare for battle
The remarkable career of a 'classy' champion who rejected politics
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of team-mates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Autosport to look back
The other Hamilton conqueror seeking career revival
On his rise through the ranks before reaching Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton was usually a cut above the rest. But he never truly asserted himself over a Mercedes-backed fellow Briton who traded single-seaters for touring cars and is now seeking new opportunities after a year largely spent on the sidelines
How the DTM's shambolic finale poses awkward future questions
OPINION: The scenes at the Norisring as Mercedes used blatant team orders to secure the first DTM title of the new GT3 era totally undermined the credibility of the championship. But as well as overshadowing the season, it also presents uncomfortable questions to series bosses about the direction it is headed in
How Audi's new DTM star is channeling Rast to achieve his "childhood dream"
Having learned the ropes in GT3 alongside Rene Rast, Kelvin van der Linde is in line to take up the three-time champion's baton as Audi's new DTM king. From humble origins in South Africa, it's been a remarkable journey so far for the current series leader, but he knows that the 2021 title is a long way from settled just yet
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.