Mosley says DTM could go global

Mosley visited last weekend's DTM meeting at the Norisring and took a passenger ride with F1 safety car pilot Bernd Maylander. Mosley said he could see no conflict with the FIA's World Touring Car Championship should the DTM entertain hopes of going global.

"The DTM principal is German," said Mosley. "We have to see how it develops. FIA approval in the future is something I wouldn't rule out, but you have to look at how we would get to that point.

"The DTM and WTCC are two very different series; the DTM is a silhouette concept and the WTCC is more production based. At the end of the day, it is up to the manufacturers to choose."

The DTM went global in 1996 under Class 1 regulations but the International Touring Car Championship, as it became known, imploded when Alfa Romeo and Opel simultaneously pulled out owing to spiralling costs.

"The organisers learnt a lot from the first attempt, and so did we," added Mosley. "The DTM probably wanted to become international too quickly. But the regulations make more sense now, because they are aimed at reducing costs.

"The question is could you contain that with more manufacturers? There would always be some risk of explosion."

Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug said there was no plans for an expansion onto a global stage, which would require races on three continents to gain 'world' status.

He said: "In an ideal world, if a third manufacturer appears, then why not have some more races abroad, but I would never discuss a world championship. Look at the Nextel Cup and Australian V8s. The key is entertaining your public - and that's what we are doing here."