Why the new DTM format will thrill

When AUTOSPORT rated the world's leading tin-top classes earlier this year, the DTM emerged victorious in the tough, eight-series field. But it wasn't a resounding victory.

From five scoring categories, the DTM received a perfect 10/10 for its level of competition, the cars and the prestige afforded by the participation of Audi, BMW and Mercedes. But its lowest mark of 6/10 came in the 'entertainment' category, which essentially judged the quality of the racing.

Our verdict certainly wasn't the first to raise this topic, with comments about processional races too reliant on strategies and without enough on-track overtaking between aerodynamically-reliant cars, far from isolated in recent years.

And strategies were either too 'follow the leader', or too 'complicated for fans' when people rolled the dice and created a race-within-a-race, depending on who you spoke to...

The DTM has tried several things to change that. In-race refuelling was scrapped in 2012, option tyres came in (and have now gone again), pit windows have been tweaked and tweaked again, ditto success ballast, and DRS was adopted.

DTM cars have always been spectacular but the racing's often been below par

It never quite found the right formula and, as a result, great races in dry weather have been something of a rarity. No-one was really accusing the DTM of being essential viewing.

So the manufacturers, commercial rights holder ITR and domestic broadcaster ARD sat down over the winter to see what could be done to improve the show.

With most of it announced in a press release actually entitled 'DTM wants even more overtaking manoeuvres and door-to-door battles' (in English anyway), they changed a lot. And on the eve of this weekend's season opener it's looking good.

The biggest difference is that Saturday races are back for the first time since 2002. Racing is ultimately what the game is about and adding another one to each weekend definitely won't hurt.

Neither will the fact that each grid will be set by a standalone, all-in qualifying session, replacing the F1-style knockout phases. Lasting 20 minutes, there won't be time to waste, and the format also avoids getting into the murky territory of reverse grids based on previous results. Each race is a standalone affair: no being punished twice for a mechanical problem on Saturday, or hoping to finish eighth to get pole the following day.

DTM's race distances themselves have been in relative no-man's land in tin-top terms.

A single race on a Sunday lasting the best part of 75 minutes - covering an average of 125 miles in 2014 - represents a very different entertainment product to the British Touring Car Championship's three 25-minute sprints, for instance.

Hockenheim, one of the better circuits for DTM action, is the curtain raiser © LAT

Instead, it sat almost in grand prix territory. If a dud race settled quickly and there was no threat of rain or a driver doing something stupid, you were in for a long watch, without being able to hope for something different in races two or three.

This year, that changes, with two bites of the cherry and shorter races; Saturday's sprint will be 40 minutes plus one lap, and Sunday's 20 minutes longer at a tick over an hour.

Some of those Saturday sprints will be taken to the people, as twilight races. Set to be announced this week, look for four races in the middle of the year to start later, around 6pm local time. As it will be summer, these won't be night races as such, but will still put the DTM into what is essentially German sports primetime.

The timeslot is prominent in football broadcasting in particular, hosting the top Bundesliga match - 'Der Topspiel' - each week, and using it to showcase the DTM during football's off-season is a shrewd move. The series should reach more eyeballs, which is good news for the manufacturers investing in it so heavily.

These Saturday races are classed as having an 'optional' pitstop to change tyres, before they're mandatory on Sunday. With the durability of the standard Hankook rubber, pitstops are set to be the exception rather than the norm.

Drivers acknowledge that making the tyres last won't be a cakewalk, so there will be an element of management, but it won't define races and the onus will be on making up ground on-track. More on that later.

Sundays will also pose a new prospect. Just as overbearing technical regulations lead technical people to throw money at minuscule gains and all invariably end up with the same solution - Exhibit A: Formula 1's 2014 noses - tight sporting regulations means those same smart cookies quickly find out the same, 'best' way to cover a race distance.

Well-supported DTM field is high on quality again in 2015 © LAT

In 2014, DTM teams were given one set of option tyres to use on the Sunday, which sounds interesting on paper.

Until you add that it could only be used for a maximum of 50 per cent of the distance. Everyone wanted to maximise the gain, but there was no way of being really bold and trying to run them for two-thirds, for instance.

The result? People generally pitted within two or three laps of each other, halfway through the race. Those at the front of the field would start on the option to capitalise on their clean air, and it was really only Mattias Ekkstrom who rolled the dice successfully, winning twice late in the season after running the reverse strategy.

Now - at a time when option tyres are a point of conjecture in the BTCC as an unnecessary joker - they're gone. While a 20-minute pit window in the middle of the hour remains, the prime Hankook is hard enough to do the bulk of Sunday's race relatively comfortably on most circuits.

That means drivers will have the flexibility of pitting at either end of the block and attacking, rather than having to conserve the rubber. And if they fall away at some circuits with higher degradation, it will create late overtaking, making when drivers pit more important - but not too important that it controls what they do for the other 59 minutes.

Either way, that it opens up the strategies a bit more is a good thing, and with four sets of tyres for two qualifying sessions and, essentially, three race stints there is still room to be clever.

What could well have the biggest bearing on races, though, is a revamp of how drivers use DRS. Last year, they were granted a single activation after starting a lap within two seconds of another car.

Double-headers return in the DTM after a 13-year absence © LAT

This year, they will need to be closer - within a single second - but they can use the DRS three times, instead of once. The opening angle is more generous too, up to 18 degrees from 16, and there are no set zones where DRS can and can't be used, which will add unpredictability.

The aero-reliant nature of DTM cars means you don't see a lot of wheel-to-wheel racing, also making overtaking difficult, especially if you're only marginally faster than the guy ahead. They do suffer in dirty air, like a single-seater, but drivers report that a one-second margin is fine, that only those final tenths are troublesome.

DRS didn't guarantee overtaking last year, but the consensus from the drivers is that with three cracks - estimated at being worth half-a-second in pure lap speed on some circuits - they'll be able to get the job done. That will encourage drivers to push to get within the magical second, rather than sit back and worry about saving tyres. Whoever's leading will be pushing hard from the outset, or any restart, to get clear.

Drivers will need to plan their moves thoroughly, especially late in the race. Not quite to the point that you wouldn't want to start the final lap of a Formula Ford or Moto2 race in the lead, but it will add another element to the intrigue.

And, if we go right back to the start, the returning Saturday races will give them 18 opportunities to score points, rather than 10 last year, so they may be more inclined to take a risk.

It looks a good balance between 'worthwhile' and 'gimmicky', which is a fine line to tread. You could say that about the changes as a whole. The DTM's stakeholders have rolled the dice and those watching the series are set to be the big winners.

More races and more overtaking, what's not to like?