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Very few people outside of the DTM seem to have confidence in the series' long-term future. Some say that without a third manufacturer it can't survive, and others believe that sooner or later at least one of the current manufacturers involved will decide it has had enough, and the journey will be over.
Of course, a collapse wouldn't be the first for the hi-tech touring car series. In the mid-90s, over expansion and ridiculously complicated cars led to the death of the series at the end of 1996. A new low-cost version came back in 2000, and eight years on its still here.
Those on the outside have little to base their opinions on, which is why those on the inside can dismiss talk of the DTM being on dodgy ground in the long-term. But under the surface, there are things to suggest that plenty of work has to be done if the DTM is to live on for many years.
The start of the DTM round at the Nurburgring © XPB |
The subject of a third manufacturer isn't a new one for the series organisers the ITR. Since the departure of Opel at the end of 2005, Mercedes and Audi have worked hard to steady the ship, but both would rather not have to fill 50 per cent of the grid. Plenty of manufacturers have come sniffing around in the last two years in particular, with the most recent being Citroen.
