While a NASCAR stock car might remind one of a fully armored gladiator, a low-slung DTM machine brings visions of a Transformer. As they pause on the grid, ready for the standing start, their V-8s rising toward the redline, you expect the DTM cars to rear up on their back wheels. The front wheels would pop out to become arms, the grilles crank down and turn into faces. Let the battle begin.
Transforming Never Happened
But the battle did as they rushed into the first turn and the sheetmetal shuffle began. We were at the DTM race in Valencia, Spain, the 11th stop in their 12-race 2012 schedule. It was colorful and earplug-worthy spectacle, the cars often running nose-to-tail, seeming to fight for grip. There's nothing subtle about the on-track dueling and you need to see one of the pit stops, the crews descending on their cars in a choreographed mayhem that looks even more hectic than pit stops in Formula 1 or NASCAR.
So what is a DTM race car? Each machine is based on a standard carbon fiber monocoque section with added safety "elements" front, rear and sides. Around this is a body that allows the automakers to simulate the styling of their production cars, specifically the BMW M3, Audi A5 and Mercedes-Benz C Coupe. Unlike NASCAR's current Sprint Cup cars, the individual indentities of the DTM cars is obvious, not just decals.
Automakers also supply their own engines, 4.0-liter 90-degree 32-valve V-8s fitted with 28-mm inlet restrictors, which keep them all somewhat less than 500 bhp. Aft of that it's all to the same spec: Hewland gearbox/diff, Hankook tires, AP carbon fiber brakes and Bosch electronics. Minimum weight with a fully suited driver is 2425 lbs.
You'd recognize some of the driver's names, like former F1 pilots Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard (who just retired). You might recognize other names, like Mike Rockenfeller and the only American in the series, Joey Hand, who drives for BMW in both the DTM and the American Le Mans series. Adrien Tambay is the son of F1 driver Patrick Tambay.
A number of drivers have used the DTM as a launching pad for their careers. Good examples are IndyCar champ and Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti and his cousin, Paul di Resta, the 2010 DTM title holder and now a Force India F1 driver. So who knows where the 2012 title winner, Swiss driver Bruno Spengler, might end up?
Even the DTM paddock is impressive. The three manufacturers had some 34 transporters lined up in the paddock and, being Germans, their alignment was perfect. The hospitality buildings are so large and solid looking, you'd think they are permanent, but instead are disassembled after each race and carted off to the next track.
It is all part of the DTM show and if you can ever schedule one into a trip overseas, do it. There are recurring rumors the DTM series might make a trip to the U.S. Keep your fingers crossed.