DTM season finale // Pure racing spectacle at the big DTM showdown at the Hockenheimring
- Exciting DTM season final from 18th to 20th October at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg
- Nine different winners on six different manufacturers: The 2024 DTM is even more exciting than ever
- Entertainment for young and old: plenty of racing action on and many activities off the track
The 2024 DTM season could not be more exciting and packed with action. In the first twelve races of the season, no fewer than nine different drivers celebrated a victory. Six of the seven manufacturers represented in Germany’s top racing series (Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche) have already won a race so far this season. Four races before the end of the season, a real title showdown is once again on the agenda for the finale at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg from 18th to 20th October. The race track on the gates to Heidelberg has already hosted the DTM season finale 28 times. Each one has offered thrilling motorsport, and it doesn’t take clairvoyant powers to predict pure action for this year’s edition on the 4.5-kilometer Grand Prix circuit with its technically challenging layout.
At the top of the DTM championship standings are three drivers who have the best cards for the DTM champion title 2024. After the last race weekend at the Sachsenring, the South African Kelvin van der Linde in the Audi R8 LMS of the ABT Sportsline team is in the lead with 170 points. The 28-year-old from Kempten, who now drives with a German license, is the only driver in the top trio who has already won one or, to be more precise, two races this year. His rivals Mirko Bortolotti in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO from SSR Performance with 163 points and Maro Engel in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD with 155 points are still waiting for their first win of the season, but are a role model of consistency.
Engel in particular, with six podium finishes, four of them in the last five races, is a living proof of the fact that consistency could be more important than the number of victories in the extremely competitive DTM grid. The contrasting story is Jack Aitken in the Ferrari 496 GT3, who has even stood on the top step of the podium three times, but has also had four DNFs and is 50 points behind van der Linde in the championship. The British driver from the Swiss Emil Frey Racing team, meanwhile, travels to the penultimate race of the season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria with high expectations.
So it is not least the BMW drivers from the Schubert Motorsport team who have not yet given up their title hopes. Especially as all three – Sheldon van der Linde (115 points), René Rast (114) and Marco Wittmann (89) – have already won a race this year and, with 112 points still up for grabs, have at least a mathematical chance of winning the title. The same applies to defending champion Thomas Preining from Austria, who has also triumphed once before in the Porsche 911 GT3 R from Manthey EMA and is fifth in the standings with 119 points, just behind Jack Aitken. The other winners this season are Luca Stolz (Mercedes-AMG GT3 / HRT) and Lamborghini drivers Nicki Thiim (SSR Performance) and Luca Engstler (GRT – Grasser Racing Team).
The battle for the DTM title is therefore extremely exciting and the results are completely unpredictable considering the enormous performance of the field. In qualifying, which is eminently important for the race, 15 or more of the spectacular GT3 cars are usually within a second of each other. Whoever is in second position on the grid on Saturday may end up in eleventh place the next day – as happened to Mirko Bortolotti recently at the Sachsenring. Predictions are therefore nothing more than guesswork, and this is precisely what makes the DTM so attractive, with its seven brands and technical concepts, and makes us expect a real heart-stopping finale at Hockenheim in October.
Great supporting program with lots of entertainment
As always, the supporting program at the DTM finale is also top class. In addition to the main series, which, as always, will stage a one-hour race on Saturday and Sunday at 1.30 pm, there will also be two races each for the ADAC GT Masters, the ADAC GT4 Germany, the Porsche Carrera Cup with the approximately 510-hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the NXT GEN Cup with the battery-powered LRT NXT1 based on the Mini Cooper, providing a full-day racing spectacle. There is also plenty on offer off the track: The DTM Fan Zone attracts visitors with a wide range of entertainment, interviews, shows, music, autograph sessions with the racing drivers and much more. And if the youngest fans need a break from the racing action, a dip in the ball pool will help.
A family-friendly program also includes family-friendly admission prices. If you only want to get a taste of the action on Friday, you can do so for 15 euros (adults). Prices for a Saturday ticket or Sunday ticket including paddock access start at 39 euros (adults) in advance. Admission for children and young people under the age of 16 is free. Tickets are available via the official website www.dtm.com.
