No one tests as intensively for the new DTM season as the new BMW team Schubert: What’s behind the strategy and why Walkenhorst does it differently
The two BMW teams Schubert and Walkenhorst are relying on different strategies in their preparations for the 2022 DTM season with the M4 GT3: While the DTM newcomers from Oschersleben are currently completing one test after the other, the Walkenhorst team has not yet tested at all for the new DTM season.
Schubert-BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde believes in his own approach even after last year’s disappointing season with the Rowe team, when they hardly tested at all: “Since we are a new DTM team, it’s very important to get a lot of kilometres under our belt before the season opener. Last year, I wasn’t able to test as much, which weakened us overall over the course of the season. I think this is a very good step, especially with the new car.”
In total, Schubert has so far tested from 22-24 February in Portimao, where the season opener will also take place at the end of April, and on 10-11 March in Hockenheim with van der Linde and DTM returnee Philipp Eng and an M4 GT3 for the DTM, i.e. with the Michelin tyres.
“Our plan is to test on every track beforehand “
But that’s not all, because on Monday Jesse Krohn completed the rollout of the DTM bolides, which have now been delivered from Munich and foiled by Schubert, at Oschersleben. They will be in action on 31 March and 1 April at the Lausitzring, where both drivers will again be testing for the DTM.
“We want to come to Hockenheim well sorted for the first official DTM test at the beginning of April,” said team boss Torsten Schubert to ‘DTM.com’ after the announcement of the entry into the traditional series. That’s why they are relying on an extensive test programme. “Our plan is to test at the circuit in question in the run-up to each race. “
A plan that, as things stand, they won’t quite be able to put into practice, because unlike the Audi and Mercedes-AMG teams, they haven’t found a free test date at Imola, where the third weekend of the season will take place. This is due to the strict noise regulations of the circuit in Italy, which is directly adjacent to the urban area.
“Confident that we will be driving in front during the season “
While no team can test at the Norisring anyway because it is not a permanent circuit, they also plan to test at the Nürburgring in the first half of the season. In addition, there are the four days in Hockenheim and the two days in Portimao, i.e. the official tests, which means that Schubert will have a total of 14 test days before the season opener, including the shakedown.
Van der Linde is expecting a lot from this, as the M4 GT3 is a brand new car that needs to figure out all the tricks first. “Obviously there are still some areas where we can unlock potential,” says the South African, even though he believes the base is “very strong”. “I’m very confident that the car will be running up front at some point during the season. “
Apart from the official tests, Walkenhorst is considering a test day at Spa-Francorchamps, where races are not held until the second half of the season, and at the Nürburgring. This is a good idea, as they are competing in the Nürburgring Endurance Series anyway.
Why Walkenhorst is testing less
“We all know that reasonably planned and prepared test days can be very useful to find the desired performance. We try to bundle issues together and then approach them in a thoughtful way. “Unfortunately, with the calendar and the number of cars, it’s not so easy to find many testing opportunities that fit.”
The team already proved last year that it is capable of delivering outstanding performances even with only a few test days: Back then, they tested for the DTM for only half a day during the entire DTM season in the course of an NLS weekend at the Nürburgring – and fought for the title right to the end.
Moreover, they are not completely inexperienced going into the official DTM tests with the new M4 GT3, as they already fielded two cars in the four-race Asian Le Mans Series in February, which even uses Michelin tyres, albeit with the harder S9 compound. And next weekend is the NLS season opener at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, where the team will be running Yokohama tyres.