The COVID-19 pandemic continues to plague motorsport – Another season of restrictions looms – Gerhard Berger: “Water is up to the neck for many!”
The restrictions in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic are now second nature to most people. The economic damage, however, continues to grow. The DTM is no exception. According to its boss Gerhard Berger, it is being hit worse than almost all other racing series.
“Formula 1 and MotoGP are doing well with their elemental power. Formula 1 in particular has really put on an incredible show this year,” he says in ‘Motorsport aktuell’. “Formula 1 is so strong that it sells its events to governments or the promoter and gets a white circuit in return. “
“But all other motorsport categories are suffering a lot from Corona. The crisis combined with the transformation makes it doubly difficult. Many are up to their necks in water. “
Hit harder than any other series
In his opinion, the DTM is hit harder by the restrictions than any other racing series: “The DTM is more dependent on spectators than Formula 1 because we pursue a different concept. Many other series also suffer less than us in that respect because they hardly have any spectators anyway.”
“We sell our tickets ourselves or have models where we share the revenue with the circuits that live off the spectators. On the spectator side, we took in about 70 per cent less last season than we did in the pre-Corona year of 2019. “
The DTM has managed to hold on so far, but Berger warns of another season with greatly reduced revenues: “We are now entering the new season and the pandemic is still not over. There are many question marks again – especially whether and how many spectators will be allowed to come. At some point, this also has effects on the sponsorship side. “
And that doesn’t only apply to the present, but also to the future: “Motorsport continues to be an attractive platform for the manufacturers to show their products. The car companies are still there with combustion engines, but they actually want to invest mainly in electric drives.”
“We are also planning an electric series [DTM Electric] on the DTM platform. But that involves a lot of investment, and that is of course a challenge in Corona times. “
