The DTM is considering shortening the races for 2025: What role will the introduction of e-fuels and a proposed safety car rule play in this?
Will DTM races be shorter in 2025? The preliminary regulations for the upcoming season state that, as in the previous year, “one race of 60 minutes plus one lap” will be held on Saturday and Sunday, but behind the scenes, a reduction in race duration is being discussed. The talk is of five minutes being deducted. This has to do, among other things, with the new fully synthetic fuel.
It is to replace the Shell fuel, 50 percent of which is produced from sustainable sources, in 2025. “If consumption is higher, we will react and adjust the race duration accordingly. Of course, we will look at this beforehand and not just wait for two races – at the risk of a participant breaking down,“
”We’ll play it safe there – and could readjust the following year if necessary,” he says. However, they want to wait for the official test at the beginning of April in Oschersleben to be able to assess the situation.
ADAC on consumption: “You have to try it in a moving car”
The reason for this was the introduction of the 100% sustainably produced Total fuel, which uses waste from the wine harvest.
It is uncertain whether this is also the case with the synthetic fuel ‘DTM Pro Climate Racing’ from Coryton, which will be used in the 2025 season after the insolvency of P1 Fuels, especially since knock resistance also plays a role in consumption.
“You have to test it in the car, and so far there have been too few opportunities to do that,” explains Voss. ”We also want to have the empirical values of all manufacturers – and with the Aston Martin we can only try this out now. It’s not really predictable.”
He himself assumes “that consumption will not be higher. Nevertheless, with a fuel like this, without fossil content, the mappings will be changed.” That could also have an impact on consumption.
The reintroduction of the safety car rule also has an effect
But that is not the only reason for a possible shortening of the races: because currently, consideration is being given to whether or not the total duration of the race should be extended by one lap, for example, during a safety car phase, as in the Class 1 days.
The idea is that this would create excitement if the race were neutralized shortly before the finish. So if only one lap were left when the race was restarted after the normal race time, the safety car phase would add another lap and more time for a final sprint.
In the Class 1 era, two laps were added at the end of a safety car period, and three laps in the event of two safety car periods. However, the standard race distance would have to be shortened to prevent the cars from running out of fuel.
Apart from that, a change like that would also affect the TV broadcasting time of the live broadcast, which is why the topic also has to be discussed with TV partner ProSieben.
