Nicki Thiim drives like his father Kurt once did in the DTM – What bothers the 35-year-old Dane about the current DTM and how he wishes it was ‘like in the old days when Dad was driving’
On July 7, 2024, Nicki Thiim made DTM history: with his victory at the Norisring in Nuremberg, the 35-year-old followed in the footsteps of his father Kurt Thiim. The two Danes are the first father-son team to be entered in the winners’ lists of the racing series!
However, his father Kurt celebrated his last DTM victory almost 30 years ago, on September 17, 1995 at the Alemannenring in Singen, to be precise. A lot has changed in the DTM since then – but not everything is to Nicki Thiim’s liking. Above all, he would like to see a little more excitement.
“I would make a Super Pole as a show – for the first five or so,” ‘Like in the old days, when my dad was racing, for the first ten: one lap, squeezing everything out.’
That shouldn’t take much time, says Thiim. “You send one car out, and when it comes in, the other one goes. It’s done in no time,” says the Dane, who speaks of about ten minutes. ‘But it’s just exciting for the fans. I would do it for the adrenaline rush.’
Thiim would like two pit stops
“The ADAC has a good product. I would do a few things differently, squeeze more out of the product,” says the Dane, who competed in the SSR-Lamborghini in 2024. ‘The opportunities here are incredible. The audience figures at the track and on TV also show that.’
But Thiim sees room for improvement. “What they do is show business,” reminds the Aston Martin works driver, who would “make a lot more out of this show business” and take a leaf out of “a bit of America”. Specific example: “I would start with two pit stops. This is not something where the ADAC and the teams can say that it costs more money.”
“This performance pit stop is the big difference in the DTM,” says this year’s Norisring winner, highlighting the special features of the current DTM. ‘I would do it like in the old Class 1 days – for the show, for the spectators, for the guys over there, they have a lot of fun with this pit stop challenge,’ he says, referring to the pit crews’ test of strength.
The flying start, as it is currently being run, is fine, though. “Standing starts are always cool, but unfortunately the cars aren’t built for them,” says the 20-time DTM starter. “It’s going very well and there’s a lot of respect among the drivers. I like that.”
“We just have to do more entertainment”
In return, Thiim would like to see “a bigger window for the strategy, like in the past”, because the pit stop window in the middle of the race, which was reintroduced for the 2020 season, in particular, significantly limits the teams’ options.
“Every GT3 driver says it’s so difficult to overtake with these cars because we have so many tools,” the 35-year-old recalls, pointing out that the current DTM races often offer little excitement and few overtaking maneuvers. ”On this basis, I would immediately reintroduce this second pit stop to have more leeway.”
Nevertheless, Thiim is aware that the decision-makers have their own ideas and visions. “What can I say? I’m just the driver anyway,” he shrugs. And he concludes by reiterating his demand: “We just have to be more entertaining – and open up more.”
