Timo Glock is making his comeback this year – how he sees the development of the DTM and why the series has “lost some of its unique selling point”
Timo Glock has contested 148 DTM races in his career so far, achieving 15 podiums and five victories. However, a lot has changed since his DTM debut in 2013. “I am, of course, Class 1 infected,” says Glock, recalling that he spent most of his DTM career in the era of the ultra-modern Class 1 cars.
“That was the flagship in Germany,” The Class 1 cars were technologically sophisticated race cars with a lightweight carbon fiber monocoque weighing around 1000 kilograms and a 600-plus horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine.
The combination of minimal weight, a sequential six-speed transmission and highly developed aerodynamics with a large rear wing ensured exceptional performance and impressive agility on the race track. This is what made the DTM special for a long time.
DTM has “lost its unique selling point”
For Glock, the switch to the current GT3 cars in the 2021 season marked the end of an era: “With the decision to discontinue Class 1 and revert to GT3 cars, the DTM has lost some of its unique selling point.”
“And yet it’s a super-competitive championship with top-class drivers, where you have to say: there are probably few comparable championships where the quality of the drivers is so high,” enthuses the five-time DTM winner. He is all the more pleased to be returning to the cockpit this season.
He also views the development of the DTM under the aegis of the ADAC in a positive light. “Generally speaking, the ADAC is doing a very good job and is trying to put the DTM back on a firm footing,” says the former Formula 1 driver. Although he has not competed in the series himself in the past two years, he has followed it closely and has been at the track to watch it – most recently at the 2024 DTM finale at Hockenheim.
Glock wants to “write a few good stories”
“I was very pleasantly surprised by how full it was again in Hockenheim,” says Glock about the increased spectator interest, which has even increased slightly in 2024 compared to the previous year. “What I saw was really good again in terms of numbers.”
The Dörr driver can hardly wait for his DTM comeback at the season opener in Oschersleben, not least because of the positive response on social media. “I was very surprised. I thought that out of ten comments, five would be along the lines of ‘what’s the old fart still doing there?’” the 42-year-old grins. “But it was exactly the opposite.”
“From what I saw when skimming through them, there didn’t seem to be a single negative comment, which made me happy,” says Glock, enthusiastic about the support of the fans. He is now looking forward to his first DTM race in the Dörr-McLaren all the more. ‘I hope we can write some good stories. That’s what the DTM needs.’
