A champion tip is difficult even for the drivers ahead of the start of the 2022 DTM season – But one is betting on himself ahead of the Portimao opener
29 cars from six manufacturers, plus the driver elite of GT3 racing: the ingredients for an outstanding and exciting 2022 DTM season are in place. Before the season starts, almost every driver in the field is considered a contender for the championship. Accordingly, the drivers themselves are struggling to find a favourite.
T3 Lamborghini driver Esmee Hawkey is one of the few to commit: “If I had to pick someone, it would be my team-mate Nicki [Thiim].” The Dane, son of 1986 champion Kurt Thiim, makes his DTM debut this year. He has a class win at the 24h Le Mans and the 2019/20 GT World Championship to look back on, among other things.
Philipp Eng, on the other hand, is betting on himself and emphasises: “Of course I’d like to be the one!” But the rest of the field has something against that, which is why the Austrian notes, “There are a lot of good guys in there. For sure, many drivers from many different brands will be in the title fight until the end. That’s the advantage of the format with the GT3 cars. “
Three-time DTM champion Rene Rast, who is responsible for Nicki Thiim’s management with his agency ‘Pole Promotion’, “At the test Mirko Bortolotti looked very strong in the Lamborghini. A Nico Müller was also very strong. “
Rast and Götz: teammates as benchmark
The drivers, on the other hand, are a little more open when asked about their personal goals. Rast, for example, maintains that his Abt Audi team-mate Kelvin van der Linde will be the benchmark for him: “It’s my goal to race at Kelvin’s level. Just as I took my cue from Lucas di Grassi last year in Formula E, because he was the strongest Formula E driver in recent years.”
Performing at van der Linde’s level would probably also mean having a say in the title fight. “Let’s hope that happens,” laughs Rast. Reigning DTM champion Maximilian Götz is also looking to his teammates Lucas Auer and David Schumacher for guidance following the Mercedes internal team change.
“I want to be the best in the team and also the best Mercedes-AMG driver at the end of the year,” emphasises Götz, who now drives for Winward Racing. “Where exactly we will end up then, I honestly have no idea yet. But the podium would be really great.” On the other hand, you can’t expect to be at the top again, says the champion.
Bernhard Porsche driver Thomas Preining also calls the championship the “ultimate goal”. The question marks are a little bigger for him, however, as Porsche is racing on a full-time basis in the DTM for the first time this year. “That just makes it very difficult. We have no idea where we stand,” says the young Austrian. “Everything is completely open for us, but we will definitely push like hell.”
The young German Marius Zug is another newcomer to the DTM. The fact that he is entering an Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II with Attempto Racing gives him hope: “We saw that the Audi ran smoothly and fought for the title right to the end last year. So we know the car works. “
DTM drivers agree: consistency is key in 2022
The 19-year-old also cites race wins as the “ultimate goal”. But he notes, “We will see where we are after this weekend, and where we are after the final. Everyone has a chance, and basically in every race. “
Hawkey, on the other hand, is baking smaller rolls. She scored two points in Assen last year and wants to build on that: “This year it will probably be a bit tougher. But the goal is the same: To get points. Hopefully we can do that. If we can do that, it would be a big step for me.” Therefore, she also wants to learn a lot from team-mate Thiim.
What will be important in the 2022 DTM season? “To score points all the time, because there will be a lot of incidents and safety cars because there are so many cars in the field,” “The key will be to take your chances when you’re up front after qualifying.”
“But if you’re not really in front, you just have to take the points and get as many points as possible.” His teammate Eng added: “If you stay out of trouble and finish P5 on average in every race, then I think you have a pretty good chance of being in the title fight.”
Last year, that calculation would not have worked out: Götz scored an average of 14.375 points per race day. That is equivalent to fourth place as well as a start from the front row in every race. In 2022, with around ten cars and a few more top drivers in the field, consistency will be all the more important.
