Ekström hopes for stronger regulations

The Detusche Tourenwagen Masters are scheduled to introduce new rules for the 2011 season. Double DTM champion Mattias Ekström speaks on what he hopes the new rules are going to bring in an exclusive interview with TouringCarTimes.com.
“There are four things that I would like to see changed: More power, wider tyres, less aerodynamics and less fragile cars,” said Ekström to TouringCarTimes.com.

The fact that the current DTM cars are fragile to close contact between the cars is something Ekström has experienced first hand many times.

“It has happened that I have made moves that are far from rough and the car has looked like a complete mess afterwards,” said Ekström.

The current DTM cars are riddled with small aerodynamic wings and a lot of exterior components are especially sensitive to contact.

“What I would like to see are cars that are more “touring car-like”, like we had at first when the current DTM regulations were introduced,” said Ekström.

Another area Ekström hopes for improvements in is the tyre specifications.

“I would like to see more durable tires. The current ones fades quickly if you for example spend two laps right behind someone in a fight for positions,” said Ekström.

But the Swede has good faith in that ITR, the DTM organisers, are going to find a good solution for the future.

“I hope and believe that the DTM technicians are going to find something better,” said Ekström.

One of the main reasons for new rules is to make it easier for new manufacturers to join the championship. But the fact that the championship has had two manufacturers for a long period is not something that has bothered Ekström.

“When you go to a race weekend and you know that you have around 20 strong competitors, it is satisfying. The only “downside” is that you have to be extra careful with a lot of manufacturer colleagues in battles on track,” said Ekström with a smile.

The DTM organisation is currently working with the Japanese series Super GT on some kind of co-operation. The latest information suggests that the rules are not going to be common between the two series, but rather that they are being made more similar.

This is to enable manufacturers from the two different series to compete in both series, without having to modify their cars too much or build completely new ones.

“It would of course be nice with more manufactuers,” said Ekström.