Photo: DTM Media

Mercedes drivers call for rule changes in the DTM

By

Mercedes AMG drivers in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters have asked for changes in the series’ sporting regulations, in order to improve on some of the issues from 2015.

The technical regulations are subjected to the specification freeze until 2017, but ITR still hasn’t released any details about the 2016 sporting regulations, which are currently being discussed with the DMSB, German Motorsport National Authority, and the DTM Drivers Association (DTMDA).

The weekend format will be maintained, with a 40-minute Saturday race and a 60-minute Sunday one, although there could be some changes to the qualifying format. Hankook will supply a single compound, keeping last year’s tyre regulations.

Gary Paffett, representative of the three-point star manufacturer’s drivers in the DTMDA, together with Paul Di Resta and Robert Wickens have spoken about the main areas that need to be looked at in the short term.

The DRS is one of the issues subjected to review. Paffett told Autosport: “We are trying to make it an overtaking tool, not just a tool to follow other cars. There will be minor tweaks, we don’t want to confuse people with big changes.”

Robert Wickens also hinted at a change in the points system. Currently, the top ten in each race score points, but the Canadian thinks that extending that number would encourage the midfield battles.

The performance weights remain the biggest sticking point from 2015. The return to the two-race weekend format meant that, from one event to the next, cars had the weights calculated not for one race, but for two, resulting in huge performance gaps. One of the suggestions on the table is to calculate the performance weights after each race.

Paul Di Resta thinks this would force competitors to work harder at each weekend, preventing one manufacturer from dominating the entire event: “Switching the weights from Saturday to Sunday would make it a little bit more even for the next day. So there’s not a guaranteed two great results, you would have to work quite hard for it.”