Mika Häkkinen quits racing in DTM

Mika Häkkinen has anounced his retirement from racing in DTM. As we reported earlier Häkkinen was considering to leave the championship if rules weren’t going to change. Despite talks on changing these rules for 2009, the Finn has decided it’s time to do other things. He announced his retirement from DTM at the ‘Stars & Cars’ event at the Mercedes plants in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Finn returned to motorsport three years ago, after retiring from F1 a few years earlier. He started racing in DTM again with Mercedes, scoring a total of three victories since his return.

“It’s time for me to stop racing in the DTM,” Häkkinen said. “That’s the bad news. The good news is for the other competitors, they can have some peace on the track now.”

Although Häkkinen won’t return in an other racing series, he won’t leave motorsport completely. “It’s been great racing in the DTM, and I won’t stop doing things with Mercedes though. We will announce something soon.”