Shanghai to host series finale
The DTM will return to China for the first time in six years, when Shanghai plays host to the season finale in October. Plans for the German series to race on a street circuit in Shanghai have been afoot for several months, but now it seems the move is all but confirmed and that the race will be the final round of the championship, rather than a non-championship round.
The official DTM website lists the Shanghai race as taking place on 31st October, pending contract negotiations, which would mean for the first time since the series was re-born in 2000 Hockenheim would not host the season finale.
In July 2004 the DTM raced on the streets of the Chinese city, but in a non-championship race, with Gary Paffett coming out on top.
The 2010 DTM calendar lists ten rounds in five countries, with no replacement for the dropped French round at Dijon, making the Chinese race the tenth round.
ITR, organisers of the DTM, also confirmed that Wiesbaden would host the presentation of the 2010 DTM on the 18th April in front of the “Wiesbadener Kurhaus” and at the noble Wilhelmstrasse.
“We are looking forward to the inaugural DTM presentation in Wiesbaden. For the spectators and for us, it will be a very special experience, and all that in front of a unique backdrop”, says Dr. Thomas Betzler, board member of ITR.
The event will see Mercedes and Audi publically present their drivers and cars for the coming season, along with the usual demonstrations, stunt shows and autograph sessions that helped attract a record crowd of 210,000 people to the 2009 launch in Dusseldorf.
