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No change to weights, with the DTM to abolish the system

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The DMSB (German ASN) won’t apply the bulletin with the new performance weight system announced for the Moscow Raceway, and will work towards finding a solution to abolish the system altogether.

The decision came after a meeting between the DMSB and DTM Commission representatives on Saturday evening at the Moscow Raceway, reaching the conclusion that the change wouldn’t bring the desired results.

“In principle, the aim is to maintain a competitive sport,” said DMSB President Hans-Joachim Stuck. “Unfortunately, all the previous variants of the performance weighting rules have the risk of misuse.”

The performance weights system was changed for Budapest, focussing on race rather than qualifying performance, however concerns were then raised over teams ordering drivers to set ‘target laps’ in order to make their final average lap slower, losing weight or gaining as little as possible. Yesterday’s meeting concluded that the new system was also open for misuse, withdrawing the latest bulletin and returning to the previous system for the time-being.

The target for the DMSB now is to abolish the extra weight system, a decision that would be in-line with the desires of most drivers, as well as DTM boss Gerhard Berger. The manufacturers, however, haven’t been able to agree on a solution yet.

“This gives me a logical conclusion,” Stuck continued. “We must finally find a solution to abolish the performance weights in terms of sport. The fan wants to see racing drivers, who give full throttle from the first to the last minute. It is our common job to make this possible.”

“Therefore, immediately after the race in Moscow, I will call the responsible persons of the DTM Commission – Manufacturers, ITR and DMSB – in order to reach a final solution. Until then, the regulations remain unchanged and Bulletin No. 7 does not apply.”

Last night’s calculation after yesterday’s race leave the performance weights unchanged, with the Audi RS 5 DTMs running on 1,117.5kg, the BMW M4 DTMs on 1,122.5kg and the Mercedes AMG C63 DTMs the heaviest cars on the grid on 1,127.5kg.