Schubert Motorsport dominates DTM test in Hockenheim

More than six hours of testing, 2,131 laps completed, numerous media appearances – the DTM drivers had plenty to do in Hockenheim, on and off the track. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the first official event of 2024 in the popular race series featured photoshoots, interviews, and film recordings with exclusive TV partner ProSieben. Four test sessions on the historic circuit in Baden-Württemberg were used to collect data and test a range of setups, to get the cars perfectly prepared for the start of the season in Oschersleben from 26 to 28 April.

René Rast (Bregenz) was one of the fastest drivers out there from the word go, recording an overall best time of 01:37.077 in the BMW M4 GT3 from Schubert Motorsport. “It is going well, but that doesn’t mean anything. We pretty much hit the times from last year, but I am sure that the others can improve. We were able to complete our programme, did long and short runs, and worked on the setup. I switched to BMW one year ago and I am familiar with the car now. It all feels very natural,” explained the three-time DTM champion.

Sheldon van der Linde (ZA), who won the popular race series in 2022, finished behind his team-mate in second place. He was followed by two-time title winner Marco Wittmann (Fürth), ensuring that the three BMWs from Schubert Motorsport finished the two days of DTM testing in the top three positions. Ayhancan Güven (TR) was in excellent form for his new Manthey EMA team, driving his Porsche 911 GT3 R to fourth place. Reigning champion Thomas Preining (A) claimed fifth spot to show that he is ideally placed for the start of the season.

Arjun Maini (IND) was the most active driver in Hockenheim. The driver from the Mercedes-AMG Team HRT did not spare his car, completing 133 laps to chalk up the biggest total of all the drivers. “Testing went really well for us,” said the delighted 26-year-old. “We tried out all sorts of different settings on the car. It is so important for a driver to head into the season feeling good. That is the key to success. So, I am really happy that we were able to make such good use of the tests.” 

The DTM starts in Oschersleben in around two weeks. Tickets for all DTM events are available from 39 Euro at dtm.com. ProSieben will broadcast all 16 races in full, live on free TV. The races and qualifying sessions will be available to watch on a ran.de livestream and on the @DTM YouTube channel. The DTM is broadcast live or re-live worldwide to more than 150 countries.

Pre-Season-Test 2024 Result

1. René Rast (D/Schubert Motorsport), 1:37.077 minutes

2. Sheldon van der Linde (ZA/Schubert Motorsport), 1:37.214 minutes

3. Marco Wittmann (D/Schubert Motorsport), 1:37.382 minutes

4. Ayhancan Güven (TR/Manthey EMA), 1:37.414 minutes

5. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey EMA), 1:37.536 minutes