Paul Jeffrey
Premium
The DTM field has dropped to just 14 cars following the surprise withdrawal of R-Motorsport and their four car Aston Martin outfit.
Making a debut in the German based DTM series last year, R-Motorsport certainly turned plenty of heads with their all new Aston Martin Vantage DTM machine, a car developed in record time as the squad looked to pick up the slack following Mercedes withdrawal from the championship at the end of 2018.
Despite having very little time to put together the four car programme ahead of the season start, R-Motorsport would enjoy an encouraging if character building campaign in 2019, going the year without a podium finish to their name in spite of showing flashes of speed with the attractively designed Aston Martin machines.
Heading into the close of last year, the squad would fail to take part in the DTM / SuperGT crossover event at Fuji Speedway, citing a desire to both monitor costs and continue preparations for 2020, casting the first doubts on continued participation in the category beyond the close of the previous season.
Further concerns were raised following an announcement that the outfit have parted ways with engine build HWA, the company partly responsible for much of Mercedes success in recent years, and now the nail has finally been hammered into the coffin of the squad as they confirm their departure from DTM racing - just one year on from making a high profile debut in the category.
Dr. Florian Kamelger, R-Motorsport DTM Team Principal had the following to say of Friday's announcement:
One option is thought to be the addition of additional customer teams for both squads, with BMW already strongly rumoured to be considering options to find a seat for Williams outcast Robert Kubica, potentially as a two-car works supported team.
With R-Motorsport out of the series with immediate effect, 2019 drivers Paul di Resta, Ferdinand Habsberg, Jake Dennis and Daniel Juncadella are all looking for alternative employment in the year ahead - providing some tempting driving talents should BMW and Audi find the resources to put together additional customer programmes in the short space between now and the season opener on April 24th.
Original Source: R-Motorsport
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Making a debut in the German based DTM series last year, R-Motorsport certainly turned plenty of heads with their all new Aston Martin Vantage DTM machine, a car developed in record time as the squad looked to pick up the slack following Mercedes withdrawal from the championship at the end of 2018.
Despite having very little time to put together the four car programme ahead of the season start, R-Motorsport would enjoy an encouraging if character building campaign in 2019, going the year without a podium finish to their name in spite of showing flashes of speed with the attractively designed Aston Martin machines.
Heading into the close of last year, the squad would fail to take part in the DTM / SuperGT crossover event at Fuji Speedway, citing a desire to both monitor costs and continue preparations for 2020, casting the first doubts on continued participation in the category beyond the close of the previous season.
Further concerns were raised following an announcement that the outfit have parted ways with engine build HWA, the company partly responsible for much of Mercedes success in recent years, and now the nail has finally been hammered into the coffin of the squad as they confirm their departure from DTM racing - just one year on from making a high profile debut in the category.
Dr. Florian Kamelger, R-Motorsport DTM Team Principal had the following to say of Friday's announcement:
”The reassessment of our motorsport program showed that we want to set new priorities for the future and that the DTM engagement would not be appropriate for us anymore. What we have decided regarding our 2020 motorsport program we will announce at a later stage. However, I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you particularly to Gerhard Berger and the ITR, to Dieter Gass and to Jens Marquardt for the common engagement in DTM during our debut season. Especially BMW has been an extraordinary helpful partner for us.”
With Aston Martin now absent from the grid, the DTM looks set to field just 14 cars at the season opening round in April - the lowest since the championship returned to competition in 2000. Both BMW and Audi remain committed to the category, and both German brands have confirmed they will assess the situation alongside promoters ITR as they look to find solutions for increasing the grid size ahead of the opening round at Hockenheim.One option is thought to be the addition of additional customer teams for both squads, with BMW already strongly rumoured to be considering options to find a seat for Williams outcast Robert Kubica, potentially as a two-car works supported team.
With R-Motorsport out of the series with immediate effect, 2019 drivers Paul di Resta, Ferdinand Habsberg, Jake Dennis and Daniel Juncadella are all looking for alternative employment in the year ahead - providing some tempting driving talents should BMW and Audi find the resources to put together additional customer programmes in the short space between now and the season opener on April 24th.
Original Source: R-Motorsport
Talking is fun - head over to the Motorsport sub forum and start a thread today!
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