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| Category | Sportscar & touring car racing |
|---|---|
| Country | West Germany |
| Inaugural season | 1972 |
| Folded | 1985 |
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as German Racing Championship) or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM as Germany's top national series. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The DRM began in 1972 as a Group 2 touring car and Group 4 GT racing series for cars like (BMW 2002) and (BMW Coupé), in addition to the Deutsche Rundstrecken-Meisterschaft (German circuit racing saloon car championship). [5] In these years, the same or similar cars were also entered in the European Touring Car Championship.
Races were run separately as big Division 1 (for 2 to 4 liter) and small Division 2 (under 2 liter) in a sprint format.[ citation needed ]
In 1977, Group 5 cars were admitted into the series, making the series better supported with Group 5 cars than the World Championship of Makes they were intended for.[ citation needed ] These fast and spectacular turbocharged cars with wide fenders and wings were initially popular, but they were proved to be expensive with each round struggling to bring in more than 10 cars for each class during the 1978 season. At the same season, it became clear that a turbo-charged engine was a necessity to maintain competitiveness, especially in Division 2. [6] [7] Not even a weight increase (up 885kg from 735kg) for the 1979 season could prevent this. [8]
In 1979, the Rennsport Trophäe (Racing Trophy) was introduced for the cheaper original series protagonists, the Group 2 and 4 cars. [5] [8] It consisted of combined races with the DRM until 1981.
In 1982, following the FIA rule changes, new Group C sportscars (along with existing Group 6) replaced the Group 5 machinery at the renamed International Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. Meanwhile, the Rennsport Trophäe held separate races and events in 1982 and 1983, except for the 1982 ADAC Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
In 1984, with just three races held, organisers used three WEC (World Endurance Championship) races as additional IDRM point races. Also, the Rennsport Trophäe was replaced by the DPM (Deutsche Produktionswagen Meisterschaft), run with Group A cars.
1985 was the final year of the now called DSM (German : Deutsche Sportwagen Meisterschaft, lit. 'German Sportscar Championship'), with just one race was held at Norisring, the rest of them held in conjunction with the popular Interserie. This meant CanAm entered from the latter series, as it had always been, had to be counted for points
The series would be replaced by the Group C-only Supercup in 1986. At that time, the less expensive DTM (German : Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, lit. 'German Touringcar Championship') had taken over as Germany's most important racing series.
Since 2005 the AvD the AvD organizes a "Revival Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft" race at his great "Oldtimer Grand Prix".
The Nürburgring is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long Nordschleife "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. The north loop is 20.830 km (12.943 mi) long and contains more than 300 metres of elevation change from its lowest to highest points. Scottish racing driver Jackie Stewart nicknamed the track "The Green Hell".
The Porsche 935 is a race car that was developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules, it was an evolution of the Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype, the second place overall finisher in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and then run by his son Peter Zakowski. It is based in Niederzissen, Rhineland-Palatinate, around 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the Nürburgring circuit.
Harald Ertl was an Austrian racing driver and motorsport journalist. He was born in Zell am See and attended the same school as Grand Prix drivers Jochen Rindt, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda.
The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating 4.011 km (2.492 mi) motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.
Throughout its history, BMW cars and motorcycles have been successful in a range of motorsport activities. Apart from the factory efforts, many privateer teams enter BMW road cars in touring car racing. BMW also entered cars or provided engines in Formula One, Formula Two and sportscar racing. BMW is currently active in IMSA, the Isle of Man TT, the North West 200, the Superbike World Championship and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide.
Jörg Müller is a Dutch-born German BMW factory driver.
Klaus Karl Ludwig is a German racing driver.
Schnitzer Motorsport was a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team mostly operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and had remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing. The team would often run the cars for BMW under the name of "BMW Motorsport". In 2012, the team operated the DTM team for BMW under the name of "BMW Team Schnitzer".
The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the 1970s. Since 2000, it has been annually used by the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, the premier Germany-based touring car racing series. The length of the simple track with two hairpin turns and a chicane has been set to 2.300 km (1.429 mi) since 1972, after various lengths were used in its early years.
The Salzburgring is a 4.241 km (2.635 mi) motorsport race track located in Plainfeld, east of Salzburg.
Harald Grohs is a racing driver and team owner from Essen, Germany.
The Sauber SHS C6 was a Group C prototype racing car built by Swiss manufacturer Sauber and engineering firm Seger & Hoffman, intended for competition in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft series. Seger & Hoffman left the project later in 1982, leaving the car completely under Sauber's control.
The ADAC Norisring Nürnberg 200 Speedweekend is an auto racing event taking place at the Norisring temporary street circuit in Nuremberg, Germany. First ran in 1967, the Trophy has hosted a variety of national and international series, ranging from touring cars to sports cars. The Norisring Trophy is currently part of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series.
The BMW M1 Procar Championship, sometimes known simply as Procar, was a one-make auto racing series which featured professional drivers from the Formula One World Championship, World Sportscar Championship, European Touring Car Championship, and other international series, using identically modified BMW M1 sports cars. It was created by Jochen Neerpasch, head of BMW Motorsport GmbH, the racing division of automobile manufacturer BMW.
John Fitzpatrick is a British former racing driver, winning many titles throughout his career. He works within motorsport as a consultant doing corporate events and driver management. He published a book "Fitz-My Life at the Wheel" in 2016.
The Diepholz Airfield Circuit was an auto racing circuit in the south-west of Diepholz, Germany. It was a temporary circuit on a military airfield, which is still in use by the German military today.
Frank Jelinski is a German former racing driver.
Obermaier-Racing GmbH was a German auto racing team and tuning garage founded by Hans Obermaier and Jürgen Lässig. Specializing in Porsches for much of their history, the team competed at the top level of the World Sportscar Championship from 1983 until 1990 before finding success in the various incarnations of the Porsche Carrera Cup. The team was later known as Oberbayern Motorsport before their auto racing activities ceased in 2000.
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