The DTM calendar for the 2026 season is set to be released in August: What’s the status of potential new additions and what are the ADAC’s plans?
The ADAC has so far remained tight-lipped about the venues, but has made it clear that, as in previous years, there will be eight weekends because the teams are opposed to more races for cost reasons.
Nevertheless, the Salzburgring, Vila Real in Portugal, Assen, and even a race at Berlin-Tempelhof Airport are currently fueling speculation about the new calendar. But what is the truth?
In fact, private GT3 test drives by the HRT, Engstler, and Schnitzelalm Racing teams for the ADAC GT Masters took place on July 23 and 24 at the Salzburgring in Austria, which was already a hot DTM candidate last year due to its proximity to Munich and the Bavarian catchment area.
Salzburgring boss: “Not talking about 2026 at the moment”
At the time, it was agreed to hold a test run with the ADAC GT Masters in 2025, as there are repeated safety concerns about the fast GT3 cars on the high-speed track in the narrow Nesselgraben.
Salzburgring CEO Ernst Penninger has already made one thing clear with regard to a DTM comeback: “We are in talks with the ADAC, but are not currently discussing 2026 in concrete terms.”
This is because they first want to wait for the ADAC Racing Weekend from September 5 to 7 with the ADAC GT Masters, which uses the same cars. Only after a successful GT3 test will they want to finalize talks about a DTM race, which Penninger says is still “a long-term goal” – but for 2027. This has been agreed with the ADAC.
“We either do something 100 percent or not at all,” “It makes no sense to say we’ll do it. And then maybe in September we’ll realize: It’s not ideal after all.”
Further talks with Vila Real, Berlin in 2027 at the earliest
But what about Vila Real? The spectacular street circuit in northern Portugal was the reason why the announcement of the DTM calendar was delayed until the beginning of October last year. The Portuguese offered a considerable sum of money to bring the DTM to the small town near Porto, but met with resistance from the teams, who feared heavy damage in addition to the costs.
As far as we know, the issue seems to have died down somewhat this year. There are rumors of ongoing talks with the ADAC, but the organizers have found a racing series for their traditional race with the comeback of the TCR World Tour, which made a guest appearance on the city circuit on July 6.
As far as the DTM is concerned, the Portuguese are more likely to be a topic of discussion in the context of a future calendar expansion, as the ADAC continues to aim for. The same applies to Berlin, where politicians would first have to remove all obstacles to a race on the listed Tempelhof site and then a deal with Formula E would also be necessary in order for the DTM to return to the German capital.
Which courses would the ADAC part with?
And what about Assen? The MotoGP circuit attracted surprisingly large crowds during the ITR era, and the dune circuit could also be more urgently needed by the DTM in 2026 than before, as Formula 1 is withdrawing from Zandvoort after next year’s Grand Prix.
A second race in the Netherlands is not impossible, but which of the current venues would the ADAC part with? The contract with Oschersleben expired this year, but with team boss Torsten Schubert, whose BMW racing team and car dealerships are based there, the race has an influential advocate. This also suggests that the 2026 season calendar will be very similar to the current one.
