Two-thirds of the DTM drivers recently had to endure a grueling week in the cockpit—the schedule included the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, Spa, and Zandvoort
17 of the 21 DTM drivers were on the grid for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring from May 14 to 17. Just two days later, 15 of the DTM drivers headed to Belgium for the official test for the 24 Hours of Spa, before the DTM race in Zandvoort was on the schedule a few days later. It was a brutal week for the drivers, but also for some teams.
Only six DTM drivers did not travel to the Spa 24 Hours prologue, which took place last Tuesday and Wednesday. This means that 14 drivers faced the triple workload: Maro Engel, Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, Arjun Maini, Ben Dörr, Kelvin van der Linde, Maximilian Paul, Mirko Bortolotti, Luca Engstler, Marco Mapelli, Thomas Preining, Ricardo Feller, Bastian Buus, and Nicki Thiim.
But even for a team like Grasser, the workload was extremely high, as the team handles all race outings with just one crew, whereas Winward, for example, relies on different crews for the various championships.
Tough Days and Lots of Planning
Maro Engel, who completed the triple, explains: “Sure, a week like this is one of the toughest you can imagine physically. But I think we handled it well. For me, the focus was naturally on recovery during those days.”
“The team also structured the race schedule a bit so that we didn’t have to get up quite as early on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and could travel to Zandvoort reasonably well-rested.” So the physical strain played a role in the Winward racing team’s planning, even though the mechanics are rotated across the championships.
“Of course, we celebrated the victory in style,” says Engel happily. “As everyone knows, Nürburgring victories aren’t easy to come by, and in our case, it had been ten years. So we celebrated together with everyone involved in the AMG Lounge.”
GT3 platform makes it possible
“And yet, of course, we headed straight to Spa on Monday. In that sense, it didn’t get too late or too boozy. It was definitely a tough week, physically for everyone. The two days at Spa had mixed weather. We couldn’t drive quite as much as planned, but it was still tough, of course. And then we moved on to Zandvoort, where the focus was on the DTM.”
Nicki Thiim was also there with Walkenhorst and Comtoyou at all three events and had to battle his way through the Green Hell, the Belgian Ardennes, and the dunes of Zandvoort. The 37-year-old felt the strain clearly: “I’m just getting older and need more sleep. That’s all I can say about the race. Always full throttle!”
Since many championships rely on the GT3 platform, teams have plenty of opportunities to use these cars in different series. However, the top drivers are the same worldwide, which is why their services are in high demand. That’s why, in 2026, there are grueling weeks like this for entire crews, who have to adapt at breakneck speed to new conditions, tracks, and details. For some drivers and teams, the GT World Challenge Europe race at Monza is already on the schedule for May 29–31.
