The DTM is considered a survivor – now the ADAC is making a long-term promise: Even difficult times should not change that
Three and a half years after taking over the DTM from Gerhard Berger, the ADAC made it clear at the DTM season opener in Spielberg that, despite criticism of combustion engine motorsport, it has long-term plans for the racing series that go beyond 2030. “The ADAC commitment that we will run the DTM in the very long term is very important,” explained ADAC Sports President Gerd Ennser.
“Four years is not a period that really interests me. We have to talk about 40 years of DTM future – and everyone is behind that. I can say that for the entire ADAC. Nobody doubts or believes that we will ask the question at some point whether the DTM makes sense. It makes a lot of sense.“
In addition, the entire ADAC is ”increasingly recognizing how important the DTM is for the image and culture of the ADAC”. The largest European automobile club is not only there for assistance, but “also for entertainment – and the DTM is an extremely important instrument for further developing this”.
“Even when difficult times come …”
The ADAC’s commitment to the traditional series, which is known as a survivor and has been on the brink of collapse several times since it was founded 42 years ago, also applies to times when things are not going so well. “Even when times are difficult, the ADAC will stick with the DTM,” says Ennser. “We can make this promise for the long term.”
This is particularly important in motorsport today, “where many others are thinking: Does it still make sense to do motorsport at all?” the ADAC Sports President clarifies. This is not questioned at the ADAC. “It’s not just pensions that are secure, as a former Minister of Labor once said. The DTM is more secure than pensions,” he says with a grin.
Introduction of fully synthetic fuel as a “game changer”
Which is not to say that sustainability is not a key issue in the further development of the series. After all, the introduction of fully synthetic fuel a year ago was a “game changer” and was received extremely positively by series partners and team sponsors, even though the fuel is more expensive than its predecessor.“We are not just talking about the series sponsors of the DTM, but every team and every driver talks to their own sponsors and has the same discussions as we do,” explains ADAC Head of Motorsport Thomas Voss.
“And there is clearly a desire to do something for sustainability in order to be able to justify a sponsorship in case of doubt within their own company. This has been really welcomed by all sides and makes many discussions much easier.”
How the ADAC intends to develop the DTM in the future
How does the ADAC intend to further develop the DTM, which has seen rising attendance figures since the takeover? Apart from wanting to increase the number of DTM weekends and become more international again, there is still “room for improvement” in terms of marketing and tapping into new target groups, Voss clarifies.
“This means that we also want and need to become more digital in order to get to know our customers – the fans – so that we can serve them even more individually in the future with content that the sporting event offers. Many sports and commercial providers of sport and culture are in the process of making the whole thing much more data-based in the future.”
For this reason, the company has also repositioned itself and brought Claudia Wagner, a second Managing Director, into the renamed and redefined ADAC Motorsport GmbH, which organizes the DTM as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ADAC. Wagner was previously Managing Director of Deutsche Sport Marketing GmbH, which was responsible for marketing the German Olympic team, among other things.