Following the crash at the Norisring, Kelvin van der Linde is set to return to the BMW cockpit this week: Which five DTM teams are now using their only “joker” test?
Where will the DTM teams use their single private test day on a DTM track this season? We’ll find out this week, as private test sessions are scheduled at the Nürburgring and in Oschersleben—the venues for the next two DTM weekends—where wildcard test days will be utilized.
While the Mercedes-AMG Team Winward with Maro Engel and Jules Gounon, as well as the two Porsche teams Manthey (Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller) and Land (Bastian Buus), will be testing at the Nürburgring on Tuesday, Kelvin van der Linde’s comeback is scheduled for Wednesday—if everything goes according to plan.
The German-South African, who suffered bruises in his serious accident at the Norisring and has been preparing at the Red Bull Performance Center in Thalgau, is set to return to his BMW M3 GT3 Evo in Oschersleben eleven days later. “Kelvin is scheduled for the test.”
Schubert Team Under Pressure to Succeed in Home Race
The Schubert Team, which had a difficult weekend at the Norisring, will also be on site with both cars: Marco Wittmann will drive the second M4 GT3 Evo. The Dörr team is also using Oschersleben for the “joker” test day and will be on site with Ben Dörr and Timo Glock.
Oschersleben is considered a tough track for both teams: While the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo struggles with the tight corners and high curbs of the twisty circuit on the Magdeburger Börde, the twisty track is also extremely challenging for the long BMW.
For the Schubert team, which is based just a few hundred meters from the racetrack, this is a home race—and they usually even set up their own tent with refreshments for guests in the paddock.
Only three teams still have test joker slots
The pressure is on: Due to Saturday’s double retirement and Wittmann’s meager points haul with a tenth-place finish on Sunday, the only BMW team in the championship has lost ground: Wittmann is fifth, 40 points behind, while van der Linde—who has suffered frequent technical issues this season—is 63 points behind in twelfth place.
Since five other teams are using their only private test day of the season this week, only three teams still have test “jokers” available: these are the Aston Martin team Comtoyou led by DTM leader Nicki Thiim, the Lamborghini team Grasser, and the Ford team HRT.
In addition to Oschersleben and the Nürburgring, the long-standing series will also race at the Sachsenring and Hockenheim in the second half of the season; however, official test sessions organized by the ADAC will take place at those tracks beforehand. Therefore, a private test at one of these tracks would likely make little sense.