After just one season, Tim Heinemann’s DTM dream was over – How the 27-year-old experienced his year without DTM and what the chances of a comeback are
Despite good performances in his debut season, Tim Heinemann’s DTM dream was over after just one year: because his Toksport WRT team also pulled the plug after one season, the 27-year-old was without a cockpit for 2024. “Of course it hurts as a driver not to be part of the DTM anymore and only being able to follow the series on TV,” Heinemann admits.
“Nevertheless, I am very satisfied with my first DTM season and would have liked to have had the chance to show my true strength in a second season after a difficult first season. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.” In fact, Heinemann, who came to professional motorsport through sim racing, had a crazy debut season in the DTM.
At the 2023 season opener at Oschersleben, the Porsche driver finished second in both races, making it onto the podium twice, and even took the lead in the overall standings. But in the remaining 14 races of the season, Heinemann failed to make it into the top 10 even once.
Season 2024 “disappointing from a sporting point of view”
Twelfth place in the second race at the Nürburgring remained the third-best result of the season for the Toksport-WRT driver, who at the time blamed the sudden drop in performance on a lack of testing experience. “All in all, it was disappointing from a sporting point of view to drive fewer races this year,” Heinemann admits about his DTM absence and the 2024 season.
This year, the 27-year-old was mainly on the Nordschleife for Falken Motorsports, even celebrating an overall victory together with Sven Müller in the 24h Qualifiers and helping the Falken team to win the NLS Speed Trophy.
But Heinemann is still not completely satisfied with his motorsport involvement in the 2024 season. “Being classified as a gold driver made it difficult to find cockpits that made strategic sense and promised success,” recalls the Essen native. “That’s why the focus was placed on 2025 early on.”
DTM comeback is “difficult to realize”
So is there a chance that Heinemann will return to the DTM next year? “After a difficult but positive first season, I would love to compete in the DTM again and prove my qualities,” “However, it’s no secret that a DTM program is difficult to realize.”
And at least with Porsche, the chances of a DTM comeback are extremely slim, even though there will be a new team next year with Allied Racing. But the two cockpits are already occupied by Bastian Buus and Ricardo Feller, while at Manthey Thomas Preining is considered set and Ayhancan Güven may also have a chance of staying.
“The planning is in full swing,” says Heinemann, without going into details and possible racing series in which the 27-year-old could compete in the coming season. ‘Concrete news will be announced in due course.’
