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DTM is the initials for the current Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, formerly known as Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touringcar Championship), a motorsport series based in Germany, but with rounds held all over Europe. The championship is organized by ITR.
The championship was started in 1984 under FIA Group A rules, but was extensively modified throughout the years, allowing "Evolution" models. In 1993 the Group A rules were abandoned in favor of a more liberalized 2.5-liter engine series, that allowed extensive use of electronics, ABS, four wheel drive, and carbon fibre chassis. Opel, Mercedes, and Alfa Romeo all fielded works team, Audi and BMW having abandoned the series.
In 1996 the DTM was renamed ITC (International Touring-car Championship), with the FIA adopting its rules as Class 1 Touring Cars, but a cost explosion led to two of three constructors abandoning the series at the end of the year and subsequent cancellation due to lack of entries. The DTM returned in the year 2000, but without Championship status, so DTM now stands for Deutsches Tourenwagen Masters (German Touring Car Masters), presenting touring cars with V8 engines and purpose-built chassis, in some ways more related to prototype racing. It is promoted as "Formula 1 of Touring Cars".
DTM Champions:
When it began, the new DTM featured coupés, but the three constructors involved decided to switch to sedan bodies in 2004. The following models are currently involved in the series:
The drivers are a mixture of young and older drivers, including well known former F1 drivers Bernd Schneider, Jean Alesi, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Others, such as Laurent Aiello, Tom Kristensen and Frank Biela, have made their career racing sports cars and touring cars. Young guns such as the newly-crowned champion Mattias Ekström or Gary Paffett use the DTM to jump-start their racing careers.
See also
DTM official site (http://www.dtm.de/)
Audi Sport (http://www.audi.com/motorsport)
AMG-Mercedes (http://www.teamamg-mercedes.de/)
Opel Motorsport (http://www.opel-motorsport.de/)
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