With the DTM moving to include GT3 cars into its 2021 racing season, the German racing series is poised to become Europe’s largest and most diverse racing competitions, with analysts expecting an influx of both machines and teams entering the DTM.
Prior to this announcement, the DTM was limited to Class One touring cars that essentially barred smaller teams from competition.
The racing series move to include GT3 Pro cars into their races means that teams will no longer be reliant on factory and manufacturer support (although this is still allowed), and instead will be supported by private outfits and companies.
One of the teams taking advantage of DTM’s new ruleset will be Rowe Racing. While Walkenhorst Motorsport, Jenson Rocket RJN, AF Corse-Red Bull, and Walkenhorst Motorsport have all been confirmed as entrants to the DTM 2021 racing season, Rowe Racing is the first of these teams to announce their plans to include the new BMW M6 GT3 into their lineup.
Rowe Racing’s Plans for the Future
Rowe Racing’s entry into the DTM will be the racing outfits first foray into the series, with most of its reputation and wins happening in the VLN and the Nurburgring 24 hours. With the DTM’s inclusion of the GT3 into its ruleset, analysts expect Rowe Racing to dominate the German series thanks to the team’s expertise around GT3 cars.
Team Principal Naundorf, however, says that the team’s commitment to the DTM won’t be the end of its endurance race runs; the team will still compete in endurance races for the 2021 season, although which endurance series it will participate in has yet to be announced.
Can the BMW M6 Perform in DTM?
Rowe Racing’s confirmation of its use of the BMW M6 in the 2021 DTM season follows the racing outfit’s highly successful 2020 run, with the team securing victories at Spa 24 hours using the Porsche 911 GT3 and the Nurburgring 24 Hours using an earlier BMW M6 model. Hans Peter-Naundorf, Rowe Racing’s team principal, is using these victories as a sign that the BMW M6 GT3 is, in fact, a worthy contender in one of Europe’s most prestigious racing series.
While the BMW M6 will be competing in the DTM, plans are still out in the open about whether Rowe Racing will use the automobile in the sprint race formats of the series. What is clear, however, is that Rowe Racing intends to use the M6 in it’s endurance races.
The second team to announce it’s use of the BMW M6 is Walkenhorst Motor Sport, with the team planning to use an outgoing M6 model later this year. This means that the DTM 2021 racing season will see at least 2 BMW M6’s on the track.
But how well can the BMW M6 GT3 compete in the DTM? The car model has already proven itself in long, arduous endurance races, but word is still out on whether this power can translate to the DTM’s high-speed sprint race formats. BMW, however, is confident in the M6’s performance, with former BMW motorsport head Jens Marquardt announcing last year that the BMW M4 will be undergoing homologation in September of this year, which means there’s a possibility of seeing the M4 in the later part of the 2021 season.
As for Rowe Racing, the German-based racing team has yet to announce its driver line-up and the exact number of BMW M6 GT3’s that it will enter into the DTM, although Rowe Racing has made it clear that this particular car model will be a main part of their program.
