Alternate DTM - 2006 season

[CaptainGetz12]

I'm curious, but why arent there any of the Opel Vectras available as yesteryear cars? The Vectras were used by the smaller OPC Phoenix team in 2004 and 2005. Perhaps another team could buy the chassis even though OPC may not be interested in DTM anymore?

On another note, Audi Sport Abt had a TT-R that they used in 2004 and the old CLK-DTMs were also used for 2004 by Persson and Team Rosberg.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Since it has been confirmed that we indeed have the final entry, Triple 8 will buy two 2004-spec Mercs, and will test the following drivers:

Paul Radisich
Craig Baird
Neel Jani
Robert Doornbos
Patrick Friesacher

[FMecha]

Ferrarist, did you notice I'm buying a 2004 car?

[roblo97]

Team Rosberg would like to test with the other Audi teams using the following drivers...

Viktor Jensen
Adrian Sutil
Alvaro Parente
J.J Lehto
Johnny Herbert
Martin Brundle
Mark Blundell

Thanks

[Ferrarist]

I'm curious, but why arent there any of the Opel Vectras available as yesteryear cars? The Vectras were used by the smaller OPC Phoenix team in 2004 and 2005. Perhaps another team could buy the chassis even though OPC may not be interested in DTM anymore?

On another note, Audi Sport Abt had a TT-R that they used in 2004 and the old CLK-DTMs were also used for 2004 by Persson and Team Rosberg.

1) Manuel Reuter wanted to run Vectras in real life 2006, but Opel forbid him doing so.
2) Coupés were banned after 2004.

Ferrarist, did you notice I'm buying a 2004 car?

I noticed. Could you also imagine buying a 2005 car? Because it is the only car left?

Team Rosberg would like to test with the other Audi teams using the following drivers...

Viktor Jensen
Adrian Sutil
Alvaro Parente
J.J Lehto
Johnny Herbert
Martin Brundle
Mark Blundell

Thanks

Urm...the deadline for nominating drivers was on November 22nd, 8pm CET.

[Vepe]

Arena Motorsport would like to enter with two 2004 Spec Mercedes.

I'm sorry, but Wizzie was faster than you. I may put you on the waiting list, though.

Apparently he did. I blame time zone difference Waiting list sounds good.

[FMecha]

Okay Ferrarist - stuff it, I'll buy both 2004 and 2005 cars.

[Ferrarist]

Audi and Mercedes conduct private tests

Even with Opel gone from DTM, remaining manufacturers Audi and Mercedes-Benz still spend a lot of time testing, trying to develop their cars into a the to beat in the 2006 DTM season. This week, both manufacturers conducted private tests. While Mercedes tested at Oschersleben, Audi ironically chose Mercedes' home track at Hockenheim. Both manufacturers were testing regular DTM drivers as well as drivers from Formula Three, GT and other Touring Car series. There were a few surprises, though. Gary Paffett attended Mercedes' test at Oschersleben, testing a 2005-spec car for Persson Motorsport. It remains to be seen what the plans of the reigning DTM champion are, but it seems likely that he was just helping Persson setup the car he won his championship with.

Audi's test also saw a fair share of surprising faces. Like 1996 IndyCar champion Jimmy Vasser, testing a 2004 Audi A4 for Collin Kolles' Futurecom-TME squad. Or the 2005 champion of the Super GT's GT300 category, Tetsuya Yamano. Whether both of them are willing to move to Europe is another issue, though. Official times weren't set yet, so we'll have to wait until the official ITR test at Estoril, to see which drivers made it into larger-than-ever field of 24 cars.

Day One Testing Results at Hockenheim

Code: Select all

 1 Mattias Ekström (Abt Sportsline)           1:33.763
 2 Tom Kristensen (Abt Sportsline)            1:33.873
 3 Marcel Fässler (Abt Sportsline)            1:33.990
 4 Christian Abt (Abt Sportsline)             1:33.999
 5 Martin Tomczyk (Abt Sportsline)            1:34.027
 6 Timo Scheider (Abt Sportsline)             1:34.195
 7 Allan McNish (Team Phoenix)                1:34.493
 8 Mike Rockenfeller (Team Phoenix)           1:34.522
 9 Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Team Phoenix)       1:34.697
10 Alexander Wurz (Team Phoenix)              1:34.726
11 Sebastian Vettel (Team Phoenix)            1:34.947
12 Tetsuya Yamano (Futurecom-TME)             1:35.184
13 Gianni Morbidelli (Arden International)    1:35.348
14 Jimmy Vasser (Futurecom-TME)               1:35.349
15 Alvaro Parente (Team Rosberg)              1:35.350
16 Thomas Holzer (Arden International)        1:35.541
17 Tomas Enge (Futurecom-TME)                 1:35.850
18 Nico Hülkenberg (Arden International)      1:36.022
19 Jeroen Bleekemolen (Arden International)   1:36.046
20 Alex Yoong (Futurecom-TME)                 1:36.225
21 Anthony Reid (Arden International)         1:36.272
22 Michael Ammermüller (Arden International)  1:36.457
23 Viktor Jensen (Team Rosberg)               1:36.518
24 Luca Badoer (Futurecom-TME)                1:36.904

Day Two Testing Results from Hockenheim

Code: Select all

 1 Mattias Ekström (Abt Sportsline)           1:33.766
 2 Tom Kristensen (Abt Sportsline)            1:33.924
 3 Martin Tomczyk (Abt Sportsline)            1:33.998
 4 Christian Abt (Abt Sportsline)             1:34.017
 5 Marcel Fässler (Abt Sportsline)            1:34.053
 6 Timo Scheider (Abt Sportsline)             1:34.299
 7 Allan McNish (Team Phoenix)                1:34.485
 8 Mike Rockenfeller (Team Phoenix)           1:34.505
 9 Alexander Wurz (Team Phoenix)              1:34.688
10 Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Team Phoenix)       1:34.693
11 Sebastian Vettel (Team Phoenix)            1:35.002
12 Tetsuya Yamano (Futurecom-TME)             1:35.066
13 Alvaro Parente (Team Rosberg)              1:35.340
14 Jimmy Vasser (Futurecom-TME)               1:35.401
15 Gianni Morbidelli (Arden International)    1:35.434
16 Thomas Holzer (Arden International)        1:35.599
17 Tomas Enge (Futurecom-TME)                 1:35.884
18 Nico Hülkenberg (Arden International)      1:36.033
19 Jeroen Bleekemolen (Arden International)   1:36.045
20 Anthony Reid (Arden International)         1:36.254
21 Alex Yoong (Futurecom-TME)                 1:36.306
22 Michael Ammermüller (Arden International)  1:36.468
23 Viktor Jensen (Team Rosberg)               1:36.490
24 Luca Badoer (Futurecom-TME)                1:36.696

Note that I let Futurecom's and Arden's drivers race the 2004 car only. I guess I was too lazy to calculate both the stats for the 2004 AND 2005 cars. Of course you get to get keep your 2005 cars .

Day One Testing Results from Oschersleben

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 1 Bernd Schneider (HWA-Mercedes)             1:19.461
 2 Mika Häkkinen (HWA-Mercedes)               1:19.517
 3 Markus Winkelhock (HWA-Mercedes)           1:19.702
 4 Lucas di Grassi (HWA-Mercedes)             1:19.775
 5 Gary Paffett (Persson Motorsport)          1:19.796
 6 Adrian Sutil (HWA-Mercedes)                1:19.879
 7 Jean Alesi (Persson Motorsport)            1:19.963
 8 Jan Magnussen (Persson Motorsport)         1:20.030
 9 Alexandro Margaritis (HWA-Mercedes)        1:20.142
10 Jamie Green (Mücke Motorsport)             1:20.220
11 Alexander Wurz (Mücke Motorsport)          1:20.448
12 Olivier Panis (Persson Motorsport)         1:20.585
13 Bruno Spengler (Mücke Motorsport)          1:20.623
14 Toni Vilander (Persson Motorsport)         1:20.751
15 Stefan Mücke (Mücke Motorsport)            1:20.828
16 Mike Rockenfeller (Manor Motorsports)      1:20.869
17 Alexandre Premat (Manor Motorsports)       1:20.901
18 Susie Stoddart (Mücke Motorsport)          1:21.056
19 Craig Baird (Triple 8 Engineering)         1:21.056
20 Neel Jani (Triple 8 Engineering)           1:21.060
21 Loic Duval (Manor Motorsports)             1:21.400
22 Robert Doornbos (Triple 8 Engineering)     1:21.422
23 Paul di Resta (Manor Motorsports)          1:21.598
24 Kazuki Nakajima (Manor Motorsports)        1:21.617
25 Paul Radisich (Triple 8 Engineering)       1:21.650
26 Patrick Friesacher (Triple 8 Engineering)  1:22.486

Day Two Testing from Oschersleben

Code: Select all

 1 Bernd Schneider (HWA-Mercedes)             1:19.472
 2 Mika Häkkinen (HWA-Mercedes)               1:19.490
 3 Markus Winkelhock (HWA-Mercedes)           1:19.705
 4 Lucas di Grassi (HWA-Mercedes)             1:19.772
 5 Gary Paffett (Persson Motorsport)          1:19.813
 6 Adrian Sutil (HWA-Mercedes)                1:19.931
 7 Jan Magnussen (Persson Motorsport)         1:19.957
 8 Jean Alesi (Persson Motorsport)            1:19.977
 9 Alexandro Margaritis (HWA-Mercedes)        1:20.173
10 Jamie Green (Mücke Motorsport)             1:20.179
11 Alexander Wurz (Mücke Motorsport)          1:20.443
12 Olivier Panis (Persson Motorsport)         1:20.494
13 Bruno Spengler (Mücke Motorsport)          1:20.745
14 Toni Vilander (Persson Motorsport)         1:20.755
15 Stefan Mücke (Mücke Motorsport)            1:20.785
16 Craig Baird (Triple 8 Engineering)         1:20.916
17 Mike Rockenfeller (Manor Motorsports)      1:20.921
18 Alexandre Premat (Manor Motorsports)       1:20.929
19 Susie Stoddart (Mücke Motorsport)          1:21.068
20 Neel Jani (Triple 8 Engineering)           1:21.115
21 Robert Doornbos (Triple 8 Engineering)     1:21.407
22 Loic Duval (Manor Motorsports)             1:21.434
23 Paul Radisich (Triple 8 Engineering)       1:21.654
24 Kazuki Nakajima (Manor Motorsports)        1:21.689
25 Paul di Resta (Manor Motorsports)          1:21.911
26 Patrick Friesacher (Triple 8 Engineering)  1:22.499

While I've already told you how driver signings work, I think I should repeat it:

1) The works teams get to sign their drivers first. Which means that Klon and peteroli34 get to sign driver. Remember guys that you may sign more than four drivers, as you can park drivers at other teams at your cost. Could be way to bring some teams completely over to your side...
2) After the works teams have signed their drivers, everyone can do so.

On to the 2006 schedule:

The six German rounds are set in stone. No changes for 2006. Their order will also be the same as in real life, which was like this:

1. Hockenheim I
2. Lausitzring
3. Oschersleben
4. Norisring
5. Nürburgring
6. Hockenheim II

Now there have been several suggestions for tracks abroad, which I'll post again. Also included are the costs that come with each track:

- Goldenport Park Circuit (China) - 31.250 €
- Chayka Circuit (Ukraine) - 25.000 €
- Istanbul Park (Turkey) - 90.000 €
- Padborg Park (Denmark) - 15.625 €
- Twin Ring Motegi (Japan) - 125.000 €
- Sentul International Circuit (Indonesia) - 62.500 €
- Knockhill (UK) - 18.750 €
- Mosport (Canada) - 62.500 €
- Bathurst (Australia) - 125.000 €
- Cadwell Park (UK) - 18.750 €
- Brands Hatch (UK) - 37.500 €
- Dijon-Prenois (France) - 62.500 €
- Spa-Francourchamps (Belgium) - 62.500 €

The DTM wants to do 4-5 foreign races in 2006. Perhaps even 6, when the schedule doesn't cost too much. Therefore, the ITR will set a cost limit of 300.000 € for international races. Now before you start voting for your favorite tracks, keep in mind that voting has one special rule: HWA-Mercedes and Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline will 1/6 of the vote, whereas the rest of the teams have 1/12 of the vote. This is because the works teams run more cars than the others, simple as that!

The deadline will be on Wednesday, 8pm central european time. I think that's enough time to sort out the schedule and get at least the works driver signings underway.

[Klon]

Alright, HWA would like to offer contracts to:
Alexandros Margaritis
Bernd Schneider
Markus WInkelhock
Mika Häkkinen
for their four main cars and to:
Adrian Sutil
as a possible HWA-supported driver for the customer teams.

Furthermore HWA will vote for the following international races:
- Chayka Circuit (Ukraine) - €25.000
- Goldenport Park Circuit (China) - €31.250 (reminder that this price, for Mercedes-Benz customer teams, is in fact only €15,625 due to HWA covering 50 per-cent of the cost for each entry)
- Istanbul Park (Turkey) - €90.000
- Knockhill (UK) - 18.750 €

[Ferrarist]

Alright, HWA would like to offer contracts to:
Alexandros Margaritis
Bernd Schneider
Markus WInkelhock
Mika Häkkinen
for their four main cars and to:
Adrian Sutil
as a possible HWA-supported driver for the customer teams.

Alexandros Margaritis - 100.000 € p.a.
Bernd Schneider - 400.000 € p.a.
Markus Winkelhock - 200.000 € p.a.
Mika Häkkinen - 300.000 € p.a.
Adrian Sutil - 100.000 € p.a.

[Klon]

Alexandros Margaritis - 100.000 € p.a.
Bernd Schneider - 400.000 € p.a.
Markus Winkelhock - 200.000 € p.a.
Mika Häkkinen - 300.000 € p.a.
Adrian Sutil - 100.000 € p.a.

Yeah, aces, works. All signed.

[Ferrarist]

Yeah, aces, works. All signed.

Good. Now peteroli34 needs to sign his works drivers and the rest of the teams can start brawling for their drivers

[Peteroli34]

Audi works team would like to sign the following drivers

To drive works cars
Mattias Ekstrom
Tom Kristensen
Martin Tomcyk
Timo Scheider

To be loaned out
Marcel Fassler

Tracks
- Knockhill (UK) - 18.750 €
- Padborg Park (Denmark)
- Spa-Francourchamps (Belgium) - 62.500

[TomWazzleshaw]

Since the works teams have signed their drivers, Triple 8 will make the following offers:

1. Craig Baird
2. Neel Jani
3. Robert Doornbos
4. Lucas di Grassi
5. Mike Rockenfeller
6. Sebastian Vettel

Tracks:

- Goldenport Park Circuit (China) - 31.250 €
- Istanbul Park (Turkey) - 90.000 €
- Brands Hatch (UK) - 37.500 €
- Dijon-Prenois (France) - 62.500 €
- Spa-Francourchamps (Belgium) - 62.500 €

[roblo97]

Team Rosberg would like the following drivers please...

1.Marcel Fassler
2.Mike Rockenfeller
3.Sebastian Vettel
4.Alvro Parente


Tracks...
- Dijon-Prenois (France) - 62.500 €
- Knockhill (UK) - 18.750 €
- Mosport (Canada) - 62.500 €
- Bathurst (Australia) - 125.000 €
- Cadwell Park (UK) - 18.750 €



Thanks

[pi314159]

Manor Motorsport will make the following offers:
1. Mike Rockenfeller
2. Alexandre Premat
3. Neel Jani
4. Loic Duval

Tracks:
Goldenport Park Circuit
Brands Hatch (GP Layout)
Dijon-Prenois
Spa-Francorchamps
Padborg Park

[Londoner]

Arden will make offers to the following drivers:

1. Gianni Morbidelli
2. Thomas Holzer
3. Nico Hulkenberg
4. Jeroen Bleekemolen
5. Anthony Reid
6. Michael Ammermuller

Arden will vote for the following tracks:

Padborg Park (Denmark) - 15.625 €
Knockhill (UK) - 18.750 €
Cadwell Park (UK) - 18.750 €
Brands Hatch (UK) - 37.500 €
Spa-Francourchamps (Belgium) - 62.500 €

[Rated]

Mücke Motorsport will make offers to the following drivers :

1. Jamie Green
2. Alexander Wurz
3. Bruno Spengler
4. Adrian Sutil - because Klon pays
5. Stefan Mücke - Looks like he'll go to sportcars earlier than scheduled
6. Susie Stoddart

We vote for the following tracks :

Knockhill
Brands Hatch
Dijon-Prenois
Goldenport Park Circuit - because Klon pays a part of the travel

[kevinbotz]

Persson Motorsports will make offers to the following drivers for the upcoming season.

Listed by priority.

1. Gary Paffett
2. Jean Alesi
3. Jan Magnussen
4. Adrian Sutil (Klon's paying)
5. Olivier Panis
6. Toni Vilander

We'll second fellow semi-works team Mücke Motorsports' nominations for foreign circuits.

1. Knockhill
2. Brands Hatch
3. Dijon-Prenois
4. Goldenport Park Circuit

[FMecha]

Drivers:
Vasser
Yamano
Wurz
Hulkenberg

Tracks: Mosport and Sentul

[Hermann95]

Drivers:

Allan McNish
Mike Rockenfeller
Alexander Wurz
Heinz Harald Frentzen

Tracks:
Spa-Franchochamps
Padborg Park
Brands Hatch

[Ferrarist]

Audi works team would like to sign the following drivers

To drive works cars
Mattias Ekstrom
Tom Kristensen
Martin Tomcyk
Timo Scheider

To be loaned out
Marcel Fassler

Ekström will cost 400.000 €, Kristensen 300.000 €, Tomczyk and Scheider 200.000 € while Fässler will cost 300.000 €

I'll do the rest of the driver signings tomorrow night, since I set the deadline to Wednesday anyway.

[Peteroli34]

Ekström will cost 400.000 €, Kristensen 300.000 €, Tomczyk and Scheider 200.000 € while Fässler will cost 300.000 €

I'll do the rest of the driver signings tomorrow night, since I set the deadline to Wednesday anyway.

In that case I will sign all the drivers

[Ferrarist]

Alright then, time for the driver signings.

Let's start with the driver most teams wanted; Mike Rockenfeller:

1-10: He'll stay in North America, doing ALMS and Grand-AM
11-30: He'll join Triple 8
31-50: He'll join Team Rosberg
51-70: He'll join Manor Motorsport
71-100: He'll join Team Phoenix, who have a slightly higher chance of signing him, due to them fielding more competitive cars.

And the RNG says...83! Team Phoenix can now sign Rockenfeller for 150.000 € p.a.

Alexander Wurz is wanted by three teams: Mücke Motorsport, Futurecom-TME and Phoenix Racing.

1-40: He stays with Williams, hoping to become a full-time F1 driver in 2007
41-65: He'll join Mücke Motorsport
66-80: He'll bother to race for Collin Kolles operation
81-100: He'll join Phoenix Racing

And the RNG says...97! Team Phoenix can already complete their line-up, when they sign Alexander Wurz for 250.000 € p.a.

On to our next subject, a driver who may become a four-time DTM champion, instead of a four-time F1 champion in this reality. Sebastian "IWINLOL" Vettel:

1-80: Vettel does what Red Bull tells him: He continues in the F3 Euro Series
81-90: Vettel switches over to touring cars and Triple 8
91-100: Vettel switches over to touring cars and to Keke Rosberg's team

What does the RNG say...99! It seems like Red Bull prefers Vettel racing two-year old touring cars in DTM. Well, if Doktor Marko wants that... But Vettel will be rather cheap for Rosberg, as he'll only cost 50.000 €.

After that sensational turn of events, let's go to our next candidate: Nico Hülkenberg!

0-60: Willi Weber decides that doing Formula Three is better for him
61-80: Willi Weber thinks otherwise and puts him into Arden International, a team that can bring him at least to GP2 through a backdoor
81-100: Pretty much the same as Arden, only for Futurecom-TME and with Collin Kolles

RNG, what can you tell us?...96! So Nico Hülkenberg goes to...Collin Kolles' squad. It'll cost 100.000 €, though.

So on to the next German Grand Prix star of the Future: Adrian Sutil.

0-30: He make a trip to Japan...Japanese Formula Three in fact
31-65: Klon can pay Persson Motorsport to run Adrian Sutil
66-100: Klon can pay Mücke Motorsport to run Adrian Sutil

And it's...34! So Adrian Sutil may join Persson...for free!

Last person for today: Neel Jani is also wanted by two teams: Triple 8 and Manor. But he also has an open-wheel career in front of him, not to mention Red Bull backing.

0-70: He'll stay in open-wheel racing with backing by Red Bull
71-85: He'll join Triple 8
86-100: He'll join Manor Motorsports

And Neel Jani goes to...Triple 8, as the RNG said 75! But he'd cost 200.000 € to Triple 8.

Remember, you don't have to sign a driver. If he's too expensive, then don't sign him! In that case, I'll do the RNG with the remaining teams again.

[Hermann95]

I'm proud to anounce the signing of Mike Rockenfeller!
With regards to Wurz i'm not quite sure at the moment. I will wait until the negotiations with McNish and Frentzen are over!

[roblo97]

I am really pleased to have got Sebastian Vettel.

I'm proud to anounce the signing of Mike Rockenfeller!
With regards to Wurz i'm not quite sure at the moment. I will wait until the negotiations with McNish and Frentzen are over!

If negotiations with Wurz stall and I don't get Parente, would I be allowed to have him?

[Ferrarist]

On to the next round of the driver signings. I'll go through each team and their offers for drivers. So the first on my list is Triple 8. The first driver is Craig Baird, the reigning New Zealandian Porsche Cup Champion.

0-50: He'll stay in Australia.
51-100: He makes the jump to Europe, to boost his racing career.

The RNG says...75! Wizzie can sign him for 150.000 € p.a.

Next on the list is Robert Doornbos, test driver for the Red Bull F1 team.

0-75: He'll stay with Red Bull, in the hopes of making it to F1.
76-100: He'll cut his ties with Red Bull by racing a 2004-Mercedes in the DTM.

RNG says...64! Doornbos will stay test driver at Red Bull.

The last one on Triple 8's list is Lucas di Grassi. Will the Brazilian stay in GP2 or will he race German touring cars?

0-75: He prefers GP2.
76-100: He prefers getting paid to race in DTM.

And the RNG says...31! Di Grassi will race in GP2 for now.

The next team on my list is Team Rosberg. They've already grabbed Sebastian Vettel and they could also grab Marcel Fässler, since no one else wants him. So only Alvaro Parente is up for grabs.

0-85: He continues to pursue his open-wheel ambitions
86-100: He takes a break from open-wheel racing and heads for touring cars.

What does the RNG say? 52! Parente will stay in open-wheel racing.

Next up is Manor Motorsport. They lost out on Mike Rockenfeller and Neel Jani. But maybe they'll be luckier with their other choices.

First on the list is Alexandre Premat

0-60: He races in GP2 for another year.
61-100: He prefers touring cars instead.

And the RNG says...71! Premat can be signed by Manor for 200.000 € p.a.!

Loic Duval is next.

0-50: He makes the jump to Japan and races in Super GT and Formula Nippon.
51-100: He stays in Europe and does DTM.

It's a close decision, as the RNG says...53! Duval can be signed for 50.000 € p.a.

Up next is Arden International, another new team in the DTM.

Their bid for Nico Hülkenberg wasn't successful, but maybe others are. The first on the list is Gianni Morbidelli.

0-60: He'll accept the call to the DTM.
61-100: He heads for the WTCC instead.

The RNG says...20! Morbidelli can join DTM for 250.000 € p.a.

Thomas Holzer is next!

0-75: He takes what is perhaps his only option in racing and signs with Arden.
76-100: He takes a little break from racing.

The RNG says...53! Holzer can be signed for 100.000 € p.a.

Jeroen Bleekemolen

0-70: He does one more attempt at the DTM.
71-100: He decides to head for GT racing.

The RNG says...36! Bleekemolen can be signed for 100.000 € p.a.

Anthony Reid

0-80: He prefers to do some part-time racing in Britain
81-100: He goes for one last run in a top-level series such as DTM

The RNG says...13! So no DTM here!

Michael Ammermüller

0-75: He'll stay with the Red Bull driver programme and does GP2
76-100: He may join Arden, but in DTM

What does the RNG say...95! Ammermüller may be signed by Arden for 50.000 € p.a.

Mücke Motorsport

Jamie Green

0-70: He'll stick with DTM, even if he still won't access 2006-spec cars.
71-100: He won't bother running year-old cars. He'll evaluate other options instead.

RNG says...46! Green can be signed for 200.000 €.

Bruno Spengler

0-90: He'll take the safe option DTM
91-100: He does something else instead.

The RNG says...37! Spengler can be signed for 100.000 € p.a.

Stefan Mücke

0-60: He does one more season in the DTM.
61-100: He leaves DTM for sportscars.

The RNG says...78! Stefan Mücke decides to leave DTM for sportscars

Susie Stoddart

0-90: She'll race in DTM, because...why? Why not?
91-100: She decides to do something else...like actually training herself to be a good racing driver :p

The RNG says...65! Stoddart can be signed for 25.000 €.

Persson Motorsport

Gary Paffett

0-80: He tries to pursue a career in F1 by racing at McLaren.
81-100: Despite not being offered a 2006-spec car, he stays in DTM, trying to show that he can still run well in the car he won his championship with.

And the RNG says...29! Gary Paffett will try to become a full-time F1 driver

Jean Alesi

0-80: Despite being thrown out of the HWA-Team, he'll stay in DTM to please his fans.
81-100: Enough is enough! Time for retirement!

The RNG says...23! Alesi will stay in DTM, if Persson can pay him 300.000 € p.a., that is.

Jan Magnussen

0-80: He'll keep his lucrative works driver contract with Corvette.
81-100: He'll return to the series that brough him into the racing mainstream.

The RNG says...11! Magnussen will stay with Corvette Racing

Olivier Panis

0-40: He stays test driver for the Toyota F1 team
41-100: He'll bury his F1 ambitions to race in DTM.

The RNG says...85! Panis can be signed for 250.000 € p.a.

Toni Vilander

0-50: He'll do GT racing here and there
51-100: He'll pick the safe harbour DTM

The RNG says...19! Vilander moves to GTs

Futurecom-TME

Jimmy Vasser

0-95: He owns his own ChampCar team. Why should he leave ChampCar to race touring cars in Europe?
96-100: Let Kalkhoven run KV Racing. Vasser goes to DTM instead.

The RNG says...uh, very close call here. It's 9....4! 94! Vasser will stay in ChampCar

Tetsuya Yamano

0-50: He stays in Japan, to rule GT300 as his personal kingdom.
51-100: He jumps right into DTM, to advance his career.

What does the RNG say? 79! Yamano makes the jump to DTM! He'll cost 150.000 € p.a.

Team Phoenix

Allan McNish

0-80: He'll do ALMS for Audi Sport
81-100: He liked his year in the DTM, so he'll do another season there

The RNG says...35! McNish will prefer ALMS over DTM.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen

0-70: He'll stay in DTM, driving for Phoenix
71-100: If he doesn't get Grade A material, he won't bother with another DTM season

The RNG says...51! Frentzen can be signed for 200.000 € per year.

These were the driver signings for the 2006 DTM season. Make your final signings and we can go testing at Estoril, before the DTM season begins.

[kevinbotz]

Persson Motorsports is delighted to announce Messrs. Jean Alesi and Adrian Sutil as our drivers for the 2006 DTM season! Jean enjoys a wealth of experience from his distinguished career in Formula One, in addition to his success so far in DTM, which will prove to be very valuable in the upcoming season, while Adrian is one of the most promising young German drivers of his generation.

[Ferrarist]

Now on to some news about the schedule:

2006 schedule close to being finalized - Contract for race in China signed

While the 2006 DTM schedule hasn't been finalized yet, more and more details have started to emerge. The biggest news is surely the return of the DTM to China. "China is indeed an interesting market for Mercedes-Benz and Audi and of course for the DTM.", ITR chairman Hans-Werner Aufrecht told us. "Of course we can't draw as much people in China as in Germany right away. But we need to build up something, which is why we'll race at Goldenport Circuit.", he is quoted. Goldenport will in fact open the season, as travelling would have been easier at the beginning or the end of the season. But since the final traditionally takes place in Hockenheim and since F1 races in China in autumn, the ITR decided to race in Goldenport at the beginning of the season.

One or two rounds in the UK

DTM has been absent from the UK in 2004 and 2005. Rumours about a planned DTM return for 2006 were strong, but no one might have thought that the DTM will actually hold two races in the UK. Knockhill and Brands Hatch are strong candidates to host a DTM race, but it still hasn't been decided if both tracks will host races or only one. Spa-Francourchamps is also pretty much confirmed to return in 2006. Other strong candidates are Dijon-Prenois and Padborg Park, but some say that a lot will depend on how the situation in the UK will work out.

Provisional DTM schedule for 2006

1. Goldenport Circuit (China) - March 5th
2. Hockenheim I (Germany) - April 9th
3. EuroSpeedway Lausitz (Germany) - April 30th
4. Oschersleben (Germany ) - May 21st
5. Brands Hatch - July 2nd
6. Norisring - July 23rd
7. Dijon-Prenois - August 13th
8. Nürburgring - August 20th
9. Spa-Francourchamps - September 3rd
10. Knockhill - September 17th
11. Padborg Park - October 15th
12. Hockenheim II - October 29th.

I made a mistake: I only said that the international schedule musn't cost more than 300.000€. But I didn't say which tracks I'll take into the schedule. So I just took the tracks that got more than 40% of the teams votes. The international tracks will also cost only 212515 €. But if we go through the schedule, some teams may not have enough money to sign any drivers they like, Arden and Futurecom in particular. So what do we do? We have three choices:

1) Go with the schedule as it stands now, with all consequences.
2) Only take the tracks that got at least 50% of the teams' votes (So Dijon and Padborg Park would be removed).
3) Remove one of the British tracks, to save some money.

Share your thoughts.

[FMecha]

I'll sign Yamano and Hulkenberg

[Hermann95]

I have a short question:
Why didn't you do the driver signing for the other drivers i made an offer(McNish and Frentzen)?
With regrads to the tracks:
i would remove one of the british tracks(Knockhill)

[roblo97]

I would remove Dijon and Padborg

[Ferrarist]

I have a short question:
Why didn't you do the driver signing for the other drivers i made an offer(McNish and Frentzen)?
With regrads to the tracks:
i would remove one of the british tracks(Knockhill)

Oh shite, I forget those two guys. I'm sorry! I'll edit them into the driver signing post.

[roblo97]

Rosberg have sighned Sebastian Vettel and are wondering if they could please have whoever is unable to get the team Phoenix drive? (Wurz or Frentzen)

Thanks

[Ferrarist]

Rosberg have sighned Sebastian Vettel and are wondering if they could please have whoever is unable to get the team Phoenix drive? (Wurz or Frentzen)

Thanks

As you didn't ask for either Wurz or Frentzen originally, no.

[Rated]

Mücke Motorsport will sign Jamie Green and Bruno Spengler the for 2006 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season. We believe these two men are future DTM stars.

For the international venues issue, Mücke Motorsport think works team should financially help independant teams if needed.

[Peteroli34]

Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline would like to remind the Audi teams that Marcel Fassler is available to drive for one of the teams as we are paying his wages we would prefer that he races a 2005 spec car

In regards to the tracks Brands hatch should be dropped simply because I like the idea of DTM at Knockhill

[kevinbotz]

Persson feels that the provisional schedule is acceptable in its present state, and as such, should remain unaltered.

[Londoner]

Arden International are willing to run Marcel Fassler in their 2005-spec Audi, if he so wishes.

Arden also announce the signing of Gianni Morbidelli for their 2006 DTM campaign.

[roblo97]

Team Rosberg are also interested in the the services of Marcel Fassler.