Arjun Maini and Timo Glock are the latest drivers – who will be driving a Mercedes and BMW – to join the 2021 DTM grid.
Sportscar driver, Maini, will make his DTM debut in 2021 after signing up with GetSpeed Performance, to drive the outfit’s sole Mercedes-AMG GT3 machine, in the championship. It is also the team’s first foray in the revamped series, which moves on from touring class.
Maini was scheduled to drive for Bentley in GT World European series in 2020 until COVID-19 ruined the plans. He then teamed-up with Narain Karthikeyan to race for Racing Team India in Asian Le Mans Series and will make his Le Mans 24 Hours debut later this year.
“I’m really looking forward to my first season in the DTM with GetSpeed and the Mercedes-AMG GT3,” said the former F2 racer, Maini. “I still know the DTM a lot from my time in the Formula 3 European Championship. It enjoys a good reputation worldwide and is the perfect opportunity for me to compete with fast GT3 drivers.
“At the moment, of course, it is difficult for me to assess where I stand compared to my colleagues. Regardless of that, however, my goal is to deliver good results in the DTM.” The team takes it as a challenge, considering it is a first time for both them and the driver.
“It is the first time for us in a performance-oriented series that we can concentrate exclusively on one driver in the vehicle,” said team principal Adam Osieka. “This is a very comfortable situation, because until now it was always necessary to reconcile the different preferences of the drivers in a vehicle in a long-distance race. There are no compromises in this regard in the DTM and I expect thrilling races and first-class motorsport.”
Apart from Maini, there was another announcement in the form of Juncadella, re-joining DTM with GruppeM Racing, to drive the Mercedes-AMG GT3 machine. Team boss Kenny Chen said: “We welcome Dani to Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing for 2021 and really look forward to the challenge together with Mercedes-AMG.
“We have been so successful in our relationship together with Mercedes-AMG as a performance team, winning many races in the last few years and we are looking forward to continuing that success.” Elsewhere, ROWE Racing confirmed the signing of Glock for his ninth DTM season alongside Sheldon van der Linde.
“I’m delighted to be able to stay in the DTM in 2021. First off, I would like to say kudos to Gerhard Berger and the ITR, who did a fantastic job to retain this platform and produce a great starting field. It is brilliant that I get to drive for ROWE RACING. Hans-Peter Naundorf’s team has a lot of experience and has already enjoyed a lot of success.
“They have won everything there is to win in endurance racing. I’m really looking forward to working with the team and with Sheldon van der Linde, who is a really fast, young guy. Even though I am the older one of us both, I can probably learn more from him because he has much more experience with the BMW M6 GT3.
“Let’s see what we can do this season; no doubt it will be an exciting year. I can’t wait for the first test drives and the first race at Monza.” In more of DTM news, Jenson Button’s Team Rocket decided to postpone its intended entry for the 2021 season to 2022, with the McLaren 720S machine, while Audi confirmed a third car for ABT with Sophia Floersch.
Here’s more details on DTM Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Deutsche_Tourenwagen_Masters
Here’s last news on DTM drivers
