The 2018 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the thirty-second season of premier German touring car championship and also nineteenth season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000. 2018 would be the final season for the traditional 4.0-litre V8 naturally-aspirated engine package that debuted in the inaugural reborn season; as the brand new engine package has been introduced for the following season as part of the "Class 1 Project" prospect with Japanese Super GT GT500 cars. 2018 also marked the final season for Mercedes-Benz in DTM due to Mercedes-Benz departing to FIA Formula E from the 2019–20 season and thus ended its 19-year participation.
Gary Paffett won his second title at the final round of the season with a third-place finish, beating previous champion René Rast by four points despite a late charge to six consecutive wins by Rast, a new series record. Paffett became the second non-German driver to have won more than one DTM driver title, and thus repeating Swedish driver Mattias Ekström's feat in 2004 and 2007 seasons.
Mercedes-Benz won the manufacturer's championship for the first time since 2010.
Rule changes for 2018 Sporting The additional wildcard entry is introduced for the first time ever, but ineligible for championship points even if they finish in top 10. Technical Aerodynamic downforce aids, such as side winglets and side fences, has been enforced to all cars, in order to improve competition. As a result, the minimum weight of all cars has been reduced from to . The quantity of engine components a driver may use during the season has been increased from seven complete engines during the entire season, to a new system where each of the engine components are combined. Therefore, in 2018, each driver is permitted to use up to eight set engines.
Calendar
The provisional ten event calendar was announced on 24 November 2017, and later finalized on 18 December 2017. Round Circuit Race 1 Race 2 1 Hockenheimring, Germany 5 May 6 May 2 Lausitzring, Germany 19 May 20 May 3 Hungaroring, Hungary 2 June 3 June 4 Norisring, Germany 23 June 24 June 5 Circuit Zandvoort, Netherlands 14 July 15 July 6 Brands Hatch, Great Britain 11 August 12 August 7 Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Italy 25 August 26 August 8 Nürburgring, Germany 8 September 9 September 9 Red Bull Ring, Austria 22 September 23 September 10 Hockenheimring, Germany 13 October 14 October
Calendar changes The races in Great Britain and Italy are scheduled to return to the DTM schedule for the first time since 2013 and 2010 respectively. On 6 December 2017 it was confirmed that the British round would be held at Brands Hatch, on the circuit's GP layout as opposed to the Indy layout of previous DTM races. Moscow Raceway was dropped from the 2018 schedule. For the first time, Misano will host the round in Italy, as a night-time event. The Lausitzring round will revert to full road course layout after last used in 2004.
Teams and drivers The following manufacturers, teams and drivers competed in the 2018 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Hankook. +Key Full-season entry Additional/wildcard entry * Eligible for all championship points * Ineligible to score Drivers' championship points
CarTeamDriversRounds Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas 2 Gary PaffettAll 94 Pascal WehrleinAll Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus 3 Paul di RestaAll 17 Sébastien Ogier9 23 Daniel JuncadellaAll Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport 22 Lucas AuerAll 48 Edoardo MortaraAll Audi Audi RS5 DTM Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline 4 Robin FrijnsAll 5 Mattias Ekström1 51 Nico MüllerAll Audi Sport Team Phoenix 28 Loïc DuvalAll 99 Mike RockenfellerAll Audi Sport Team Rosberg 33 René RastAll 53 Jamie GreenAll BMW BMW M4 DTM BMW Team RBM 7 Bruno SpenglerAll 47 Joel ErikssonAll BMW Team RMG 11 Marco WittmannAll 15 Augusto FarfusAll BMW Team RMR 12 Alex Zanardi7 16 Timo GlockAll 25 Philipp EngAll
Driver changes Mattias Ekström left the series after eighteen years, but remains with Audi via its FIA World Rallycross Championship programme. 2017 Blancpain GT Series driver Robin Frijns will make his DTM début with Audi Sport. In addition, the two-time champion made a one-off appearance in the 2018 season opener in Hockenheim with an additional Audi RS 5 to mark his retirement from the series. Philipp Eng and Joel Eriksson – both members of BMW's junior team – joined BMW Team RBM, to partner Canadian Bruno Spengler. After five years with BMW Motorsport, Maxime Martin left the marque, and its DTM programme after four years to join Aston Martin Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the 2018–19 season. Tom Blomqvist will also leave the series after three years, but remains with BMW Motorsport via its Formula E and GT programmes. After spending two years in Formula One with Manor and Sauber, Pascal Wehrlein returned to the DTM with Mercedes-AMG's HWA Team. After a one-year sabbatical, Daniel Juncadella also returned to the DTM with HWA. Robert Wickens left the series after six years to join Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the IndyCar Series for the 2018 season. Maro Engel left the series after one season to focus solely on Formula E. Former Williams Formula One driver, two-time CART champion and four-time Paralympic gold medallist Alex Zanardi made his DTM début with BMW Motorsport at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli as a guest driver. Five-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier made his DTM début with HWA Team as a guest driver at the Red Bull Ring.
Results Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Winning manufacturer Report 1 R1 Hockenheimring Gary Paffett Gary Paffett Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas Mercedes-Benz Report R2 Timo Glock Gary Paffett Timo Glock BMW Team RMR BMW 2 R1 Lausitzring Lucas Auer Daniel Juncadella Mercedes-Benz Report R2 Philipp Eng Marco Wittmann Gary Paffett Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas Mercedes-Benz 3 R1 Hungaroring Lucas Auer Paul di Resta Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus Mercedes-Benz Report R2 Lucas Auer Daniel Juncadella BMW Team RMG BMW 4 R1 Norisring Edoardo Mortara Daniel Juncadella Mercedes-Benz Report R2 Daniel Juncadella Jamie Green BMW Team RMG BMW 5 R1 Circuit Zandvoort Gary Paffett Gary Paffett Gary Paffett Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas Mercedes-Benz Report R2 Gary Paffett Mike Rockenfeller René Rast Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi6R1 Brands Hatch Daniel Juncadella Marco Wittmann Daniel Juncadella Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus Mercedes-Benz ReportR2 Gary Paffett Paul di Resta Paul di Resta Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus Mercedes-Benz 7R1 Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli Paul di Resta Augusto Farfus Paul di Resta Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus Mercedes-Benz ReportR2 Loïc Duval Edoardo Mortara Joel Eriksson BMW Team RBM BMW8R1 Nürburgring René Rast René Rast René Rast Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi ReportR2 René Rast Gary Paffett René Rast Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi9 R1 Red Bull Ring Daniel Juncadella Lucas Auer René Rast Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi Report R2 Gary Paffett Gary Paffett René Rast Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi10 R1 Hockenheimring Lucas Auer Timo Glock René Rast Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi Report R2 Marco Wittmann Robin Frijns René Rast Audi Sport Team Rosberg Audi
Championship standings Scoring system Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers as follows: Race Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 Additionally, the top three placed drivers in qualifying also received points: Qualifying Position 1st 2nd 3rd Points 3 2 1
Drivers' championship Driver HOC LAU HUN NOR ZAN BRH MIS NÜR RBR HOC Points 1 Gary Paffett1139136152 1321121621Ret14325210 314233255 2 René Rast972RetDNS4 1016 141713433Ret33111111112251 3 Paul di Resta796 4 11534 62331612116182 443814233 4 Marco Wittmann1121172161 33 1717959 13537 13 Ret21164 5 Timo Glock331125142101061013117 15 416Ret27 3310144 6 Edoardo Mortara4Ret111 5DSQ 11213881732221311161010 13140 7 Lucas Auer215411423DSQ17 5339328RetRet 11 18†6RetRet1DSQ121 8 Pascal Wehrlein5683213122 13 94267 436127 9 13 6 11 DSQ108 9 Philipp Eng1614327118352 11144257816 16 838 9 128102 10 Nico Müller1313Ret 17 321418 7Ret715 105 1010 143227496 11 142118114 15 16 1516106109 6 13238 61187 12 Bruno Spengler685315 12DSQ6 412131714Ret 11234 Ret149685 13 Robin Frijns1812 13 10 78 12 85Ret121224 171011 DSQ2584 14 Joel Eriksson124312 9 176 9 129111413121 12615 5 15972 15 Daniel Juncadella81814 12 1011 8 311612 11914†1731517†14111 141561 16 Augusto Farfus15101016 157 14 17852Ret11Ret97 9 Ret Ret756 17 Loïc Duval105Ret 13 89 17 181115Ret164 71812Ret 1551254 18 Jamie Green1917Ret6 913 11 1510141115Ret81415512131627 Guest drivers ineligible for points Alex Zanardi 135 Sébastien Ogier 1216 Mattias Ekström 17 16 Driver HOC LAU HUN NOR ZAN BRH MIS NÜR RBR HOC PointsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap 1 – 3 Points for Pole 2 – 2 Points for P2 3 – 1 Point for P3
† — Driver retired, but was classified as he completed 75% of the winner's race distance.
Teams' championship Team Car HOC LAU HUN NOR ZAN BRH MIS NÜR RBR HOC Points1 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Petronas2113913 6152 13211 21 621Ret14325210314233363945683213122 13 9426 7436127913611 DSQ2Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Remus3796 4 11534 623316121161824438142942381814 12 1011 8 31161211914†1731517†1411114153Audi Sport Team Rosberg33972Ret DNS4 1016 141713433Ret33111111112278531917Ret6 913 11 1510141115Ret8141551213164Silberpfeil Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport22215411423DSQ17 5339328RetRet1118†6Ret Ret1 DSQ261484Ret111 5DSQ 11 213881732221311161010135BMW Team RMR1633112514210106101311715416Ret273310246251614327118352 111442578161683891286BMW Team RMG111121172161 33 17179591353713Ret212201515101016 157 14 17852Ret11Ret979Ret Ret77Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline41812 13 10 78 12 85Ret121224171011DSQ25180511313Ret 17 321418 7Ret715105101014322748BMW Team RBM7685315 12DSQ6 412131714Ret11234Ret149615747124312 9 176 9 1291114131211261551599Audi Sport Team Phoenix28105Ret 13 89 17 181115Ret16471812Ret1551214199142118114 15 16 1516106109613238611 Team Car HOC LAU HUN NOR ZAN BRH MIS NÜR RBR HOC Points
Manufacturers' championship
ManufacturerHOCLAUHUNNORZANBRHMISNÜRRBRHOCPoints1Mercedes-Benz7825545566 166859765063675331832244023169032BMW2646533907239382025301612264346141818426233Audi3360134119010113214244250412969496749599 Manufacturer HOC LAU HUN NOR ZAN BRH MIS NÜR RBRHOC Points
Notes
References
Bibliography
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