No fewer than seven entries for Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos will grace the 2022 DTM grid for the defence of the controversially won manufacturers’ championship and the drivers’ title by Maximilian Götz.
Returning to DTM action are Mercedes-AMG Drivers Lucas Auer, Maximilian Buhk, Maximilian Götz and Arjun Maini.
New in this year’s DTM line-up are brand ambassadors Maro Engel, Mikaël Grenier and Luca Stolz.
Four customer teams will be running the cars: GruppeM Racing, Haupt Racing Team and WINWARD Racing are participating with two Mercedes-AMG GT3s each while Mücke Motorsport will be running one car. T
The DTM race calendar includes 16 sprint races at eight different tracks in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria and Portugal where the season opener will be held in Portimão at the weekend from 29 April until 1 May.
With twelve drivers’, 14 teams’ and eight manufacturers’ title wins, Mercedes-AMG is already the most successful brand in the DTM’s all-time statistics.
In 2018, the brand temporarily said its farewell to the series with a historic triple title win, but made a successful comeback with the manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles in 2021, the inaugural season of the new GT3 regulations.
Maximilian Götz moves from HRT to WINWARD Racing that managed to secure a strong third place in the DTM teams’ standings in 2021.
Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD
As a result, the reigning DTM champion will become the new teammate to Lucas Auer in the second Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3. With over one hundred races and seven victories, Auer ranks among the most experienced DTM drivers in the entire field. Last season, he ended up in fifth place of the drivers’ standings and scored race wins in Assen and at the Hockenheimring.
Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing doubles their effort for the 2022 DTM season with two cars other than the solo effort last year for Maro Engel and Mikaël Grenier.
For Engel, one of the world’s most successful GT drivers, it is his second comeback in DTM. The AMG brand ambassador already raced in the series for Mercedes-AMG from 2008 till 2011 and in the 2017 season. IGTC Pro-Am drivers’ Champion Grenier, meanwhile, will be making his debut in DTM.
Mercedes-AMG Team HRT field Luca Stolz and Arjun Maini. In 2021, Stolz secured himself third place in the drivers’ standings in the both ADAC GT Masters and GT World Challenge Europe whilst Maini, the first Indian driver in DTM, scored a podium in his maiden season.
No changes, meanwhile, for Mercedes-AMG Team Mücke Motorsport: as in 2021, the team’s GT3, a special version of the car with the electronic Space Drive steering system, will have Maximilian Buhk as its driver. The 29-year-old is one of the most experienced drivers in the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Programme. In 2013, at the age of 20, he won the Spa 24-hour race and remains the youngest winner of this race to date.
The first official testing opportunity for the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM teams and drivers has been scheduled to take place at Hockenheimring from 4-7 April. A second testing possibility will be available at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal on 26 and 27 April, the venue where the first two races of the season will be held from 29 April through to 1 May as well. In the course of the season, the teams will also be chasing points at the sprint configuration of the legendary Nürburgring, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with its long heritage as well as Imola, Red Bull Ring, DEKRA Lausitzring and Norisring. The season finale will be held at the Hockenheimring from 7-9 October 2022.
Christoph Sagemüller, head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: “With the manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles, we have celebrated a strong comeback in DTM last season. All in all, we were very happy with the achievements of all the teams and drivers. In the upcoming season, we want to be successful again with the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Programme in this series with its long tradition. For our customer sports segment and the Mercedes-AMG GT3, DTM again provides a large and well-known stage to expand our brand presence this year. The four teams with their total of seven Mercedes-AMG GT3 and their promising driver line-up will again be doing everything to represent the AMG brand in the best possible way.”
Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing: “Together with our customer teams, we had a particularly successful year in DTM in 2021. With the eighth manufacturers’ championship and the twelfth title win in the drivers’ standings, we have continued the success story of our brand. I am convinced that, together with our teams and the high-quality driver line-up, we can deliver success in the new season as well. Of course, our aim is to defend our title in the manufacturers’ standings. We are all looking forward to the new season and to the next chapter of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in DTM. I wish all the teams and drivers a good start.”
Thomas Jäger, sporting director DTM: “In its debut season, DTM has shown how high the sporting aspiration of this series is. The teams and drivers involved are at the absolute top level in GT racing. Accordingly, for us at Mercedes-AMG, it is an obligation to support our teams in the best possible way. Last year, we have proven in an impressive manner how performant and capable of winning our Mercedes-AMG GT3 is. But we don’t want to rest on these laurels, we remain fully committed to making our mark in this hard-fought series. Together with our customer teams, we are highly motivated going into the new season.”
Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing – Maro Engel (GER)
Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing – Mikaël Grenier (CAN)
Mercedes-AMG Team HRT – Luca Stolz (GER)
Mercedes-AMG Team HRT – Arjun Maini (IND)
Mercedes-AMG Team Mücke Motorsport – Maximilian Buhk (GER)
Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD – Lucas Auer (AUT)
Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD – Maximilian Götz (GER)
