The two BMW teams Schubert and Walkenhorst are using different strategies when preparing for the 2022 DTM season with the M4 GT3 tested the new DTM season.
Schubert-BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde believes in his own approach even after the disappointing season with the Rowe team last year, when there was hardly any testing: “Because we are a new DTM team, it is very important to “To put in a lot of kilometers at the start of the season. Last year I didn’t get to do as much testing, which weakened us overall over the course of the season. I think that’s a very good move, especially with the new car.”
Overall, Schubert has so far from February 22nd to 24th in Portimao, where the season opener takes place at the end of April, and on March 10th and 11th in Hockenheim with van der Linde and DTM returnee Philipp Eng and an M4 GT3 for the DTM, So with the Michelin tires, tested.
“Our plan is to test each track beforehand”
But that’s not all, because on Monday in Oschersleben, Jesse Krohn completed the rollout of the DTM cars, which have since been delivered from Munich and were wrapped by Schubert. They will be in action at the Lausitzring on March 31st and April 1st, where both drivers will again be testing for the DTM.
“We want to come to Hockenheim well organized for the first official DTM test at the beginning of April,” said team boss Torsten Schubert at “DTM.com” after the announcement of entry into the traditional series. That’s why we rely on an extensive test program. “Our plan is to test at the track in question before each race.”
A plan that cannot be fully implemented as things stand at present, because unlike the Audi and Mercedes-AMG teams, there was no free test date found in Imola, where the third weekend of the season takes place. This is due to the strict noise protection regulations of the course in Italy, which is directly adjacent to the city area.
“Confident that we will be up front as the season progresses”
While no team can test at the Norisring anyway because it is not a permanent racetrack, tests at the Nürburgring are also planned for the first half of the season. In addition, you also have the four days in Hockenheim and the two days in Portimao, i.e. the official tests, which gives Schubert a whopping 14 days of testing just before the start, if you include the shakedown.
Van der Linde has high hopes for this, as the M4 GT3 is a brand new car and all the tricks have to be figured out first. “Of course there are still some areas where we can unleash potential,” says the South African, even if he considers the base to be “very strong”. “I’m very confident that the car will be up front at some point during the season.”
Apart from the official tests, Walkenhorst is considering a test day at Spa-Francorchamps, which will only be driven in the second half of the season, and at the Nürburgring. That makes sense, since you’re already at the start in the Nürburgring endurance series.
Why Walkenhorst tests less
“We all know that reasonably planned and prepared test days can be very useful to find the desired performance. We try to bundle issues and then approach them in a thoughtful manner,” explains Walkenhorst team boss Niclas Königbauer to “Motorsport-Total.com”. Approach of his team, which relies on Marco Wittmann and Esteban Muth in 2022. “Unfortunately, due to the calendar and the number of vehicles, it’s not so easy to find many test options that fit.”
The fact that the team is capable of delivering excellent performances even with just a few days of testing was already proven last year: At that time, they only tested for half a day during the entire DTM season as part of an NLS weekend at the Nürburgring for the DTM – and fought for the title until the end.
In addition, you are not completely inexperienced with the new M4 GT3 in the official DTM tests, since you already had two cars in the four-race Asian Le Mans series in February, in which Michelin tires are even driven, albeit with the harder S9 compound. And next weekend, the NLS season opener will take place on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife – with Yokohama tires.