St. Ingbert, March 1, 2021 – ROWE RACING is taking the next step and competing in the DTM for the first time ten years after its foundation. This means the team from St. Ingbert will be part of the action when Germany’s best-known racing series enters a new era in 2021, relying on GT3 cars for the first time in its long history. ROWE RACING and its partner ROWE MINERALÖLWERK GMBH will rely on the BMW M6 GT3 for the DTM entry. The driver line-up will be announced at a later date. The DTM race debut will take place on June 19 and 20 in Monza, Italy.

After the most successful year in the team’s history with victories in the two 24-hour classics at the Nürburgring and Spa, ROWE RACING is facing competition from the absolute top DTM teams of recent years. However, due to the change in the technical regulations from Class 1 to GT3 cars, the sporting cards are being reshuffled in the DTM. Cars from at least five manufacturers will be on the grid, and the top-class driver line-up will include former Formula 1 drivers as well as the expected DTM experts. ROWE RACING will be competing with the BMW M6 GT3, with which the team from St. Ingbert has been very successful for five years. In 2016, the team triumphed at the Spa 24 Hours, and last year for the first time at the “Eifel Marathon” at the Nürburgring.

In the DTM, ROWE RACING is facing new challenges. Instead of endurance races with driver changes, sprint races with one driver per car are on the agenda. Second and third places in the 2019 FIA GT World Cup in Macau show that the team from St. Ingbert can handle this as well.

Before the season starts in Monza, official tests are scheduled at the Hockenheimring (April 7/8) and the Lausitzring (May 4-6). The season opener in Italy will be followed by the traditional city race at the Norisring (July 3-4) and the races at the Lausitz (July 24-25). In August, the DTM calendar includes guest appearances at Zolder in Belgium (August 7/8) and at the Nürburgring (August 21/22), followed by two more foreign races in September at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria (September 4/5) and at Assen in the Netherlands (September 18/19). The traditional season finale at the Hockenheimring (October 2/3) will then close the circle in ROWE RACING’s first DTM season.

Each of the eight race weekends of the 2021 season will feature one race on Saturday and one on Sunday. All 16 DTM rounds will be broadcast live in Germany by SAT.1. There will also be live TV broadcasts in many countries around the world, plus an extensive streaming offering on the Internet.

Hans-Peter Naundorf, Team Principal ROWE RACING: “Joining the DTM is a great story for ROWE RACING. The DTM has a great tradition and has been the most popular and top-class touring car racing series in Europe for many years, which we as a team have also had on our radar for some time. The fact that ROWE RACING’s entry has now finally worked out due to the DTM’s switch to GT3 sports cars is also great for me personally, as my motorsport roots lie in the DTM. To now be able to be part of the creation of a DTM based on new technical regulations from the very beginning is fantastic. Entering the DTM with its sprint races, top-class teams and drivers as well as cars from at least five manufacturers is a big new challenge for our team, which we’re happy to take on and which motivates us a lot. The loyal and large fan base of the DTM and its status in many countries of the world is also very attractive for our partner ROWE MINERALÖLWERK GMBH. By the way, our entry into the DTM does not mean that we will turn our back on our beloved long distance racing. We are planning a comprehensive program on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife this season as well.”