DTM sedans are back

As tradition dictates, it is the German circuit of Hockenheim which hosts the premiere of the championship DTMStrolling along the Mercedes C-Klasse and the Audi A4 are back to liven up a season that promises to be more open than ever.

As the evolution of cars was frozen in the middle of last year, the performance gap between the different generations should be smaller than in the past.

Double title holder, Timo Scheider puts his crown back on the line. The German finds at Audi the Swede Mattias Ekström, crowned in 2004 and 2007, Martin Tomczyk, Oliver Jarvis, Mike Rockenfeller, Markus Winkelhock, Katherine Legge, the newcomer Miguel Molina and finally the Frenchman Alexandre Premat, who decided to concentrate this year on the German touring championship.

To try to counter the Audi armada and recover a title that has eluded it since Bernd Schneider's coronation in 2006, Mercedes will field a squadron of experienced drivers. The surprise of this season is the arrival of the Scot David Coulthard. He will come across Ralf on his way Schumacher who is starting his third year in DTM. Maro Engel, ConFu Cheng and Susie Stoddart will also be there. But Mercedes' best chances certainly lie with Jamie Green, Bruno Spengler, Paul di Resta, 3rd Force India driver and Gary Paffett, champion in 2005.

This season, the calendar includes ten rounds. Six in Germany, one in Spain, one in Great Britain, one in the Netherlands, and finally, the final in China, in the streets of Shanghai.