The 2023 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season will kick off at the end of May with the inaugural race at the Oschersleben in Germany. Three BMW M4 GT3s will be competing in the colors of BMW M Motorsport partners Shell, RoboMarkets, and Schubert. Reigning champion Sheldon van der Linde will drive the #1 race car in the iconic Shell colors while three-time DTM champion René Rast will keep the #33 on a blue RoboMarkets design.
As for two-time champion Marco Wittmann and his new Project 1 team, he’ll have the #11 car in the green Schaeffler design, nicknamed the “Green Machine.” The design of the fourth M4 GT3 that will be competing this season in the 2023 DTM will be revealed by Project 1 in due course when we will also learn who will get behind the wheel.
The M4 GT3 sits above the M2 CS Racing and M4 GT4 but below the M Hybrid V8 in BMW M Motorsport’s lineup. It replaced the M6 GT3 and is heavily related to the road-going M4 Competition Coupe. When the race car was introduced back in 2021, it was touted as bringing major improvements in three key areas: driveability, cost efficiency, and operation.
It’s worth mentioning that since late 2022, ADAC has fully taken over brand rights to the DTM from the previous owner ITR. In 2023, almost 30 cars are expected to race. Because of the high number of cars, an updated scoring system is planned to replace the outgoing F1-style system awarding points for the first 10 drivers. It remains to be seen whether ADAC will implement the same scoring system it uses in the GT Masters series where the first 15 drivers to cross the finish line are rewarded with points.
2023 DTM calendar
- 26-28 May Oschersleben
- 23-25 June Zandvoort
- 7-9 July Norisring
- 4-6 August Nurburgring
- 18-20 August Lausitzring
- 8-10 September Sachsenring
- 22-24 September Red Bull Ring
- 20-22 October Hockenheimring
Source: BMW
