Five of the nine race meetings of the 2016 season have been contested and DTM’s umbrella organisation ITR has come to a positive half-time conclusion. The attendance and viewing figures allow for a positive assessment and the same applies to the sport provided by the three German premium manufacturers involved, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. “We witnessed varied races, with the level of performance being outstanding,” said ITR Chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht.
10 races, nine winners – Jamie Green, Miguel Molina, Edoardo Mortara (all Audi), Lucas Auer, Paul Di Resta, Robert Wickens (all Mercedes-AMG), Timo Glock and Marco Wittmann (both BMW) succeeded in making it to the top step of the podium, this year, with Mortara being the only one who did so twice.
At the same time, DTM could register increasing attendance figures at the circuits. The interest increased at nearly every race venue – apart from Spielberg – with the growth regarding the visitors on site amounting to six percent compared to 2015. The race meeting at the Lausitz was attended by 67,500 spectators.
But DTM is not only a great experience on site at the circuits but also on TV – last but not least thanks to the live coverage of DTM’s exclusive German TV partner ARD. And in this area, DTM also could register growth. During the first five events, the viewing figures remained on a permanently high level, with the market share even slightly increasing, compared to 2015. With this development, DTM successfully fought against the general trend in motor racing.
But the biggest DTM growth was recorded in the social media. Altogether, the number of followers and fans increased by impressive 28 percent to nearly 655,000 (Facebook: +25%, Twitter: +35%, Instagram: +110%, YouTube: +18%). With this success, DTM consequently keeps on moving in the direction taken some time ago and the age structure of the users demonstrates that DTM succeeds in continuing to thrill the young generation, via these channels.
DTM continues its journey from 19th to 21st August with the stop at the Moscow Raceway. Afterwards, the season is continued at the Nürburgring (9th to 11th September) and at the Hungaroring (23rd to 25th September) before it traditionally will be concluded with the season finale at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg (14th to 16th October).
