– 17 of the 21 DTM drivers were on the grid for the 24h at Nürburgring from May 14 to 17. Only two days later, 15 of the DTM pilots went to the official test for the 24h of Spa in Belgium, before the DTM race in Zandvoort was on the schedule a few days later. That was a brutal week for the drivers, but also for some teams.
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For the prologue of the 24h of Spa, which took place last week on Tuesday and Wednesday, only six DTM drivers did not travel. This means that 14 drivers suffered under the triple load: These are Maro Engel, Lucas Auer, Jules Gounon, Arjun Maini, Ben Dörr, Kelvin van der Linde, Maximilian Paul, Mirko Bortolotti, Luca Engstler, Marco Mapelli, Thomas Preining, Ricardo Feller, Bastian Buus, and Nicki Thiim.
But also for a team like Grasser, the workload was extremely high, as the team runs all race entries with only one crew, while, for example, Winward uses different crews for the different championships.
Hard days and lots of planning
Maro Engel, who completed the triple, explains: “Surely such a week is one of the toughest you can imagine physically. But I think we managed it well. For me, the focus was of course on recovery in the days.”
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“The team also arranged the race schedule a bit so that we didn’t have to get up too early on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and could travel to Zandvoort reasonably rested.” The workload therefore played a role in the planning of the Winward racing team, even if the mechanics are swapped in the championships.
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“Of course, we celebrated the victory properly,” Engel is pleased. “Nürburgring wins are, as everyone knows, not easy to achieve, and in our case, it had been ten years. Therefore, we celebrated it together with everyone involved in the AMG lounge.”
GT3 platform makes it possible
“And yet, of course, it went straight on to Spa on Monday. So it didn’t get too late or too boisterous. It was definitely a tough week, physically for everyone. The two days in Spa had mixed weather. You couldn’t drive as much as planned, but it was still hard, of course. And then it went on to Zandvoort, where the focus was on the DTM.”
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Nicki Thiim was also at all three events with Walkenhorst and Comtoyou and had to fight through the Green Hell, the Ardennes of Belgium, and the dunes of Zandvoort. The 37-year-old felt the strain clearly: “I’m just getting older and need more sleep. That’s all I can say about the race. Always full throttle!”
Since many championships rely on the GT3 platform, teams have many opportunities to use these vehicles in different series. However, the top drivers are globally the same, which is why their services are also in high demand. Therefore, in 2026, there are such horror weeks for the entire crews, who have to adapt rapidly to new conditions, tracks, and details. For some drivers and teams, the GT World Challenge Europe race in Monza is already on the schedule from May 29 to 31.
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