– DTM driver Arjun Maini, who recently achieved his first podium in the Ford Mustang GT3 at the Norisring, and HRT colleague David Schumacher are making an unusual guest appearance this weekend: The two Ford factory drivers will compete from July 17 to 19 at the German Kart Championship (DKM) in Ampfing in the OK-N category.
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“It has been a long time since I last drove a kart,” says Maini. “Accordingly, the anticipation is great. But of course, my ambition is also awakened and I want to achieve a good result,” clarifies the 28-year-old Indian, who has established himself in the DTM since joining in 2021 and has been driving the Ford Mustang GT3 for the HRT team since 2025.
Schumacher also knows karting from his own experience: The 24-year-old, now known as a ProSieben expert, was runner-up in the German Kart Championship in 2017 and drove in the DTM himself in 2022 and 2023 with Winward-Mercedes.
Schumacher: “For Arjun and me, fun comes first”
Since 2024, the son of Ralf Schumacher has been racing for the HRT team and is currently focusing on races at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. “We are starting to support karting and to bring it more attention,” explains Schumacher, who has not raced a kart since 2017, making his comeback.
“For Arjun and me, fun is the main priority. We want to have great races and enjoy the weekend,” he says. Behind the karting detour of the two HRT drivers is the new partnership between the DTM team HRT and the Arena-E Sachsenring Junior Team, which competes in the ADAC Kart Masters.
New partnership between HRT and kart team
HRT brings its experience from international GT racing and the DTM, while the kart team provides its karting infrastructure in Mülsen, Saxony. This way, they want to enable talents to make the jump into motorsport.
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There is a special connection to the ADAC’s youth platform “Road to DTM”: The support program has been fully integrated into the OK-N category of the German Kart Championship since this season. Maini and Schumacher are therefore competing exactly in the class where ADAC’s youth support in karting is focused.
Schumacher and Maini know the path from karting to professional motorsport and want to share their experiences with the young drivers during the DKM weekend in Ampfing. They are to provide insights into the daily life of a professional racing driver.
HRT sensation came up through “Road to DTM”
The “Road to DTM” has formed a continuous career path from karting to the DTM since 2026. The champion of the OK-N category receives coverage of the entry fee for the BMW M2 Cup or the ADAC GT4 Germany in the following season.
From there, the support path leads through the ADAC GT Masters to the DTM.
How this path can work is demonstrated by Maini’s DTM teammate Finn Wiebelhaus, who achieved the first HRT podium with the Ford Mustang GT3 Evo at the Lausitzring and stood on the podium again at the Norisring.
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The driver from Obertshausen made the step up via the ADAC Kart Masters and the German Kart Championship before moving to the ADAC GT Masters through the ADAC Formula 4 junior team. There, the ADAC Stiftung Sport-supported driver won the title and the “Road to DTM” ranking in 2025 and debuted in the DTM in 2026.
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