– Where are the DTM teams using their only private test day of the season on a DTM track? This week there are answers to this question, as private test drives are scheduled at the Nürburgring and in Oschersleben, where the next two DTM weekends will take place – and joker test days will be used.
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While on Tuesday the Mercedes-AMG team Winward with Maro Engel and Jules Gounon as well as the two Porsche teams Manthey (Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller) and Land (Bastian Buus) will test at the Nürburgring, Wednesday – if all goes according to plan – will feature the comeback of Kelvin van der Linde.
The German-South African, who suffered bruises in his serious accident at the Norisring and prepared at the Red Bull Performance Center in Thalgau, is expected to be back in his BMW M3 GT3 Evo eleven days later in Oschersleben. This was confirmed by a BMW spokeswoman on request from Motorsport-Total.com: “Kelvin is planned for the test.”
Schubert team under pressure before home game
The Schubert team, which had a difficult weekend at the Norisring, is also on site with both cars: Marco Wittmann will drive the second M4 GT3 Evo. The Dörr crew is also using Oschersleben for the joker test day and will be present with Ben Dörr and Timo Glock.
Oschersleben is considered a difficult track for both teams: while the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo does not like the tight corners and high curbs of the angular course in the Magdeburg Börde, the angular course is also extremely challenging terrain for the long BMW.
For the Schubert team, which is based just a few hundred meters from the race track, it is a home game – and they usually even set up their own tent with catering for guests in the paddock.
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Only three teams still have test jokers
The pressure is high: due to the double failure on Saturday and Wittmann’s meager points haul with tenth place on Sunday, the only BMW team in the championship has lost ground: Wittmann is fifth with a 40-point deficit, van der Linde, who has had more technical bad luck this season, was missing 63 points in twelfth place.
Since five more teams are using their only private test day of the season this week, only three racing teams still have joker test days available: these are the Aston Martin team Comtoyou of DTM leader Nicki Thiim, the Lamborghini team Grasser, and the Ford crew HRT.
The team based at the Nürburgring of surprise rookie Finn Wiebelhaus and Arjun Maini wants to hold its test day at the Eifel circuit at the beginning of August, where the DTM will be guest from August 14 to 16, according to information from Motorsport-Total.com (SPONSORED LINK: Secure tickets now for the 2026 DTM season!).
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Besides Oschersleben and the Nürburgring, the traditional series will also race in the second half of the season at the Sachsenring and in Hockenheim, where official test drives take place beforehand, organized by the ADAC. Therefore, a private test on one of these tracks is likely to seem less meaningful.
