Solely 20 automobiles are entered for the complete 2024 DTM season, marking the fewest entries seen within the championship because it switched to GT3 rules in 2021.
Excessive working prices, diminished producer help and financial situations at giant have been cited as key causes behind the decline in participation from final yr, when 28 drivers took half.
Nonetheless, 17 drivers from 2023 are persevering with within the DTM this yr, amongst them massive names together with like Marco Wittmann, Rene Rast, Lucas Auer, Maro Engel and defending champion Thomas Preining.
Additionally returning to the class is Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicki Thiim, who joins the SSR Performance Lamborghini crew this yr after an ill-fated debut with T3 Motorsport in 2022.
Van der Linde, one of many 4 earlier title-winners on the grid, feels there isn’t a cause to be involved in regards to the grid being downsized as no prime drivers have misplaced their seats.
“I feel we’ve misplaced 10 automobiles however I don’t suppose we’ve misplaced any high quality,” the 2022 champion instructed Autosport in Imola finally weekend’s World Endurance Championship spherical.
“All the large names are there, and that’s clearly vital for a championship like DTM to maintain having guys like Rene and Marco, ex-champions, which retains the title of DTM on a better stage.
“In case you’re competing towards the most effective drivers, that routinely places the championship on a excessive stage.”
Sheldon van der Linde
Photograph by: BMW Motorsport
The DTM has witnessed quite a few dramatic crashes in its GT3 period, with the 2022 occasions on the Norisring and Hockenheim each dominated by major accidents. Such was the extent of harm from the carnage on the latter occasion that six drivers had been compelled to overlook the ultimate race of the yr.
Final yr, because the ADAC took over the championship beforehand run by ITR, two separate pile-ups introduced out the pink flag within the second race on the Sachsenring, with quite a few automobiles left with an excessive amount of harm to take the restart.
Van der Linde, who was himself concerned in one of many two incidents, feels a smaller grid will routinely cut back the probabilities of first-lap wrecks.
“I don’t see it as much less automobiles, I truly see it as optimistic within the sense that there’s much less carnage on the beginning as a result of final yr generally it was fairly ridiculous with all of the accidents that occurred,” he defined.
“Simply because there’s too many automobiles, persons are attempting to make positions on the beginning as a result of they know that’s the one time that you would be able to actually achieve something out of the race.
“As a result of ultimately, it’s troublesome to go a GT3 automobile. In that sense it’s going to be extra right down to qualifying now, much less visitors, which suggests the laps are extra honest, you don’t get blocked or something the place a man that must be on the entrance begins on the again for instance.
“I feel it’s simply extra honest and also you’ll see a real one on the finish.”