It has not been so full on a starting grid for a DTM race for a long time.

23 sports cars will line up on the start and finish straight of the Nürburgring on Saturday (1.30 p.m.) to start the seventh round of this season.

More vehicles last took part in a DTM race in 1996.

With Gerhard Berger, the DTM boss, this picture will at least cause a certain satisfaction. A year ago, Audi and BMW announced their withdrawal from the touring car series. The racing series faced an uncertain future. But the former Formula 1 driver developed a new concept. Sports cars that comply with the worldwide GT3 regulations should form the basis for a prosperous future.

The skepticism was great. Even with Berger. 20 cars and five manufacturers were his idea, the Austrian said before the start of the season, "after that I almost had to duck my head because I had to fear that someone would throw something at my head". The 1.86 meter long Grand Prix winner can now present himself with his head held high. Not only because there are more cars at the start than hoped for, but also because the variety of brands is greater.

“What I particularly like is that the premium touring car brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes are racing against the sports car brands Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren,” says Berger. Music to his ears. At least for this weekend, the orchestration was expanded to include a sonorous name: for the first time, a Porsche is also circling. “I've always thought that Porsche fits well into the DTM,” says Berger. The Munich Porsche customer team SSR Performance dares to give it a try: “We want to test the new format. I think we have a good package. We are well prepared for the next step in the DTM, ”says Wolfgang Hatz. The former Porsche board member is the head of sport at the racing team founded in 2016: "At the Nürburgring we are testing: Is the DTM a future field for our motorsport activities?"

At the wheel of the 911 will be Michael Ammermüller, who together with Christian Engelhart won the ADAC GT Masters last season and is again leading the ranking this year with his new partner Mathieu Jaminet.

Back at the wheel at the age of 52

On the 3.692-kilometer sprint route of the Grand Prix course in the Eifel, the touring car scene experiences the appearance of old friends in the course of its transformation. Hubert Haupt, now a real estate entrepreneur, drove in the DTM in past eras. 1991 and 1992 for Audi and 2001 for one of the new starts in an Opel. This year he has been a team owner with his HRT team right from the start and uses Mercedes cars. At the Nürburgring you can see him at the wheel again at the age of 52: "30 years after my first appearance in the cockpit of a DTM race is great," says Haupt. Whether the guest start will help the DTM attempt to gain a profile as a professional series is another question. After all, it is not a cold start for Haupt. He is regularly behind the wheel in other GT3 classes.

The episode with Markus Winkelhock tells us that the latest DTM variant still lacks continuity. The 41-year-old Swabian is representing Abbot Sophia Flörsch in his 50th DTM appearance for Audi Team. Because the 20-year-old from Munich starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “I no longer had the DTM on my radar, but when I was asked, I immediately said yes,” says Winkelhock. The unexpected often comes. Like in 2007. At the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, he was used by Formula 1 Team Spyker because the team had split up with regular driver Christijan Albers at short notice. Winkelhock was the only one to correctly interpret the approaching clouds, had rain tires fitted after the warm-up lap and led the Grand Prix for six laps until the interruption. A defect forced him to give up after the restart.

Winkelhock continued to drive in the DTM, impressing with successful starts in the 24-hour business. There is also something symbolic about his appearance in the DTM. The series is fighting for attention by all means, has not yet gotten the curve. “But the good thing,” says Berger, “is that the product works. It's not a sure-fire success, but if the product is good, the rest of the things will work out too. "