Shock News: Mercedes to Quit DTM Post 2018

[Matthew Allington]

Anyway, here's the new 2018 Indycar (in oval spec) nice fruity turbo engine, lots of ground force aero and looks sexy too. I feel a bit better now

At the risk of diverging off-topic, I absolutely adore that - It looks futuristic with a nod to the past and very attractive to my eyes

I read that they designed it with looks in mind, then performance. Maybe F1 could take a leaf out of their book?

 

[Filip Carlén]

Not a fan of Formula E. It's not that it is electric that bugs me, but the focus on "entertainment" rather than racing. The fan boost thing, only racing on street circuits, etc. But the problem is, not matter how many of these things you do/add, the racing is still not in focus, and it is really boring racing to watch.

Maybe MB will be able to help the series getting bigger and focusing on the right things. But for me, personally, MB leaving one of the best racing series when it comes to good, fun to watch racing for the most boring series right now, is just... mind-boggling.

 

[apex11]

Formula E.....seriously hahahahaahhaahaaahhaaaahhhhaaaaa
The worst "Motor Sport" ever invented!!

Can i ask how old you are? If you are over 70 then fine you'll be dead soon. But if you are under 30 then get used to it.
Whether you like it or not its all going this way I'm afraid.
I ask myself about this situation, is racing just about an engine with fuel and noise? Or is racing just pitting man and machine against one another?
This is the future and car manufactures won't pay vast ammounts to race with defunct engines, they will start racing with the engines in peoples cars....electric....

 

[Andrew Harper]

Can i ask how old you are? If you are over 70 then fine you'll be dead soon. But if you are under 30 then get used to it.
Whether you like it or not its all going this way I'm afraid.
I ask myself about this situation, is racing just about an engine with fuel and noise? Or is racing just pitting man and machine against one another?
This is the future and car manufactures won't pay vast ammounts to race with defunct engines, they will start racing with the engines in peoples cars....electric....

I think it also depends on where you are talking about market wise.

If you look at Europe, yes the whole "green energy" campaign in both road and race car forms is gradually taking hold because the marketing side of most of the major European manufacturers demands they follow green energy. It presents the right image for the company.

However if you look at American racing (IMSA, Indycar, NASCAR, etc) they have absolutely zero interest in producing race series/cars around all-electric or hybrid. I know some manufacturers have dabbled in it from a publicity point of view but that's it.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years and especially with the new F1 engine regs to see what they decide on.

 

[Kasti]

Can`t wait for the first battery slot car in endurance racing...

 

[Andy_J]

Whether you like it or not its all going this way I'm afraid.

No it won't all go that way. There will come a time when Classic Racing of cars and motorcycles will be more popular than the modern Electric alternative if it isn't already. I am just one of those people who will actually not follow or watch Electric racing in any category, F1 or GT or Rally or Motorcycle. I will continue to watch Classic events that will still continue and that will be enough for me. The same applies to my Motorcycle riding on the road and track.There will always be a calling for the combustion engine, it's sounds and it's smells. And the day that is no longer allowed I will pack it all in. I do feel for the next generations but like I said, unless Oil runs out, there will be some conventional racing.

 

[Matthew Allington]

There will always be a calling for the combustion engine, it's sounds and it's smells.

Certainly in the UK, I can imagine that there's a similar reasoning as to why there are still steam trains all over the country

 

[Kasti]

They can build race cars and road cars with good old combustion engines adapted to run on hydrogen. Only small adjustments and we can go on - and they are easy to refill. BMW shows this for year with their H2 cars(iclusive an V12). Even those expansive and unreliable fuel cells aren`t needed.

Wait till the hype is over: "Sorry but e cars suck on sales and now we are going to hydrogen cars.. they are totally green and usable like your good old gas guzzler- buy it and keep refuelling it on your local gas station which our friends of shell, BP, Chevron etc have just adapted to sell hydrogen."

 

[apex11]

No it won't all go that way. There will come a time when Classic Racing of cars and motorcycles will be more popular than the modern Electric alternative if it isn't already. I am just one of those people who will actually not follow or watch Electric racing in any category, F1 or GT or Rally or Motorcycle. I will continue to watch Classic events that will still continue and that will be enough for me. The same applies to my Motorcycle riding on the road and track.There will always be a calling for the combustion engine, it's sounds and it's smells. And the day that is no longer allowed I will pack it all in. I do feel for the next generations but like I said, unless Oil runs out, there will be some conventional racing.

I agree on that so long as they aren't banned, but people moan about current F1 engine noise etc but there are historic F1 championships, but are they on TV are they watched by millions?
Historic racing is alive and well but the big money and big draw is in current gen technology as its used by car manufactures to develop and willy wave etc... Hence Formula E...
Eventually they will be able to go onto real race tracks and then we will see a shift towards that form of motorsport.
In the short term Nico Rosburg to do a few rounds in FE in the Merc?

 

[Andy_J]

Certainly in the UK, I can imagine that there's a similar reasoning as to why there are still steam trains all over the country

That's right Matthew. Don't give in to these politically correct, Health & Safety, tree hugging green Earth numpties that try and ruin everything for us petrol heads. They first make it safer than a safe thing from the planet Safe. And then they try and make it slower than a slow thing. Then they make it nice and quiet so that you can sip your Port and Lemon whilst the electric milk floats disguised as Formula E slip quietly past in such a manner you can still hear the birds chirping away.
Oh no sir, give me Jeremy Clarkson for President, ban electric vehicles except for buses and bring back public flogging and the stocks for petty criminals.

 

[Andy_J]

Historic racing is alive and well but the big money and big draw is in current gen technology as its used by car manufactures to develop and willy wave etc... Hence Formula E...

I disagree once again Mr Gasoline. It is not a big draw at all. It might be where the big players are putting their R&D and money but for Motorsport fans, it will never be as big a draw as proper Gasoline racing. And it will be on TV once the droves are attracted to it because the Electric stuff is so boring. God help us when we get the first E-F1 sim racing game. I certainly will not be a purchaser of any of that.

 

[apex11]

But racing is racing is it not? That is why we can sit at home on a computer racing pixels around a track is it not?

 

[Matthew Allington]

@gasoline12 - I enjoy sim-racing as it's a comparitively cheap way to get me into wheel-to-wheel action and to use as a canvas for a bit of graphic design

On the other hand, it simply doesn't match driving an actual racer around a real life circuit - at home, you simply don't get the smells, bruises, quality of feel & sound
Even if it's just arrive-and-drive karting, if you haven't done real life racing before then absolutely give it a try! And now I've ventured off-topic again, sorry...

 

[Andy_J]

But racing is racing is it not? That is why we can sit at home on a computer racing pixels around a track is it not?

No.
I choose what sim racing I want to do. If I have a choice of Electric F1 sim and GT racing in a sim or another old one that still uses traditional gas guzzlers, I think I know which one I'll be playing on.
I don't have to enjoy one form of racing over another but I do. It is still a choice.

 

[Omer Said]

I really can't get the hate on Formula-E. It is really enjoyable to watch those skilled drivers fight so closely in the tight circuits.

Better for Mercedes' R&D that they compete there instead of DTM.

 

[Matthew Allington]

Some of the circuits are abominations

 

[Glaurung]

Why the hell not challenge Porsche and Toyota in the WEC LMP1 hybrid prototype?
Too much hard lessons to learn?

 

[Matthew Allington]

Why the hell not challenge Porsche and Toyota in the WEC LMP1 hybrid prototype?
Too much hard lessons to learn?

We don't even know if Porsche will even be in LMP1 next year. LMP1 desperately needs a new start, as at this rate we may be seeing just Toyota & Ginetta in LMP1 next year...

 

[larre90]

I don't think LMP1 will survive the next 2-3 years. Too less manufacturers who are willing to create the Hybrid-engines. That can be a chance. LMP2 is actually the most interesting part of the WEC-classes. The cars look good, they sound good, they're fast.

I personally would cut down the LMP1 and some kind of reintroduce the GT1-class with modern Hypercars. We have more then enough Hypercar-manufacturer over the world to achieve that. Koenigsegg, Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Pagani, etc. etc. etc., they all have "street"-cars (Okay, more for showroom, then actually for the road... XD ) to do so. That would definetelly will have a feeling of the "golden" era of 96 - 98. (Still hyped for pCARS II for that. )

But back on topic:
I can totally understand it. The ITR recently has done some stupid things to the sport. But for Formula E? I'm sceptic about that decision. I'm not a hater of the FE, but the move from Mercedes is a little bit too obvious based on marketing and company-image, than to the interest in motorsport, in sight of the ongoing scandal.

I personally would have liked to see Mercedes build a GTE and compete in enduranceracing again. I wish, mercedes would have gone this way.

 

[DrRob]

DTM needs an overhaul anyway. So maybe a good thing to think about the future earlier than later. Is Formula 1 is the way to go for Merc? Hmm, don't watch that circus for years anymore. And DTM? They call it touring car sport, but in reality its prototype racing with silhouette cars. Much of that out there at the moment with LMP1-2-3, DPI, Super GT, etc.
DTM was best, when the cars were still made of steel and were real touring cars roundabout the ~2000s. Those were epic battles. Less perfect, clinical sport that it is now which translated in a more appealing viewer experience at least for me. So bring back honest motor racing based on real saloons FTW...and keep the big engines ;-) . On a side note: At the moment the best touring car series is BTCC which I can only watch from time to time as it is not officially broadcasted in Germany. But the races are so much fun to watch!

On a more general note: Over the last years I found all types of factory motorsport programmes get boring due to team orders and such. Most of the time the series were just driven by manufacturers needs, which is not entirely wrong, but the driver, free competition and the fun of driving were not the central points anymore. Maybe that was the same in the past but not as obvious to me. Not sure on GTE about that, but here the manufacturers list is at least growing, not declining. So more competition is always good.

Good thing that customer racing is booming at the moment. I can get exactly that type of motor racing that I'd like to see with GT3. Sadly there are also tendencies which I do not find very pleasing like sandbagging in VLN. But that is another topic altogether.

So let's see if DTM is going to survive and how. Same for LMP1 by the way.

I'm currently watching Formula E and can see the potential. I really like the tight, narrow course action where you don't have run-off areas and can have close battles. Of course the lack of noise and speed is a bit slot-car like, but who knows where this might lead to in the future? I'm curious.