DTM in France

[JerH77]

I found out that not only is the Moscow race not going to happen this year but the Avignon race might not either. Except for Pau, France has a law against street races.

[John Winter]

That's correct. See also:

http://dtm.touringcarnews.net/news.php?id=40
http://www.kennylovrin.se/tctv2/main...iewnews&id=341
http://www.autosport.nl/actueel/news...28&bericht=486 (in Dutch)

[mcurtis26]

Could this mean a British round then? i'd heard Silverstone touted as a Moscow replacement.

[JerH77]

I haven't really heard about Silverstone replacing Moscow so i don't know if Avignon would be replaced by a British round.

[toot toot]

is it just me or do the DTM organisers seem a little unprofessional, first announcing a new race in Moscow then cancelling it and the uncertainty over Avignon days before the first race.

[flor]

i think the fault was made in france this time, the city thought they would get the permission to hold a street race like pau, but .... well they didnt

[toot toot]

I hope they replace it with another street race and not another track.

[flor]

would love to see them race in Helsinki, but seems to be wtcc territory now

[Sodemo]

Come back to the UK!!

[ss_collins]

street race, uk, riight. DTM hyde park?

[Mike_Wooshy]

Could use Birmingham, the council wanted to bring touring cars their,
Or Manchester they wanted Champ Cars, but DTM would be good.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by JerH77

Except for Pau, France has a law against street races.

Really? Then what would the Le Mans 24hrs fall under? Around half of the circuit is public road, at least 4 miles. Strange.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by toot toot

is it just me or do the DTM organisers seem a little unprofessional, first announcing a new race in Moscow then cancelling it and the uncertainty over Avignon days before the first race.

Maybe they wanted a few good news stories after Opel announced they would be leaving.

With the 'MG' program seemingly at an end and these cancellations it does seem that the DTM dream is crumbling!

[flor]

well ticket sales are even better than last year so i dont think the spectators care

[SALEEN S7R]

Indeed Flor, is a bit of a shame though that the manufacturers are beginning to jump ship. Still, no doubt they will be back in the future, lets just hope its sooner rather than later.

[Eddy V]

Originally Posted by mcurtis26

Could this mean a British round then? i'd heard Silverstone touted as a Moscow replacement.

No, the replacement for Moscow is Brno.

[kmchow]

Originally Posted by toot toot

is it just me or do the DTM organisers seem a little unprofessional, first announcing a new race in Moscow then cancelling it and the uncertainty over Avignon days before the first race.

I'm under the impression the DTM and other racing organizers are too easily swayed by well meaning (??) city/race organizers who are offering the DTM organizers free use of a city/racetrack/promotion. Haven't in most cases the race organizers offerred to pick up most if not all the race costs as long as the DTM/race series just show up? Doesn't that sound like a good deal to DTM organizers. OTOH, the old saying goes, If it looks too good to be true, it probably isn't??

[Rob29]

Hope this is just french beaurocracy that will be sorted out. The french law seems to date from Le Mans 1955.At that time I think Montlhery was the only permanent circuit in france.Apart from Pau, street races still take place in Angouleme (for historic cars)and Le Mans is still mostly public road,not to mention hill climbs & rally stages.

[John Winter]

I think the french law doesn't forbid races on public roads, but it forbids races in the streets of city, where it's a bit more crowded and less space.