DTM Hockenheim April Testing

DTM alters Lausitzring schedule to avoid Ice Hockey clash

The DTM has altered the schedule for the second round of the 2024 season at the Lausitzring to avoid a direct clash with the Ice Hockey World Championship.

Rachit Thukral Sven Haidinger

Published: Apr 11, 2024, 2:22 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Start action

The opening race at the north-east German venue on 25 May falls on the same day as the two semi-finals for the Ice Hockey World Championship, which are also being broadcast by DTM’s German broadcast partner ProSieben.

As such, a decision has been made to deviate from the DTM’s standard 1:30pm kick-off time, with the start of the race pushed back until 5pm.

This means that the first Lausitzring race can now be shown in full in the DTM’s home market in Germany, bookended by the two semi-final ice hockey matches taking place just across the border in the Czech Republic.

"We were looking for a solution because there is a clash with the Ice Hockey World Championship at the Lausitzring on Saturday," explained Alexander Wolffing, Head of Service at ProSieben’s online service Ran.

"That would have easily clashed with the DTM race if we had kept the classic times. That's why we will start the DTM race on Saturday at 5pm, directly after the [first] ice hockey semi-final. 

"Of course, we hope that the German team will be in the semi-final, just like last year, and that we can boost the DTM with the corresponding coverage.

“We will broadcast qualifying live on ProSieben in the usual slot [of the DTM race] at 13:30."

The second race of the weekend will take place as scheduled on Sunday, 26 May, at 1:30pm, following qualifying earlier in the morning.

However, this could pose a major challenge to the teams, with the window between the first race on Saturday evening and qualifying on Sunday morning shortened by several hours. 

This means in the event of a mechanical problem or a crash in the opening race, mechanics may have to pull in an all-nighter in order to get their cars ready for the second leg of the weekend.

It’s why the teams are lobbying the ADAC, the promoter of the championship, to make further changes to the schedule.

 “We announced this [the Lausitzring schedule] at the team manager meeting and everyone can live with it,” ADAC Motorsport boss Thomas Voss said.

“However, they asked that qualifying on Sunday be pushed back a bit.

"We're currently looking into that, but I can imagine that qualifying won't be until around ten o'clock so that the teams have a little longer to work on the cars if they come out of parc ferme relatively late on Saturday."

Read Also:

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Rast fastest as BMW dominates Hockenheim DTM test

Next article "Complete s***show" - Does the DTM test still make sense in its current form?

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Rachit Thukral



Eduardo Barrichello: The second-generation racer forging his own path

WEC

WEC

Losail

8 h

Eduardo Barrichello: The second-generation racer forging his own path



Alex Marquez: MotoGP hurting future of young riders with punishing format

MotoGP

MotoGP

Australian GP

14 h

Alex Marquez: MotoGP hurting future of young riders with punishing format



Is MotoGP’s title fight over after the Australian GP swing?

MotoGP

Australian GP

Is MotoGP’s title fight over after the Australian GP swing?

Latest news



Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship

ARCA

ARCA ARCA 2 h

Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship



IndyCar veteran Sting Ray Robb secures United Autosports Asian Le Mans seat

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 5 h

IndyCar veteran Sting Ray Robb secures United Autosports Asian Le Mans seat



Five things to look out for at the F1 Mexico GP

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Mexican GP

7 h

Five things to look out for at the F1 Mexico GP



Every time NASCAR took a win away due yellow line violations

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Talladega II

8 h

Every time NASCAR took a win away due yellow line violations

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe