Bernhard Open to Multi-Car Effort Next Season

Timo Bernhard says he would be open to expanding KÜS Team Bernhard’s presence in DTM, doubling the car count from one to two for its sophomore campaign in the series.

Bernhard’s squad is in the midst of its maiden year in DTM, having previously taken Porsche’s first race victory in the series when Thomas Preining came out on top in a chaotic race at the Norisring.

The German squad currently runs a Porsche 911 GT3 R, making it only one of three single-car teams this season alongside Attempto Racing and Muecke Motorsport.

Bernhard expressed interest in doubling up to a two-car effort for next year, but emphasized such an expansion needs to be on the right terms.

“Let’s see, at the end of the day it is my job to try to get the best package and to see if it is possible to bring a second car on the grid,” Bernhard told Sportscar365.

“I won’t do it at any price, I won’t do it at any circumstances. It needs to have the right fit.

“With the experience I have from previous years, it needs to be the same level, budget and driver, otherwise it’s more of a stretch.”

Bernhard noted he is wary about maintaining his team’s quality, which is why it opted for a one-car effort in its maiden DTM season. It has run two cars previously, most notably in the ADAC GT Masters.

“Definitely, if you have a good budget and two very good drivers and you can really focus on having two cars on the same level, then it is really beneficial to have two cars,” he said.

“There’s so many scenarios. If you have one very good car and the other one is not on the same level, then it can also distract the team.

“For us, for the first year, I believe it was [better] to focus on one car and try to get everything right there and learn there.

“Then the next step for next year would be to have two cars on that level in DTM, because I think that is the best way a race team functions, having two cars on the grid.”

While the ambition is there to add a second car next year, Bernhard stressed that he had no problems continuing to operate a single-car squad if the expansion did not suit the team properly.

“We have three pillars in our team: the professional program in DTM, the junior program with young drivers like in DTM Trophy and we have customer support, where we run 911 GT3 Rs in series like the Porsche Sports Cup,” Bernhard explained.

“For us, the DTM program is our showcase to show what we are capable of.

“It’s where everybody can put in the effort to make results which are seen not just by customers, but also by sponsors to show what we can do.

“So this one car we have currently is what the team stands for and what the team can do.

“This is something definitely would like to continue next year, if possible a second car, but if the second car does not have this quality or does not naturally fit in, then we stick to a one-car effort.”

Spa Return “Next On the Table” in the Future

In addition to the planned DTM continuation, Bernhard also expressed interest in returning to the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa, which his team last entered in 2019.

KÜS Team Bernhard withdrew its entry for the 2020 event amidst logistical difficulties and has not been back to the event since.

The ambition to return to the Belgian blue riband event remains, but Bernhard stressed he will only commit to it if the team’s other programs won’t suffer as a result.

“I try to focus more on the things that we do and try to do this right,” he noted.

“I think if you are growing, I am convinced you have to do it in the right way. I’m not the guy to say we do four things and then do them averagely.

“DTM is such a high level and a higher level in terms of preparation like we had in GT Masters last year, where we had rollouts and tests beforehand. I even did two tests just to help.

“The level you are up against, with teams from the Class 1 era with their budgets and experience, we are up against these guys.

“So it takes away a lot of our time and I think if the DTM program runs the way I would like it to, then I think Spa will be next on the table of what I would like to do.

“But I will not do two or three championships. Spa is a very tough race, but it is something that you could do as a one-off with good preparations. That could be a one-off in the future.”