Thiim: Aston DTM Return Would Be “Dream Come True”

Nicki Thiim believes it would be a ‘dream come true’ for Aston Martin to make a return to DTM, saying he is “pushing” the marque’s managing director of motorsport John Gaw to try and set up a comeback.

The British manufacturer last raced in DTM in 2019 during an ill-fated single season under Class One regulations with R-Motorsport.

The team and its four drivers ended the year at the bottom of the championship standings, with a pair of sixth places for Daniel Juncadella and Jake Dennis the team’s best race result.

The program came to an end after that year, with Aston Martin going unrepresented in the series since.

Thiim, the son of 1986 DTM champion Kurt Thiim, made his series debut at the Portimao season opener in a T3 Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.

While the Dane, who is contracted to Aston Martin as a factory driver, says his DTM drive is the fulfilling of a major personal ambition, he spoke out in favor of doing a DTM program with the Gaydon marque in years to come.

“Aston Martin is my family, has been for many years,” Thiim told Sportscar365. “I want to keep going down that road.

“We have achieved so much together, world championships, big race wins, so why not go for DTM as well?

“I still hope and push on John Gaw to do it together with Aston, that would be obviously the biggest thing. 

“To do it with the family, go there and crush the others. Let’s see.”

While Thiim is enthusiastic about the idea, he admits that it is far from concrete and that the circumstances to realize it are difficult.

“I think Gerhard Berger would be happy to get another manufacturer in, I would be happy, Aston Martin would be happy but obviously the world is falling apart right now.

“So just to make it happen this would be a dream come true.

“Maybe this year [some] guest races and then a big push over the winter to maybe do a full season next year.”

Thiim has never made a secret of the fact that he has long held the ambition to compete in DTM and follow in his father’s footsteps.

He made his long-awaited series debut at the Portimao season opener and although he finished outside the points in race one and retired from race two, he took plenty of positives from the weekend.

“With big capital letters, it was a great experience,” he said. “It’s very emotional to be there.

“I never expected the dream to come true sitting in a Lamborghini, in a GT3 car.

“It’s obviously not what I grew up with, but it just ticked off that box.

“One day when I’m retired, when I look back on this however it goes in the future, from now on I will always be happy to set up and at least do a race there and make history.

“Basically the second generation driver to compete in it, so I hope my father is proud and I’m proud so that’s the most important thing.”