First Super GT, DTM Joint Race Set for October 2019

The first joint exhibition race for Super GT and DTM is set to take place in October 2019, according to GTA Chairman Masaaki Bandoh.

The Super GT field is set to travel to Germany for a joint event with DTM, fitting into a seven-week gap in the Japanese series’ schedule, which was released recently.

Exhibition races combining the two series have been proposed for a while, and plans were confirmed when the new Class 1 regulations were finalized in June.

The new cars, which will feature a two-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine, will be introduced in DTM next year ahead of a 2020 roll-out in Super GT.

In addition to the joint race in October, which could take place at Hockenheim, DTM competitors are also set to join the Super GT field in Japan, possibly after the Super GT finale at Motegi in November.

The date for the initial joint event has been chosen due to a packed international motorsport schedule in Japan in October, including likely Formula 1, FIA World Endurance Championship and MotoGP rounds.

It has resulted in a lengthy gap between the penultimate round at Sportsland SUGO on Sept. 21-22 and the finale at Twin Ring Motegi on Nov. 9-10.

Bandoh explained earlier this year that he was working with the Super Formula and Super Taikyu organizers to avoid clashes between Japan’s three largest national series.