Super GT cars to demonstrate at Hockenheim DTM season finale
Super GT manufacturers Lexus and Nissan will demonstrate their cars on track during the DTM season finale at Hockenheim next month
The Lexus LC 500 and Nissan's GT-R will take to the track on each day of the race weekend, with a 30-minute Friday session and 15-minute runs "at race speed" on Saturday and Sunday of the October 13-15 meeting pencilled in.
DTM cars will then complete similar demonstration runs at the Super GT season finale at Motegi in November.
"This is a great honour for us. I am delighted that Super GT cars will be making an appearance at a DTM event for the first time," said DTM chairman Gerhard Berger.
"This is not only a special treat for our fans, but also a strong sign for the future of the DTM, and of how seriously the cooperation with the Japanese GTA organisation and the series' three manufacturers [Lexus, Nissan and Honda] is being taken."
GTA president Masaaki Bandoh described the track test programme as "a proof of the close relationship between Super GT and the DTM".
The demonstration is part of a continued push between DTM and Super GT officials to introduce a joint set of regulations - Class One - for 2019.
The two series have cooperated for a number of years and originally planned to enter into a shared technical agreement from 2017.
The regulations are set to include a move away from the DTM's current V8 engine formula to four-cylinder, two-litre turbo engines.
The DTM is also aiming to reduce "the number of mounted aerodynamic parts" on its cars and introduce stricter safety standards for "crash elements at the front, rear and side of the car".
Berger said work was still "in full swing" on shaping the new set of regulations for the two series.
In the wake of Mercedes' decision to withdraw from the DTM at the end of the 2018 season, Audi and BMW have announced the development of engines to Class One regulations.
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