As Motorsport.com reports, the 2027 DTM calendar is facing a massive crisis that could push two-time champion Marco Wittmann out of the series entirely. Wittmann, who just fought for the title until the very final race of the season, is staring down a brutal scheduling dilemma that puts his long-running DTM career in jeopardy.
For a driver who holds the record as the longest-serving competitor in the field with 228 consecutive starts, missing the grid would be a disaster. The 36-year-old German didn't mince words about the prospect of sitting out, calling it flatly crap. The root of the trouble lies in overlapping dates with the American IMSA series and the World Endurance Championship, where Hypercar commitments take clear priority for factory BMW drivers like Wittmann.
The friction points are hard to ignore. The DTM season finale at Hockenheim crashes directly into the Petit Le Mans endurance classic from 8 to 10 October in 2027. On top of that, an IMSA calendar shift means the Zandvoort DTM weekend now collides with the Road America endurance race from 5 to 8 August. Wittmann warns that the DTM risks shooting itself in the foot if it forces top-tier names to choose between championships.
BMW Motorsport director Andreas Roos confirms that the manufacturer is actively talking with both the ADAC and IMSA to hunt for a solution, while Wittmann makes a direct appeal to DTM promoter ADAC to reconsider the dates. But the fallout extends far beyond BMW's garage. The conflicts threaten the Manthey team's Porsche lineup, which includes Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller, as both teams and drivers juggle dual programs.
Mercedes AMG driver Jules Gounon is facing an identical headache on the WEC side. A clash between the WEC round at Silverstone and the DTM season opener at Spielberg, alongside a second overlap between the WEC at Fuji and the DTM at the Sachsenring, could easily derail Gounon's DTM campaign depending on his ongoing situation with the Alpine team.
ADAC motorsport chief Thomas Voss acknowledges that the governing body will examine the situation and notes that dates can theoretically be changed. Even so, finding a clear path forward looks nearly impossible. Moving the Zandvoort round is blocked by Formula 1 double-headers and Porsche series commitments, while shifting the WEC-adjacent dates hits a wall of conflicts with GT World Challenge Europe fixtures. For now, the championship's biggest names are left waiting to see if a compromise can be found.
