German circuit championship

The German Circuit Championship was a racing series for touring cars and GT vehicles that was held from 1960 to 1971. It was advertised for the first time by the ONS in 1960 in order to offer a new motorsport platform to touring car sport, which has been enjoying increasing popularity since the late 1950s. It was replaced in 1972 by the German Racing Championship (DRM), which was characterized by both the simplification of the racing categories and the professionalization of the racing activities.

For amateur drivers, the ONS founded the German Circuit Cup in 1972 as a cost-effective alternative to the DRM, which was held until 1981.

history

backgrounds

In automobile sport, in the years before and after the Second World War, formula racing cars and sports cars developed as independent categories, which were mainly driven on permanent and temporary racetracks . In contrast, standard road vehicles initially found only in rallies using that make up the rallies , with the Monte Carlo Rally , the oldest and most developed tester event. Since the 1950s, however, road vehicles have also increasingly been used in circuit racing. In addition to major events such as Grands Prix and sports car races in which next races were held with largely standard touring cars, were established production vehicles also at grassroots level, who like to temporarily racetracks street circuits , mountain race tracks or airfields was performed.

The first touring car championship in Germany was created in 1960 when an automobile circuit championship was announced. It was aimed at private drivers and teams who were to participate with standard cars that were only temporarily prepared for racing. Traveling to and from the racing events on your own was part of the concept of the series. By establishing several cubic capacity classes, which were also assessed separately, an equal opportunity should be created between different types of car. In addition, this would attract large fields of starters and create attractive racing days for spectators with several consecutive races.

When it was founded, the racing series was called the German Circuit Championship for Touring Cars (DRMfT) until 1966 . From 1967 until it was replaced by the DRM in 1971, it was held as the German Automobile Circuit Championship (DARM). From 1972 to 1981 the German Circuit Cup (DRP) founded by the ONS formed the new entry-level and amateur racing series for touring car motorsport as a cost-effective alternative to professional DRM.

Racetracks

The races of the circuit championship were held on various German racetracks. Renowned circuits such as the Nürburgring and the Hockenheimring as well as temporary courses such as the Norisring , the Solitude racetrack , the Berlin AVUS and airfield courses such as the Hippodrome , Diepholz , Mainz-Finthen or Neubiberg near Munich were used. Some of the races were held as part of major events such as the ADAC 1000 km race or the German Formula 1 Grand Prix . The use of temporary race tracks was in keeping with the mass sport character of the championship.

vehicles

In the course of the 1960s, a large number of different vehicles were used that gave a reflection of everyday traffic on German roads. The German manufacturers NSU , DKW , Glas and BMW as well as Alfa Romeo , Jaguar , Fiat and Volvo , who enjoyed great popularity with ambitious private drivers, were particularly well represented.

However, as early as 1961, the involvement of individual manufacturers in the works pushed the amateur sport claim increasingly into the background. In that season BMW entered the German Circuit Championship with the BMW 700 Coupé, which not only dominated its class in the following years, but also won the championship title in the first year thanks to Walter Schneider . In 1964, BMW set a further accent with the factory use of the BMW 1800 TI and again won the overall standings through Hubert Hahne . In the mid-1960s, however, BMW concentrated on the European Touring Car Championship and again left the circuit championship to the private drivers - many of whom competed in BMWs. From 1969, Ford followed the example of BMW, initially with the new Ford Escort TwinCam , later followed by the Ford Capri . With his works drivers Dieter Glemser and Jochen Mass , Ford won the championships in 1969 and 1971 and, with his professional commitment, set the course for the replacement of the circuit championship with the German racing championship (DRM).

driver

The circuit championship was designed for mass sport, which is why mainly private drivers took part who practiced motorsport more or less as a hobby. Numerous racing drivers such as Egon Evertz , Josef Schnitzer, Helmut Kelleners , Wolf-Dieter Mantzel, Jochen Mass , Manfred Spiess, Hannelore Werner and Erich Bitter made a name for themselves in the circuit championship. But well-known pilots such as Hubert Hahne , Walter Schneider , Albert Pfuhl, Eberhard Mahle and Jochen Neerpasch also competed in the series.

As a racing series for popular sport, the circuit championship also offered space for numerous men’s drivers , some of whom competed under pseudonyms in the individual races. The two car dealers Peter Lindner and Peter Nöcker , who were able to win a championship in 1961 and 1963 with the Jaguar Mk. II 3.8 , which they also successfully sold privately , became famous . With the growing professionalism of the series through the commitment of large factories and the use of professional racing drivers, the men's drivers were increasingly marginalized in the DARM from the mid-1960s. This shows the rapid change in touring car sport, which developed from amateur racing in the 1950s to professional sport from the late 1960s.

Regulations

Class divisions

Due to the large number of different car and engine concepts in the post-war period, a class system was introduced for the German automobile circuit championship, which enabled different vehicles to fight for championship points. At the start of the racing series in 1960, the engine categories up to 600 cm³, up to 700 cm³, up to 850 cm³, up to 1000 cm³, up to 1300 cm³, up to 1600 cm³, up to 2000 cm³, up to 2500 cm³ and over 2500 cm³. This classification of categories was basically retained until the end of the series in 1971, with slight adjustments.

While the smaller engine categories had mostly high numbers of participants, the larger categories mostly had fewer cars. The dominance of individual drivers in their categories, and thus success in the championship standings, also depended on the competitive situation in the respective classes. This could easily lead to distortions, as less talented pilots in less competitive categories came more easily to championship points than more talented pilots in highly competitive categories. The large number of starter classes, which, at the end of the championship in the early 1970s, no longer corresponded to everyday conditions with the narrow staggering of engine sizes in the lower regions, also aroused criticism. On the basis of this criticism, the German Racing Championship (DRM) was finally brought into being in 1972 , in which only two categories - under and over 2000 cm³ - were permitted.

Group divisions

At the beginning of the circuit championship, the technical framework conditions were not yet strictly regulated, only series vehicles were required, which could only be technically changed to a limited extent. However, the emergence of series vehicles designed for sports operations such as the BMW 1800 TI or the Alfa Romeo GTA towards the mid-1960s showed the limits of this lax regulation.

That is why the FIA introduced a new set of rules in 1966 that differentiated between normal and modified vehicles. For the German Automobile Circuit Championship, the provisions of Group 2 were decisive, which ultimately resulted in the regulations of the DRM founded in 1972.

Scoring

The points in the DRMfT and DARM were awarded in each of the individual cubic capacity classes, so that the winners of the different classes each received the same number of points. As a result, pilots from different starter classes could collect the same number of points, which is why several drivers achieved the championship title ex aequo in several years .

The points were awarded according to the following scheme:

Point system
placement	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10
Points	12	10	8th	7th	6th	5	4th	3	2	1

master

German Circuit Championship for Touring Cars (DRMfT)
year	driver	team	vehicle	group
1960	Egon Evertz	Egon Evertz	Auto Union 1000	<1000 cm³
1961	Walter Schneider	BMW	BMW 700	<700 cm³
	Peter Lindner	Peter Lindner car dealership	Jaguar Mk. II 3.8	> 2500 cm³
1962	Josef Maassen	Josef Maassen	Volvo PV544	<1600 cm³
1963	Hans Braun	Hans Braun	Alfa Romeo Giulia	<1600 cm³
	Peter Nöcker	Car dealership Peter Nöcker	Jaguar Mk. II 3.8	> 2500 cm³
1964	Hubert Hahne	BMW	BMW 1800 TI	<2000 cm³
1965	Gerhard Bodmer	Glass	Glass 1204 TS	<1300 cm³
	Manfred Schiek	Manfred Schiek	Mercedes 300 SE	> 2500 cm³
1966	Herbert Schultze	Herbert Schultze	Alfa Romeo GTA	<1600 cm³
	Josef Schnitzer	Blunder	BMW 1800 TI	<2000 cm³
German automobile circuit championship (DARM)
year	driver	team	vehicle	group
1967	Herbert Schultze	Herbert Schultze	Alfa Romeo GTA	<1600 cm³
1968	Herbert Schultze	Herbert Schultze	Alfa Romeo GTA	<1600 cm³
1969	Dieter Glemser	ford	Ford Escort TwinCam	<1600 cm³
1970	Dieter Hegels	Alpina	BMW 1602	<1600 cm³
1971	Jochen Mass	ford	Ford Capri	> 2000 cc

literature

• auto motor und sport born 1960–1971

Web links

• Race results from 1965 to 1971
• The Glas company in the German Circuit Championship

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Touringracing.net - Internet site: Historical overview of the DARM. From: touringcarracing.net , accessed April 5, 2013 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Touringracing.net - website: DARM overall result 1964. On: touringcarracing.net , accessed on April 5, 2013 . 
3. ↑ Touringracing.net - Internet site: DARM overall result 1965. On: touringcarracing.net , accessed on April 5, 2013 . 
4. ↑ Touringracing.net - Internet site: DARM overall result 1966. On: touringcarracing.net , accessed on April 5, 2013 . 
5. ↑ Touringracing.net - Internet site: DARM overall result 1971. On: touringcarracing.net , accessed on April 5, 2013 .