Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as ''German Racing Championship'') or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current

DTM DTM may refer to: Sport * Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, a motor-racing series staged annually in Germany since 2000 * Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, a motor-racing championship staged in Germany from 1984 to 1995 Computing * Deterministic T ...

as Germany's top national series.

History

The DRM began in 1972 as a

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

and

Group 4 Group 4 may refer to: *Group 4 element, chemical element classification * Group 4 (racing), classification for cars in auto racing and rallying *G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, a prominent British security company *IB Group 4 subjects, subject gro ...

GT racing series for cars like (

BMW 2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

) and ( BMW Coupé), in addition to the (German circuit racing saloon car championship). In these years, the same or similar cars were also entered in the

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World T ...

. Races were run separately as ''big'' Division 1 (for 2 to 4 liter) and ''small'' Division 2 (under 2 liter) in a sprint format. In 1977,

Group 5 Group 5 may refer to: *Group 5 element, chemical element classification *Group 5 (racing) Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations defi ...

cars were admitted into the series, making the series better supported with Gr.5 cars than the

World Championship of Makes The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and North ...

they were intended for. These fast and spectacular turbocharged cars with wide fenders and wings had many fans. Especially the

Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 was a race car developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the Porsche 930, 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-Group 5 ( ...

outpowered F1 cars. During common testing sessions at

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ho ...

, 935 passed them on the long ''Mistral straight''. Kl81-01

In 1979, the Rennsport Trophäe (Racing Trophy) was introduced for the cheaper original series protagonists, the Group 2 and 4 cars. It consisted of combined races with the DRM until 1981. In 1982, following the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

rule changes, new

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

sportscars (along with existing

Group 6 Group 6 may refer to: *Group 6 element, chemical element classification *Group 6 (racing), FIA classification for sports car racing *Group 6 Rugby League The Macarthur Division Rugby League is a senior Rugby league competition in New South Wale ...

) replaced the Group 5 machinery at the renamed International Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. Meanwhile, the Rennsport Trophäe held separate races and events in 1982 and 1983, except for the 1982 ADAC Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. In 1984, with just three races held, organisers used three WEC (

World Endurance Championship World Endurance Championship may refer to: * FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series held since 2012 * World Sportscar Championship, an auto racing series which used the title World Endurance Championship from 1981 to 1985 * Endura ...

) races as additional IDRM point races. Also, the Rennsport Trophäe was replaced by the DPM (

Deutsche Produktionswagen Meisterschaft Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to: *''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places *''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym *Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic ve ...

), run with

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...

cars. 1985 was the final year of the now called ''DSM'' (german: Deutsche Sportwagen Meisterschaft, , German Sportscar Championship), with just one race was held at

Norisring The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the 19 ...

, the rest of them held in conjunction with the popular

Interserie Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series. Created in 1970 by German Gerhard Härl ...

. This meant CanAm entered from the latter series, as it had always been, had to be counted for points The series would be replaced by the

-only Supercup in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. At that time, the less expensive

(german: Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, , German Touringcar Championship) had taken over as Germany's most important racing series. Since 2005 the

AvD The German Motor Sport Federation (german: Deutscher Motor Sport Bund or ''DMSB'', formerly known as or ''ONS'') is Germany's motor racing governing body. It represents Germany at FIA and FIM. The , founded in 1972 by Herbert Linge as , is cons ...

the AvD organizes a "Revival Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft" race at his great "Oldtimer Grand Prix".

Champions

References

External links

* http://www.research-racing.de/tw-d04.htm early DRM cars * http://www.research-racing.de/tw-d05.htm Gr.5 DRM cars * https://web.archive.org/web/20061022040646/http://schwede.de/motorsport_fotos/galerie/Revival_Deutsche_Rennsportmeisterschaft_OGP_2006 Pictures from the "Revival Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft" at the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2006 {{Authority control Touring car racing series Sports car racing series Auto racing series in West Germany 1972 establishments in West Germany 1985 disestablishments in Germany Defunct auto racing series Defunct sports competitions in Germany