German Car Zone

Ralf Schumacher has now signed a contract to race with Mercedes-Benz in the German touring car series (DTM) in 2008, according to a German newspaper. Bild reports that 32-year-old Schumacher, who lost his Toyota seat at the end of last season, has travelled to Stuttgart to formalise the $1 million, one-year (with an option for 2009) deal.

Elsewhere, it has emerged that 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve’s new NASCAR foray has come to a halt, seemingly because he was unable to secure a major sponsor for his number-27 Bill Davis entry.

The French Canadian will, however, return to Le Mans later this year, amid news that current F1 testers Christian Klien (BMW Sauber), Alex Wurz (Honda) and Marc Gene (Ferrari) will also contest the famous 24 hour race with Peugeot.


Source: Motor Authority >> Ralf switches to DTM, Villeneuve out of NASCAR

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Villeneuve doesn't help himself when he crashes out of making the race by crashing when nobody touches him.

Mercedes announced yesterday that after 11 years of competing for the Formula 1 World Championship, Ralf Schumacher will race in this year's DTM season driving the Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class. His debut will take at the DTM season opener in Hockenheim on April 13th.

Schumacher has already spent a good deal of time behind the wheel of his AMG C-Class, completing roughly 490 laps over a four and a half test days in Estoril, Portugal. It was his first outing in an AMG Mercedes since July 20th, 1997, during he which he was a guest driver in a race of the FIA GT Championship in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium inside a AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR.

As for Schumacher's thought's on the upcoming DTM year: "It was great fun testing the DTM C-Class and I look very much forward to the new season, more than I did for a long time. Money and popularity like in Formula 1 don’t play the first role for me." He added: "I like the series, I like the environment, I like the enthusiastic and positive spectators. And I like Mercedes – with them I got my first chance to test a Formula 1 car in 1996 and who knows how my Formula 1 career had turned out if I had accepted the McLaren Mercedes offer to become their test driver for 1997."

To learn more about Ralf Schumacher's decision to race in the 2008 DTM season, keep reading for the official press release.

Enjoy.









OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


DTM: Ralf Schumacher startet mit der AMG Mercedes C-Klasse

After 11 years in the Formula 1 World Championship, Ralf Schumacher (32) will race this year with the Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class in the DTM, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport announced today. Ralf Schumacher’s DTM debut will take place at the season opener in Hockenheim on 13th April 2008.

Ralf Schumacher tested the AMG Mercedes C-Class during four and a half test days in Estoril, Portugal for about 490 laps; which was more than 2,000 kilometres or approximately 12 DTM race distances. It was his first outing with an AMG Mercedes since 20th July 1997 when he was a guest driver in a race of the FIA GT Championship in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium with an AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR. This was also Schumacher’s last opportunity to drive a race car with a roof.

At the age of three, Ralf Schumacher drove a kart for the first time. At the age of 16, he won his first title clinching the German Kart Junior Championship in 1991. One year later, he participated in his first ever car race – in the ADAC Formula Junior at Nuremberg’s Norisring. In 1995, he entered Formula 3 becoming runner-up in the German Championship and winning the Formula 3 Grand Prix in Macau. The following year, he won the Japanese Formula Nippon and was invited to his first Formula 1 test in Silverstone by McLaren Mercedes. In 1997, he made his Formula 1 debut with Jordan Peugeot.

From 1997 until 2007, Ralf participated in 180 Grands Prix, won six out of them and also started six times from pole position. He scored a total of 329 World Championship points. In 2001 and 2002, he finished the Drivers’ Championship with Williams BMW in fourth place respectively. At the Brazilian Grand Prix on 21st October 2007, he finished his Formula 1 career with Toyota. Behind his brother Michael, Ralf is the most successful German Formula 1 driver in the history of the championship since 1950.
Ralf Schumacher:

"Of course I know that neither the media nor the spectators consider me the greatest race driver of all times and this is not what I’m aiming for.”

“During my last three years in Formula 1, I didn’t have much success and it almost sounded strange to me when Norbert mentioned in our conversation, that short before this time I had managed to win two Formula 1 Grands Prix within only eight days.”

“However, I am still the same Ralf as at those times, the same racer who has fun in motor sports and who wants to compete with the best.”

“Now I am able to do so in the DTM which I know very well since the mid-nineties when I was a young up-coming driver racing in Formula Junior and Formula 3 which had been staged as a supporting programme of the DTM. Then I dreamed of racing in the main event sometime.”

“I like the series, I like the environment, I like the enthusiastic and positive spectators. And I like Mercedes – with them I got my first chance to test a Formula 1 car in 1996 and who knows how my Formula 1 career had turned out if I had accepted the McLaren Mercedes offer to become their test driver for 1997.”

“But then I wanted to drive races, and that’s what I still want today, more than ten years later.”

“I will learn in the DTM, I will work hard and I will put it behind me if people will criticize me if I should have problems during the first couple of races.”

“It was great fun testing the DTM C-Class and I look very much forward to the new season, more than I did for a long time. Money and popularity like in Formula 1 don’t play the first role for me.”

“Now I want sport, fun and excitement and that’s what the DTM features more than any other race series.”

“It’s fine if people have patience with me being an apprentice in the beginning, but if not – I don’t mind.”

“I know already most of my future competitors, but I don’t expect them to let me pass just because here comes Ralf who doesn’t know the DTM so well.”
Norbert Haug:

“It was decisive for our engagement of Ralf that he showed enthusiasm for the DTM and his willingness to commit himself to a learning period with the for him unknown race touring cars and with the enormous competitiveness of the entire field.”

“Needless to describe Ralf’s driving skills, until today he is the most successful German Formula 1 driver behind his brother Michael and this is not because these successes were a present.”

“It is clear that in the DTM Ralf has at first to get used to starting positions with two-digit numbers and that during his learning year he probably will start rather from the last third of the field than from the second third.”
“Ralf is ready to go this way of learning and our technical team will support him entirely.”

“With the attitude Ralf showed during the tests and in our conversations I am convinced that the DTM will experience a new driver who will start with skills and concentration and who has everything to inspire both the crowd and his team.”

“Ralf will soon have a new image and I think that in his first year in the DTM this will not be based on his results but on his commitment to fight sportsmanlike, hard and fair with an extremely tough competition and thus to learn to improve to the top step by step.”

“I admire Ralf for his commitment to compete which is what you experience only with a good and fully motivated sportsman.”

“Neither did Ralf not ask us for a Formula 1 bonus in his salary nor did he require a special status within the team – compliments for this attitude: This is the only correct and therefore best pre-condition for his new career.”

Copyright © 2008, Daimler AG