Should the planned regulations merger go through, it could open up for Super GT manufacturers Nissan, Lexus and Honda to take part in the DTM

please let this happen



http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=7091

please let this happen



http://www.touringcartimes.com/article.php?id=7091


and Joey Hand has been confirmed for 2012

ITC died after Alfa and Opel decided to leave the series at the end of 1996 because it was way too expensive.

ITC died after Alfa and Opel decided to leave the series at the end of 1996 because it was way too expensive.

which was beginning to rival Formula Ones popularity.

Seriously...

only because the TV Coverage in the UK was different doesn't mean the FIA killed ITC.

ITC died because the cars were too expensive. Mercedes was the only manufacturer who wanted to continue in 1997,
but without Alfa and Opel and no new manufacturer in sight ITC was forced to die.

A large proportion of the revenue generated by the championship went to the FIA, with the result that less went to the teams who subsequently complained of little return on their increasingly large investment in the high-tech series (this was further exacerbated by the travel costs to the new international rounds in Suzuka, Japan and Interlagos, Brazil). The FIA also increased the price for television rights dramatically with the result that television coverage of the series disappeared from all European countries except Italy, Germany and Finland, prices for tickets to races were almost doubled, and access to the circuit paddock to meet the drivers (which had previously been a big hit with fans) was drastically reduced. The choices of circuits on which to hold rounds of the championship were also unsuccessful - the rounds at Magny-Cours, France and particularly Interlagos suffered very poor attendance. Questions were also raised by the manufacturers as to why they were racing in countries in which their cars were not actually sold (Alfa Romeos were not sold in Brazil, and neither Opels nor Alfa Romeos are sold in Japan).

In November of 1998 the very first road-going CLK GTR was completed to homologate the GT1 racecar.

The series died because the FIA asked Mercedes to leave in exchange for running an illegal CLK GTR. That's a rather important point. I'm just repeating myself, so I probably won't make another post on it, but people who think that politics aren't involved in all these ridiculous decisions are a bit naive.

Viewing figures in the UK were rising incredibly quickly, and the TV coverage for 1994 and 1995 was excellent. I used to watch them every weekend. But for 1996 it was cut to a tiny highlights show, in the small hours, with some races not even covered at all. It isn't a coincidence.