When the season in the DTM Classic Cup season is getting underway at DEKRA Lausitzring Turn 1 powered by Autohero from 20-22 May 2022, fans can look forward to seeing a major name from the rich DTM history returning. The newly-formed team Schnitzer Classic with Stefen Trautwein and his son Yannik at the helm is looking after the legacy of the traditional racing stable from Freilassing near the German-Austrian border and is running a BMW M3 E30 in the DTM Classic Cup, raced by no less than Kris Nissen.
The Schnitzer team name is obviously connected with major achievements in DTM. In 1989, the Bavarian team won its first DTM title with Roberto Ravaglia driving the M3. In 2012, the team led by Charly and Dieter Lamm and Herbert Schnitzer added another title win with Bruno Spengler, straight away in the year of BMW’s comeback in DTM. The demise of Schnitzer Motorsport in 2020 was a major blow for the many fans of the popular team and the BMW brand.
The Trautwein family from Schiltach in the Black Forest acquired the historic competition machinery, the spare parts, the archive and the naming rights from Schnitzer Motorsport. Now, the newly-formed team is running two cars in the DTM Classic Cup. “There is hardly any other name so closely connected with the golden days of DTM than the Schnitzer name. Therefore, running the historic race cars in DTM Classic is the logical step,” says Stefen Trautwein, managing director, Schnitzer Classic.
The cars that will be run this year are a BMW 320i E36 to two-litre Super Touring regulations and an M3 E30, run as a customer car for Kris Nissen. In 1991, the Dane raced for Schnitzer in DTM himself. His current car is a replica of the Schnitzer test car he used himself in the winter of 1990 for the development of the competition ABS for the DTM campaign at the time. Nissen is already full of anticipation: “During the last TWC round at Nürburgring, we were in the same pit box as the Trautwein family,” the Dane recalls. “We had very nice conversations, the chemistry was right, everything was perfect. Therefore, we agreed to make the next steps together and have Schnitzer Classic running my car in the new DTM Classic Cup.”
DTM Classic series’ manager Peter Oberndorfer is also delighted about the prominent new entry: “Of course, I know the Schnitzer team very well from my days as a driver. Nice to see this name, and with Kris Nissen on top of that, returning in DTM Classic. I wish father and son Trautwein good luck for their endeavours.”
Source. DTM/Photo. Schnitzer Classic
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