Green calls for more robust DTM cars to improve racing

Speaking to Motorsport.com, the Audi driver said that the current breed of aerodynamically dependent DTM car was now so sensitive that slight contact can render a driver uncompetitive for an entire race.

He called for organisers to consider simplifying the bodywork and instead modify the rules to make the floor the main way of generating downforce.

“There were some races last year where I lost the front aero flicks at the start on both sides, and I was half a second a lap off the pace the whole race,” said Green.

“They are very sensitive, and you can’t compete like that, it’s so frustrating.”

“If you reduced the aero from the bodywork but kept the floor active, you would have less disadvantage following somebody because the floor would still work, or at least better than the bodywork.

“You could get rid of all those flicks, and we wouldn’t be going much slower because they would develop the car in a different direction and you wouldn’t get penalised for contact [by the damage].

“We’d still have quick cars but we’d have better racing, so that’s the answer. You don’t need to sacrifice much lap time to make the cars more robust.”

Softer tyres

Green also cited introducing softer tyres as a way to spice up the racing, after the series abandoned the use of a softer ‘option’ compound during races after the 2014 season.

“We could go a lot faster with softer tyres, which would have more degradation in the race and make the racing more interesting,” added Green.

“At the moment you can drive flat out the whole race and the tyre doesn’t really die, they’re a bit bullet-proof at the moment.

“And you could use DRS in qualifying, maybe add a bit more horsepower as well, so there are other ways of regaining the laptime.”

Class 1 "could rival F1"

DTM organisers have chosen to delay in the introduction of "Class 1" regulations, which would bring the series in line with the Japan-based Super GT series, until 2019.

Green believes that such a move is vital for the health of the series, and that the resulting product could even challenge Grand Prix racing in terms of popularity.

“For the future of the DTM, it’s important to bring the rules in line with the Japanese regulations, and then we can mix the competitions together to create something really strong," he said.

“It could even rival F1 if it’s done well – different manufacturers racing in Europe and Japan, it could be awesome.

“For that to happen you have to have the same rules in both series. But they aren’t doing it for two more years, so we’ll have to wait.”