After much speculation, it has finally been revealed that
Ralf Schumacher will race for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM this year – though as was also suggested, the
Formula 1 refugee will make his debut in the pan-European tin-top series behind the wheel of a 2007-spec C-Class.
The German has tested twice for the three-pointed star at Estoril – his first association with the Stuttgart marque since he competed as a guest driver in the
FIA GT Championship at Spa-Francorchamps back in 1997, the year he made his
F1 baptism for Jordan Grand Prix. Now, more than a decade on and on the back of a desultory final campaign in the top flight with Toyota last year, Schumacher says he is off in search of ‘sport, fun and excitement' again.
“It was great fun testing the DTM C-Class,” he enthused, “and I am very much looking forward to the new season, more than I have done 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.
“I have known [the DTM] very well since the mid-90s, when I was a young upcoming driver racing in Formula Junior and Formula 3, which was staged on the support programme of the DTM. Then I dreamed of racing in the main event sometime.”
That dream has now become a reality, as the veteran of 180 starts and six victories in the top flight gets ready to take on the cream of the touring car crop. Having witnessed the attempts of predecessors and fellow F1 winners Jean Alesi, Mika Hakkinen and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, however – all of whom won races in the DTM but could never string together a consistent championship bid – Schumacher is well aware it will be no walk in the park.
“I will learn in the DTM,” he admitted. “I will work hard and I will put it behind me if people criticise me should I have problems during the first couple of races.
![Former F1 star Ralf Schumacher tries out a Mercedes C-Class DTM machine at Estoril for the second time [pic credit: DTM Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/405458.jpg)
