Porsche was represented in the DTM for the first time this season, with SSR Performance and Team Bernhard entering three cars between them for Laurens Vanthoor, Dennis Olsen and Thomas Preining.
And with the Stuttgart-based marque scoring three wins over the course of the campaign and even fighting for the drivers’ championship with Preining, more teams are now expressing interest in running the 911 GT3 R in the DTM next year.
One of those is Manthey Racing, which currently handles Porsche’s factory effort in the World Endurance Championship. With the GTE Pro class coming to an end after next month’s Bahrain finale and Porsche moving up to the Hypercar division in collaboration with Penske, Manthey Racing has the extra capacity it requires to mount an assault on the DTM.
In an interview with Autosport’s sister title Motorsport-Total.com, team boss Olaf Manthey insists his squad is yet to come up with a firm plan regarding its 2023 programme, but suggested DTM’s popularity and stature makes it more appealing than other GT3 championships.
"No decision has been made yet. After all, there are several GT3 series to get involved in,” said Manthey, who continues to hold an advisory role after handing over team management to brothers Nicolas and Martin Raeder in 2015.
“We are still looking into it at the moment. And I think it will take a few more weeks before we can say something more specific about the direction we are taking.
"You always have to look at where the coverage is, what the audience figures look like and so on. It all has to make sense."
Manthey Racing already had limited presence in the DTM this year as it supplied no less than four engineers to SSR Performance, including both the data and race engineer for Olsen and Vanthoor.
Should Manthey enter the DTM in its own right next year, it is likely that those engineers will move back to the Nurburgring-based squad.
Toksport WRT also targeting DTM entry
Toksport WRT, which made a wildcard appearance at the Nurburgring round in 2021, is another team in frame to enter the DTM next year.
After unsuccessful attempts to race in the series in 2022, both with Mercedes and Aston Martin, Toksport WRT is hoping it will finally be able to land a place on the grid in 2022.
Earlier this year, it severed its ties with Mercedes and joined the Porsche fold, fielding the marque’s GT3 contender in 24-hour races at both Spa-Francorchamps and the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
It is understood that the squad has already raised the funding required to compete in the DTM next year and there are even rumours that it has ordered brand new cars from the German manufacturer for the planned programme.
SSR looking at switching brands
Meanwhile, SSR Performance is rumoured to consider a move away from Porsche despite having enjoyed plenty of success with the marque in a very limited time span.
Joining the ADAC GT Masters in 2020 with the Sttutgart-based marque, it won the title in its inaugural season of competition with Christian Engelhart and Michael Ammermuller as its drivers.
Moreover, its maiden campaign in the DTM this year yielded one victory and two further podium finishes with Olsen, even as Vanthoor suffered a frustrating season on the other side of the garage.
While team boss Mario Schuhbauer did not want to comment about a possible change of manufacturers, it has been linked to several other car brands, including Lamborghini and BMW.
A switch to a different manufacturer would solve another potential problem, as DTM is understood to be considering limiting each manufacturer to six full-season entries.
Should SSR race with a different brand in 2023, it will leave enough room for three other Porsche teams to field two cars each.
