Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as German Racing Championship) or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....

 as Germany's top national series.

History

The DRM began in 1972 as a Group 2

Group 2 (racing)

The Group 2 racing class referred to regulations for cars in touring car racing and rallying, as regulated by the FIA. Group 2 was replaced by Group A in 1982....

 touring car

Touring car racing

Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...

 and Group 4

Group 4 (racing)

The Group 4 racing class referred to regulations for cars in sportscar racing, GT racing and rallying, as regulated by the FIA. The Group 4 class was replaced by Group B for the 1983 season.-Production requirements:...

 GT

Grand tourer

A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....

 racing series for cars like (BMW 2002) and (BMW Coupé

BMW E9

-BMW 2.5CS:The last version of the E9 to be introduced was the 2.5CS in 1974. This was a response to the 1973 oil crisis, such that the buyer could choose the smaller, more economical engine. The engine, from the 2500 sedan, displaced and produced at 6000 revolutions per minute...

), in addition to the Rundstreckenmeisterschaft (German circuit racing saloon car championship). In these years, the same or similar cars were also entered in the European Touring Car Championship

European Touring Car Championship

The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004...

.

Races were run separately as big Division 1 (for 2 to 4 liter) and small Division 2 (under 2 liter) in a sprint format.

In 1977, Group 5

Group 5 (racing)

Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations defined a Special Touring Car category and from 1970 to 1971 the classification was applied to limited production Sports Cars restricted to 5...

 cars were admitted into the series, making the series better supported with Gr.5 cars than the World Championship of Makes they were intended for. These fast and spectacular turbocharged cars with wide fenders and wings had many fans. Especially the Porsche 935

Porsche 935

The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976, as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 turbo prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules. It was an evolution of the Porsche Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype which had scored 2nd overall in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans....

 outpowered F1 cars. During common testing sessions at Circuit Paul Ricard

Circuit Paul Ricard

The Paul Ricard Circuit is a motorsport race track built at Le Castellet, near Marseille, France, in 1969 with finance from the eccentric drinks magnate Paul Ricard, who created what essentially became Pernod Ricard...

, 935 passed them on the long Mistral straight.
In 1979, the Rennsport Trophäe (Racing Trophy) was introduced for the cheaper original series protagonists, the Group 2 and 4 cars.

In 1982, following the FIA rule changes, new Group C

Group C

Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....

 sportscars (along with existing Group 6

Group 6 (racing)

Group 6 was the official designation applied by the FIA to two motor racing classifications, the Prototype-Sports Car category from 1966 to 1971 and the Two-Seater Racing Cars class from 1976 to 1982.-Group 6 Prototype-Sports Cars :...

) replaced the Group 5 machinery. By now only one division ran alongside the Rennsport Trophäe, now known as International Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. This IDRM would have the swansong season the following year, replaced by Group A

Group A

In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...

 based Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide....

 the following season.

In 1984, with just three races held, organisers used three WEC (World Endurance Championship

World Sportscar Championship

The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...

) races as additional IDRM point races.

1985 was its final year, now called DSM (Deutsche Sportwagen Meisterschaft), with just one race was held at Norisring

Norisring

The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, on the former Nazi party rally grounds site of the NSDAP party conventions. As the city's German name Nürnberg would lead to confusion with the already famous Nürburgring, the old name Noris was chosen for the simple track which is nowadays approx...

, the rest of them held in conjunction with the popular Interserie

Interserie

Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series....

. This meant CanAm

CanAm

The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or Can-Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1986.-History:Can-Am started out as a race series for Group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada and four races in the United States of America . The series was initially sponsored by Johnson...

 entered from the latter series, as it had always had been, had to be counted for points

The series would be replaced by the Group C

Group C

Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....

-only Supercup

Supercup

The series was initially sponsored by sport auto magazine during its inaugural season, then replaced by Würth the following two years. Television network Sat.1 sponsor the championship's final year.-Format:...

 in 1986. At that time, the less expensive DTM

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide....

 had taken over as Germany's most important racing series.

Since 2005 the AvD

AVD

AVD may refer to:* Academy of Veterinary Dentistry* Alviri-Vidari language, an Iranian language * Android Virtual Device, an emulator configuration that lets you model an actual device by defining hardware and software options to be emulated by the Android Emulator* Audio, Video, Disco, 2011 album...

 the AvD organizes a "Revival Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft" race at his great "Oldtimer Grand Prix".

Champions

Season	Champion	Team	Car
1972	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...	Ford Capri RS Ford Capri Ford Capri was a name used by the Ford Motor Company for three different automobile models. The Ford Consul Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Britain between 1961 and 1964. The Ford Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Europe from 1969 to 1986...
1973	Dieter Glemser Dieter Glemser Dieter Glemser is a former touring car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany.He stated his career in the early 1960s in rallying with a Porsche 356 andIn 1963 he won the Rally Poland with a Mercedes-Benz 220SE....	Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...	Ford Escort
1974	Dieter Glemser Dieter Glemser Dieter Glemser is a former touring car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany.He stated his career in the early 1960s in rallying with a Porsche 356 andIn 1963 he won the Rally Poland with a Mercedes-Benz 220SE....	Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...	Ford Escort
1975	Hans Heyer Hans Heyer Hans Heyer is a racing driver from Wegberg, the site of the Grenzlandring, a former high speed race track oval...	Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...	Ford Escort
1976	Hans Heyer Hans Heyer Hans Heyer is a racing driver from Wegberg, the site of the Grenzlandring, a former high speed race track oval...	Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...	Ford Escort
1977	Rolf Stommelen Rolf Stommelen Rolf Johann Stommelen was a racing driver from Siegen, Germany. He participated in 63 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scored a total of 14 championship points...	Georg Loos	Porsche 935 Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976, as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 turbo prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules. It was an evolution of the Porsche Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype which had scored 2nd overall in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans....
1978	Harald Ertl Harald Ertl Harald Ertl was an Austrian motorsport journalist and racing driver.-Career:Ertl was born in Zell am See and attended the same school as drivers Jochen Rindt and Helmut Marko, so he had an early relation to motorsports. In 1969 he bought a Formula 5, won six races, but also rolled at the Nürburgring...	Schnitzer Motorsport Schnitzer Motorsport Schnitzer Motorsport is a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing scenes....	BMW 320i BMW E21 BMW E21 is the body designation for the first BMW 3 Series compact executive car, produced by the German automaker BMW from 1975 to 1983. This series was the immediate successor to the BMW 2002 and was superseded by the BMW E30 platform....  Turbo
1979	Klaus Ludwig Klaus Ludwig Klaus Ludwig is a German race driver.- Biography :Unlike Hans-Joachim Stuck, Rolf Stommelen, Harald Ertl, Hans Heyer and Jochen Mass, he has never raced in single seaters...	Kremer Racing Kremer Racing Kremer Racing is a motorsports team based in Cologne, Germany, founded by racing driver Erwin Kremer and his brother Manfred. They have competed internationally with Porsches for nearly all of their existence, and were even one of the factory-backed squads for many years...	Porsche 935 K3 Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976, as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 turbo prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules. It was an evolution of the Porsche Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype which had scored 2nd overall in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans....
1980	Hans Heyer Hans Heyer Hans Heyer is a racing driver from Wegberg, the site of the Grenzlandring, a former high speed race track oval...	Lancia Corse	Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Lancia Monte Carlo The Lancia Montecarlo is a mid-engined sports car which was produced by Lancia in Italy from 1975 to 1982.Cars from the first series, which were produced from 1975 to 1978, were known as Lancia Beta Montecarlos and those from the second series, produced from 1979 to 1982, simply as Lancia Montecarlos...  Turbo
1981	Klaus Ludwig Klaus Ludwig Klaus Ludwig is a German race driver.- Biography :Unlike Hans-Joachim Stuck, Rolf Stommelen, Harald Ertl, Hans Heyer and Jochen Mass, he has never raced in single seaters...	Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...	Ford Capri Turbo Ford Capri Ford Capri was a name used by the Ford Motor Company for three different automobile models. The Ford Consul Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Britain between 1961 and 1964. The Ford Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Europe from 1969 to 1986...
1982	Bob Wollek Bob Wollek Bob Wollek , nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on March 16, 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of...	Joest Racing Joest Racing Joest Racing is a racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest...	Porsche 936 Porsche 936 The Porsche 936 was a racing car introduced in 1976 by Porsche as a delayed successor to the Porsche 908, a three litre sportscar prototype which was retired by the factory after 1971...
1983	Bob Wollek Bob Wollek Bob Wollek , nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on March 16, 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of...	Joest Racing Joest Racing Joest Racing is a racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest...	Porsche 956 Porsche 956 The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...
1984	Stefan Bellof Stefan Bellof Stefan Bellof was a racing driver who is famous for setting the fastest lap ever on the Nordschleife configuration, at the Nürburgring, setting the time in a Porsche 956 in 1983...	Brun Motorsport Brun Motorsport Brun Motorsport GmbH was a Swiss auto racing team founded by driver Walter Brun in 1983. They competed as a Porsche privateer team in sports car racing for their entire existence, running in a multitude of international championships. They notably won the World Sportscar Championship in 1986 and...	Porsche 956B Porsche 956 The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...
1985	Jochen Mass Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix...	Joest Racing Joest Racing Joest Racing is a racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest...	Porsche 956 Porsche 956 The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...

External links

• Full DRM results page
• http://www.research-racing.de/tw-d04.htm early DRM cars
• http://www.research-racing.de/tw-d05.htm Gr.5 DRM cars
• http://www.schwede.de/motorsport_fotos/galerie/Revival_Deutsche_Rennsportmeisterschaft_OGP_2006 Pictures from the "Revival Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft" at the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2006