The DTM heads to Misano this weekend for the third round of the 2019 season although unlike last year, the event will now run during daylight hours – something a number of drivers feel will provide a new challenge.

BMW Motorsport Team RBM’s Philipp Eng is the championship leader with 59 points after a strong weekend, including his first series’ victory, at Zolder two weeks ago.

The Austrian hopes to find more favourable conditions this weekend compared to twelve months ago as he seeks to maintain his place at the head of the field.

“Misano is a very cool circuit. I am happy that we are driving in the daytime this year, and the weather conditions in June should be a bit more predictable,” said Eng.

“I think that daytime driving at Misano will represent the biggest change,” echoed fellow BMW driver at Team RMG Marco Wittmann, third in the championship 16 points behind Eng.

“The night-time conditions in the rain were really difficult last year. That means that it will be something new for us.”

R-Motorsport’s Paul di Resta won at Misano last year, driving a Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM. This year, as his new team continues with the development of the new Aston Martin Vantage DTM, di Resta is expecting a bigger challenge in Italy.

“We’ll be driving in daylight this year and not at night as we did in 2018,” said the 33-year-old. “I can’t wait to find out what effect the increased performance of this year’s new DTM vehicle will have on handling and tyre degradation. Our goal must be to finish in the points again.”

Tyre degradation is also expected to be high, not only because racing will take place in the daylight, but also because of the layout and tarmac nature of the Misano track. Several drivers performed two tyre changes both at Hockenheim and Zolder, and the same is expected this weekend.

“We are assuming that the temperature of the running surface will be significantly higher than in Hockenheim and Zolder, which means that the desired drop-off effect will kick in earlier than usual,” added tyre partner Hankook chief engineer Thomas Baltes.

Audi Sport heads to Misano as leader in the manufacturers’ championship, and will line up MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso as a guest driver in Pietro Fittipaldi’s place.

The Italian is both excited and cautious about his DTM debut: “I’m really looking forward to the weekend and I just want to enjoy it without any expectations, because the level of competition in this championship is extremely high.”

Fittipaldi – who was set to head for the Canadian Grand Prix on F1 duties with Haas – will still race at Misano however, having been given a late call by Audi to replace the unwell Jamie Green.

Timetable

Friday 7th June

15:35 – Free Practice 1

18:25 – Free Practice 2

Saturday 8th June

10:30 – Qualifying for Race 1

13:30 – Race 1 (36 laps)

Sunday 9th June

10:45 – Qualifying for Race 2

10:30 – Race 2 (36 laps)

All times CEST