World Rally Championship legend Sebastien Ogier has expressed a desire to make his first race start in the DTM since a guest outing in 2018.
Ogier revealed his intention to take part in the German-based GT3 championship after attending last month’s fifth round of the season at the Nurburgring.
“One day I will definitely be part of this show, because it's always fun,” said the Frenchman. “Everyone is very close together, there are good tracks, so it's a good championship.”
Ogier has past experience of competing in GT3 machinery, having competed in a round of the ADAC GT Masters at the Lausitzring in 2014 aboard an Audi R8 LMS GT3 with Markus Winkelhock.
More recently, he contested a part campaign in the LMP2 class of the World Endurance Championship in 2022, while also testing Toyota’s Le Mans Hypercar on two occasions.
However, instead of long-distances, Ogier is now more attracted to the sprint format of the DTM.
There are also other personal reasons behind Ogier’s inclination towards the ADAC-run series. Since 2014, he has been married to German presenter Andrea Kaiser, who works as a reporter for DTM’s TV broadcaster ProSieben.
“There are always close races here, it is always very intense,” he said of the DTM, where all races last just over an hour.
“The fact that my wife works here obviously helps me to follow the races often.”
Ogier showed promise on his one and only outing in the DTM six years ago at the Red Bull Ring, driving a Mercedes C63 Class One car. Despite qualifying last, he made his way through the field to finish 12th and 16th in the two races.
He also sampled the Audi RS 5 Class One machine in 2016 as part of a car swap with former DTM star Mattias Ekstrom.
It’s not uncommon for WRC drivers to try their hand at GT3 machinery in the DTM. In 2022, Ogier’s former rally foe Sebastien Loeb got a chance to race a Ferrari 488 GTE for Red Bull AF Corse at Portimao, substituting for regular driver Nick Cassidy. He went on to finish 16th and 18th in the two races in a field of 29 cars.
For now, Toyota-contracted Ogier remains focused on his partial season in the WRC, where he sits a strong second in the championship despite taking part in only six of the nine rounds held so far.
Although he has a strong shot at a ninth WRC crown that would put him level with Loeb, the 40-year-old has played down his chances of fighting for the top prize in rallying with Hyundai's Thierry Neuville holding a 27-point lead into the final four events.
Ogier will however contest the next WRC round, the Acropolis Rally, this weekend.
