Following the end of the registration deadline on 31 March, the DTM has announced the full entry list for its 2026 season. A total of 21 cars from eight manufacturers will take to the track this year.
For comparison, there were 24 cars from nine manufacturers in the series last year.
"The quality of the DTM driver line-up is tremendous, and drivers from eleven nations underscore the series’ high international relevance," said ADAC Motorsport director Thomas Voss with satisfaction.
"We’re looking forward to three former champions, stars like Timo Glock, the comeback of Kelvin van der Linde, top-tier newcomers, and the exciting debut of Road to DTM winner Finn Wiebelhaus, who has made the leap to the DTM."
Why there are fewer cars and manufacturers on the grid in 2026
Despite the loss of three cars and one manufacturer compared to 2025, the DTM field has proven to be extremely stable: With the Land team switching brands to Porsche, Audi is disappearing from the DTM — at least on a full-season basis. However, guest starts are still possible, according to information by Motorsport.com's sister title Motorsport-Total.com.
In addition, the DTM is losing one team with the departure of Maximilian Paul’s family-run squad, with Paul himself joining Grasser. This is due to the fact that Paul Motorsport team will not receive a new Lamborghini Temerario, and the manufacturer does not intend to continue fielding the previous-generation Huracan in the DTM.
Can we expect more cars?
In addition to the Paul Lamborghini, the third cars from Manthey (Morris Schuring) and the Emil Frey Team (Ben Green) will also no longer be seen in 2026. There has also been no news regarding a second Land-Porsche, either. Although the ADAC reserves the right to accept entries after the deadline, it does not look as though Bastian Buus will have a team-mate in 2026.
There will also be departures among the drivers in 2026: Three-time champion Rene Rast, like Jack Aitken, is focusing on prototypes this year, meaning the DTM is losing a star driver.
Champion Ayhancan Guven, who will not defend his title in the Manthey Porsche, is leaving the DTM as he prepares for his move to Formula E. Further Grasser Lamborghini's rising star Jordan Pepper must also take at least a temporary break from the DTM following his switch to BMW.
In return, South African Kelvin van der Linde, who fought for the title in the Abt Audi in 2021 and 2024, is returning to the series after a one-year hiatus with a move to BMW. The field can once again be considered top-tier, even if drivers like rookie Matteo Cairoli, who is replacing Aitken in the Emil Frey Ferrari, are not yet big names outside the GT3 scene.
Three former champions on the grid
With Thomas Preining, Mirko Bortolotti, and Marco Wittmann, three former champions are also on the grid and looking to make another run at the title. And Timo Glock, currently the most prominent DTM driver, is trying his luck once again following his comeback last year in the Dorr McLaren.
Glock is one of eleven DTM race winners in the field — and, at 44, the oldest driver competing. The youngest is not 20-year-old Finn Wiebelhaus, who is the first “Road to DTM” winner from the ADAC GT Masters to move up to the DTM with the Ford HRT team, but rather Landgraf Mercedes youngster Tom Kalender, who celebrated his 18th birthday five days ago.
DTM 2026 Starting Grid:
| Number | Driver | Team | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
 Kelvin van der Linde |
Schubert | BMW M4 GT3 Evo |
| 7 |
 Nicki Thiim |
Comtoyou | Aston Martin Vantage GT3 |
| 8 |
 Nicolas Baert |
Comtoyou | Aston Martin Vantage GT3 |
| 10 |
 Marco Mapelli |
Abt | Lamborghini Temerario GT3 |
| 11 |
 Marco Wittmann |
Schubert | BMW M4 GT3 Evo |
| 14 |
Matteo Cairoli |
Emil Frey | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo |
| 16 |
Timo Glock |
Dorr | McLaren 720S GT3 Evo |
| 19 |
Mirko Bortolotti |
Grasser | Lamborghini Temerario GT3 |
| 22 |
 Lucas Auer |
Landgraf | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 25 |
Ben Dorr |
Dörr | McLaren 720S GT3 Evo |
| 29 |
Bastian Buus |
Land | Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo |
| 36 |
 Arjun Maini |
HRT | Ford Mustang GT3 Evo |
| 48 |
 Jules Gounon |
Winward | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 63 |
Maximilian Paul |
Grasser | Lamborghini Temerario GT3 |
| 64 |
Finn Wiebelhaus |
HRT | Ford Mustang GT3 Evo |
| 69 |
 Thierry Vermeulen |
Emil Frey | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo |
| 80 |
Maro Engel |
Winward | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 84 |
Tom Kalender |
Landgraf | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 90 |
 Ricardo Feller |
Manthey | Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo |
| 91 |
Thomas Preining |
Manthey | Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo |
| 130 |
Luca Engstler |
Abt | Lamborghini Temerario GT3 |
