DTM to host season opener at Red Bull Ring as 2026 calendar announced

The ADAC has officially revealed the 2026 DTM calendar, which comprises eight race weekends and sees the Red Bull Ring host the season opener for the first time.

The decision to give the Spielberg track the opener slot had already been signalled after it was announced that MotoGP will take over the previous DTM date at the circuit in September for its Austrian Grand Prix next season.

The Red Bull Ring will welcome the DTM on the 24-26 April, while there are no new venues for the 2026 campaign – as only the order has changed compared to 2025.

The second DTM weekend in 2026 will also take place outside of Germany, with the series heading to Zandvoort in the Netherlands from 22-24 May. The series then travels to the Lausitzring on 19-21 June, before familiar visits to the Norisring (3-5 July), which has retained its traditional date.

The races at Oschersleben have therefore moved from the season-opener slot to 24-26 July and mark the start of the second half of the season. After that, the DTM moves on to the Nurburgring (14-16 August), before the penultimate round at Sachsenring on 11-13 September.

The season finale also remains unchanged, as the DTM returns to the Hockenheimring on 9-11 October.

Start action

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

DTM avoids major date clashes

The good news for drivers and GT3 teams is there are no clashes with the World Endurance Championship, the GT World Challenge Europe, the IMSA SportsCar Championship or the three 24-hour classics at the Nurburgring, Le Mans and Spa.

Only the Intercontinental GT Challenge race at Suzuka clashes with the DTM at the Sachsenring, both set to take place on 11-13 September, while there is also a DTM overlap with its Hockenheim round and the eight-hour race in Indianapolis.

Why there are no new tracks on the calendar in 2026

It comes as no great surprise that the tracks in the DTM calendar remain unchanged: as far as the Salzburgring is concerned, the ADAC wants to wait for the ADAC GT Masters races at the beginning of September to make sure that the Austrian track is suitable for GT3 racing.

The city race in Vila Real, which was considered a candidate for 2025, has secured a TCR Europe round, so it is no longer as dependent on the DTM. Plans for a Berlin race at the Tempelhof site are not yet far enough advanced.

DTM 2026 calendar