The 27-year-old is switching to the DTM this season to drive the new Ferrari 296 GT3 run by Emil Frey Racing. He spent the past two years with the Swiss outfit racing Lamborghinis in GT World Challenge Europe and ADAC GT Masters.
Aitken will have to miss one DTM round due to a clash with his prior commitment for Cadillac in the IMSA SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen, but told Autosport that learning a new car and series would have made a championship challenge tough even if he was contesting every race.
Instead, he’s seeking to “try and get some wins under our belt” before the end of the season, which begins at Oschersleben on 27-28 May.
“I think fighting for the championship will be very, very difficult – also because I have to miss one race,” said Aitken, who will be replaced in Zandvoort by team regular Albert Costa.
“Zandvoort clashes with Watkins Glen. But regardless, it would have been difficult.
“The fact that we have a new car, and BoP will always be conservative with a new car, and DTM is quite unique as well even if we’re taking the ADAC organisation that we know means there’s still going to be a learning curve for the team and for me.
“So I think if we can get to a point mid-season, end of season where we’re winning races, that would be pretty mega.”
Source: Autosport