Porsche romped to a DTM championship treble in only its second season in the category last year, as it swept the drivers, teams and the manufacturers’ titles with Thomas Preining and the Manthey EMA team.
The feat was particularly impressive as Porsche faced all three of its main German rivals, Audi, BMW and Mercedes, plus Italian supercar manufacturers Ferrari and Lamborghini, in a six-way fight for glory.
The result also marked a winning start to Manthey EMA’s foray into the DTM, having joined the ADAC-run category at the start of 2023 to replace SSR Performance as Porsche’s primary team.
But Manthey founder and consultant Olaf Manthey doesn’t think a repeat of its 2023 success is possible this year, as he hinted politics could play a role in determining the outcome of the championship.
"I don't think we'll be allowed to do it again," the 69-year-old told Autosport's sister title Motorsport-Total.com. "It always has to be well mixed.
"That's the idea of the BoP [Balance of Performance], to bring the different makes together so that you have a good sporting show where everyone can take part and that's the right thing to do.
"However, we have to observe how things develop over the course of the year. And then we'll have to see where we end up."
Source: Autosport