Kick-off to anniversary year of the DKM in Kerpen

65 shifter kart drivers are going to start

Frankfurt on the Main. Finally, the time has come: After an almost half-year-long break, the German Kart Championship is going to start again. Next weekend (April 1^st to 3^rd 2022), the first ranked races of the anniversary season are going to take place on the Erftlandring in Kerpen. More than 100 drivers from all over the world are going to start. There is going to be special focus on the team ranking – 19 teams will fight for a 50.000€ prize.

Werner Ihle won the first German Kart Championship in 1962 and thereby started an unforeseen breeding ground for new talent in global motorsports. Numerous motorsports stars have started their careers at the DKM, among them seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, four-time Champion Sebastian Vettel and many more.

The kick-off event in Kerpen couldn't be more fitting. Schumacher and Vettel both celebrated their first victories on the 1.107m long Erftlandring. The participants of the DKM and its four grade series DKM, DJKM, DSKM and DSKC strive for sucess as well. The fields are of brilliant quality again. „We're very proud of the fact that the DKM is celebrating its 60^th birthday this year. The Championship is one of the oldest in the world and carries a long tradition in motorsports. We've prepared a strong package again this year and the prize money for the team ranking is a big deal“, says DKM-series coordinator Stefan Wagner, looking forward to an exciting new season.

Sporting top-performances in the fights for the titles
At the German Kart Championship, two reigning Champions are going to face each other. Niels Tröger starts as the defending champion and is going to be up against Junior Champion Akshay Bohar. Both represent the colors of TB Motorsport. Next to the duo, there are numerous other title favorites. The races in Kerpen will function as a first position fixing.

The field of the juniors is going to be sorted anew: Champion Bohra and pursuer Maxim Rehm (Rehm Racing) rise to the DKM, so new talents can step into the limelight. Among them rookie-champion Taym Saleh and last year's fifth winner Tom Kalender (both TB Motorsport).

The German Shifterkart Championship is going to be a good mix of routine drivers and rookies again. With Jorrit and Stan Pex (SP Motorsport) and Alexander Schmitz (BirelART KSW Racing), three former champions are among the starting field. The trio has to be on the lookout though: David Trefilovs (SRP Racing Team), Kris Haanen (SP Motorsport) and DSKC-Champion Jakob Bergmeister (DR S.R.L.) are going to start with high ambitions.

The DMSB Shifterkart Cup has the strongest field consisting of 43 participants. Due to the regulations, the top five of last year are not going to start, which means the cards are going to be dealt anew. Since its beginning in 2016, the Cup has developed into a strong series, which has already brought forward a lot of talents, such as reigning German Shifterkart Champion Senna van Walstijn – he won the DSKC in 2017.

Attractive team ranking and 50.000 € prize money
For many years, the German Kart Championship honors the most successful team at the end of the year. This time, the ranking is going to get a considerably higher status. All in all, 50.000€ are going to be distributed among the ten best teams. Every applicant is going to take part in the ranking automatically with the two best placed drivers. In Kerpen, 19 teams are going to fight for the first points. The team with the highest points is going to win the team ranking DMSB-Kart-grade series 2022 in the end, will receive 15.000€ and a free start for the next season. The second best team is going to receive 10.000€, the third best team will receive 8.000€. All in all, the ten best teams are going to get at least 1.000€.

Full timetable, lots of live-action and viewers on location
The participants are going to start the free trainings on Friday. Things are going to get serious on Saturday with qualifying and heats. These will determine the starting positions for the finals on Sunday. After two years, viewers are welcome on location again this time. The 3G-rule applies and will be controlled when entering the location. As usual, both racing days will be accompanied by an extensive live-stream on www.kart-dm.de. Moreover, there are going to be inside stories on the social media channels of the DKM.

DKM racing calendar 2022:
April 1^st - 3^rd 2022 – Kerpen
June 10^th - 12^th 2022 – Genk (Belgien)
July 15^th - 17^th 2022 – Ampfing
August 12^th - 14^th 2022 – Mülsen
September 23^rd - 25^th 2022 – Wackersdorf

All information regarding the season kick-off can be accessed on www.kart-dm.de.