Arjun Maini, the bright young face of Indian motorsport, embarks on a new journey. This time it is not the single-seater but the highly competitive DTM championship he will be competing in this summer in Europe.
At a virtual press conference on Tuesday, the 23-year-old boy spoke at length on his journey this far and the challenges ahead. He will compete in DTM full-time and was excited about racing for the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team GetSpeed.
The championship consists of eight rounds and the former Haas F1 team development driver who began from karting at home feels this is going to be his future. At a time when the world of motorsport has limited seats for drivers, Arjun Maini is seen as very talented. He has been supported well at home in the nascent stage of his career by JK Tyres.
Before this, he competed in the Le Mans Endurance series as well in 2019. Arjun Maini is blessed to have the support and guidance from Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first driver in F1.
“Everyone knows how big the DTM championship is and I followed it a lot while growing up. To now be a part of DTM as the Mercedes-AMG driver with the GetSpeed team is an absolute honour and pleasure for me. I just can’t wait to continue testing and I am really excited for what’s coming,” said Maini.
Maini spoke of looking forward to being alone in a car once again, “I will be racing in a GT car for the first time. In a way, it’s going back to being alone in a car. I have been sharing a car in the last two years because I have been in Endurance Racing . So, it’s good to be on my own again and pushing for myself. But the competition is going to be really high and I am ready for it. I have to be on top of my game throughout the season,” he said.
Wearing a T-shirt, at the virtual press conference, one could not have guessed he was speaking from a cold country (Germany) where it is now snowing. “I have to make sure that I am consistently performing at the highest level that I can deliver, and I think we should be alright.”
Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, said that Arjun is exactly the type of driver the team was looking for, “We had been in discussion with all potential DTM drivers and then we came across a young Indian driver and we thought it would be interesting for him to join us. Then we put all our heads together along with the GetSpeed team and we made it work. He (Arjun) fits exactly the type of drivers we try to attract for this programme. Now, among our seven contracted drivers, we will have a good mix of experienced drivers and few very young, but talented drivers. We need to keep steeping up to be successful in the season,” said Wendl.
Steve Buschmann Team Manager, Getspeed Performance said that the team could see how motivated Arjun is to race in the DTM series. “The DTM is a new start for every team in 2021 and it is giving new opportunities to drivers like Arjun. The DTM series will not have cockpit sharing and I think this was one of the reasons why Arjun was interested in joining DTM,” said Buschmann.
The GT3 cars will feature in the DTM series for the first time in 2021. A race weekend will consist of two free practice sessions on Friday and then a qualifying and a one-hour race including a pit stop on both Saturday and Sunday.
The opening round will be held from June 18 to 20 in Monza, Italy. Thereafter, the series will be held at the Norisring from July 2 to 4, Lausitzring from July 23 to 25, Zolder from August 6 to 8, Nürburgring on August 20 to 22, Red Bull Ring from September 3 to 5, and Assen from September 17 to 19, before the Hockenheimring conducts the grand finale from October 1 to 3.