Just days before the season opener in Spielberg this weekend, the DTM published the final regulations for the 2026 season.
The key innovation this season is the exclusive DTM special tyre, which is designed not only to deliver better lap times and greater tyre degradation, but also to allow better control of DTM testing restrictions. This is because the tyres are used exclusively in the DTM and must be returned to Pirelli by the teams.
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While it was originally discussed that teams might receive, for example, 50 sets of tyres per car for the entire season and then be free to decide when to use them, the organisers have now opted for a two-pool system.
As for the race-day tyre pool, the rules remain largely unchanged: as before, teams will receive four sets of new tyres for the two race days at the season opener in Austria, the season finale in Hockenheim, and at the tyre-demanding tracks of Zandvoort and Sachsenring.
At Lausitzring, Norisring, Oschersleben, and Nurburgring, teams will receive three sets. The rule of one mandatory pit stop on Saturday and two on Sunday also remains in place for 2026.
A separate tyre pool for testing and practice sessions
Major changes apply to the tyre pool for limited DTM tests and free practice sessions: these tyre sets are no longer simply allocated per race weekend, but are instead tracked in a running account.
Each car is credited with one set of new tyres when it participates in a DTM weekend. Tyres for the four official test days and one private test day are always allocated, regardless of whether the team actually takes part.
When tyres are used, they are deducted from the account. The account may never go negative. This forces teams to think strategically: if they use many new tyres early in the season, they will have fewer available later.
The DTM grid for 2026
Three new tyre sets allowed in one practice session
This season, it is theoretically possible to use three new sets of tyres in a single free practice session. However, there are limits on how many new sets can be used:
Free practice: maximum of three new sets
Official test day: maximum of six new sets
Private test day: maximum of four new sets
So, even if a team still has many tyres in its account, it cannot use more sets than this limit allows.
Across the two free practice sessions in a race weekend, a maximum of three tyre sets may be used. Teams may also use older tyres – so-called carry-over sets from previous race weekends or tests.
After each test day and race weekend, a strict limit applies: a team may keep no more than five tyre sets per car in its possession. Any sets beyond that must be returned to Pirelli and are then permanently removed from the allocation. These tyres may not be used again later.
How DTM wants to prevent a tyre black market
There is only one exception: for the officially approved private test day, each car may receive up to four additional new tyre sets from its existing allocation. The catch: these extra tyres must be returned before the next event.
With this rule, the series aims to prevent the new DTM tyre from being sold on the black market and to eliminate opportunities for unauthorised testing.
Private testing on DTM circuits was already limited to five test days per car with the existing Pirelli P Zero DHG tyre.
However, tests on circuits not included in the 2026 DTM calendar are still allowed for DTM participants using the new special tyre. In that case, teams must use tyres from their seasonal allocation.
Rene Rast, Schubert Motorsport
The Rene Rast rule: regulatory loophole closed
Aside from that, a loophole in last year’s regulations has also been closed, and a kind of “Rene Rast rule” has been introduced.
Last year, the Schubert Motorsport team exploited a loophole during the Nurburgring victory for retired racer Rene Rast. Because of a damaged rim before the restart, the team was allowed to bring in an additional tyre from Friday’s allocation.
Since Schubert later replaced the damaged rim on the other wheel with an intact one, they effectively had one extra tyre available compared to their rivals.
That advantage will no longer be possible: under the 2026 rules, the discarded wheel must now be removed from the tyre allocation, preventing teams from gaining an extra tyre through such a manoeuvre.
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