World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier is set to contest September’s Red Bull Ring DTM round in a Mercedes, Motorsport.com has learned.
Mercedes has previously hinted it will take advantage of rules allowing DTM manufacturers to run a one-off seventh car alongside its six regular entries for a guest driver.
Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom made a farewell appearance at Hockenheim, having decided to retire from a full-time drive in the series this year, while Alex Zanardi will appear for BMW in next month’s Misano night races.
Ogier is now set to join their ranks, the Frenchman poised to make his appearance at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM backed by Red Bull, which also sponsors the Frenchman in the WRC.
DTM rules do not allow guest starts in the final three rounds of the championship, but Mercedes can be granted an exception with the approval of governing body DMSB as well as rival marques BMW and Audi. This is expected to be a formality.
Ogier completed a handful of laps in the Mercedes DTM taxi on Friday in Austria, with his wife Andrea Kaiser – a TV presenter for German TV station SAT1 – in the passenger’s seat.
The five-time WRC title-winner is no stranger to circuit racing, having previously made two appearances in Porsche Supercup in 2013 and 2014 as well as one-off showings in the FFSA GT and ADAC GT Masters championships.
He also tested a 2011-spec Red Bull Formula 1 car at the Red Bull Ring last year.
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