Winward's Mercedes-AMG GT3 grabbed the 6H Abu Dhabi front row in qualifying, but Q3 got spicy when a red flag nearly killed the session. Technical detail: tire warm-up strategy in the final push mattered more than raw pace. This is endurance racing where qualifying setup is half the battle.

ABT Sportsline cracked open the books on running a competitive DTM campaign in the GT3 era, and the numbers explain why you don't see privateer teams anymore. Marketing director Daniel Abt revealed the real operational costs—fuel, tires, engineering, hospitality—that separate funded programs from the dreamers. This is what a full season looks like when you're actually trying to win.