While Villeneuve and Montoya are adapting well to their new home in NASCAR, their German-speaking former colleagues might be headed to their own sedan-based racing series at home.
Reports indicate that, against the advice of his older brother, Ralf Schumacher climbed into the cabin of a Mercedes C-Class DTM race car for a trial test at the Estoril track on Tuesday.
Austrian driver Christian Klien, who was passed over for the last seat at Force India in favor of Giancarlo Fisichella, is believed to have also participated in the test. The Mercedes-AMG team in the popular German touring car series recently suffered the loss of Mika Hakkinen, and is tipped to be eager to replace him with another big F1 name.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/16/stock-drop-ralf-to-test-for-mercedes-dtm/
"Ralf Schumacher will test a Mercedes C-Class DTM car at Estoril on Tuesday, the team have confirmed.
The German, who won six grands prix during his Formula One career, has been left without a slot on the 2008 F1 grid.
Speaking to the official DTM website, a Mercedes spokesman said that the test had been arranged between Schumacher and Norbert Haug a long time ago, but this week was the first opportunity for the 32-year-old to drive the car.
Autosport.com understands that Schumacher will be one of six drivers at the Portuguese track, including former F1 driver Christian Klien. However, Mercedes did not confirm which versions of the C-Class will be used.
The former champions have not confirmed their driver plans for 2008 yet, but they added that a driver shootout was not taking place this week."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64684
