M?cke confirms privateer entry.

M?cke Motorsport has confirmed that it will run a single, privately-entered, 2004-spec AMG-Mercedes C-Class in this year's DTM series, with Stefan M?cke at the wheel.

The team will lease its car, and a supply of spare parts, from Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, with the necessary funding coming from sponsorship partnerships formed over the two years in which Mucke has been a part of the DTM field. The former German F3 frontrunner has 30 starts in the series to his credit, with a best finish of seventh, achieved at Adria last season while running for the Persson team.

"We wanted to provide the opportunity for a privately-financed team to participate in the DTM at low cost, but with a chance for success," Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug commented, "It was obvious that we did this with the M?cke team, because it has been a successful Mercedes partner in F3 for years."

Team owner Peter M?cke admits that the campaign will not be an easy one, despite having access to one of the better cars in the field.

"To enter the DTM as a private team is a great challenge," he confirmed, "Here, you don't have a learning year, so we have to do everything right from the beginning. However, we have a reliable team and Stefan is an experienced driver. I'm glad that we got this opportunity to show what we are capable of."

Son Stefan is confident that he will be able to score points in 2005, and is looking forward to getting among the 'works' Mercedes entries.

"Due to modifications in the technical regulations it's a bit easier for the 2004 cars, and the gap behind the new cars will be smaller now," he insisted, "My target is to finish among the top-ten as often as possible."

The factory Mercedes squad includes multiple champion Bernd Schneider, as well as 2004 series runner-up Gary Paffett and ex-F1 drivers Jean Alesi and Mika Hakkinen. Briton Jamie Green joins the Persson line-up after graduating from the F3 Euroseries.