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"BMW and Audi have expressed doubts that the proposed DTM America series can go ahead without the involvement of a US manufacturer.  BMW Motorsport boss Jens Marquardt and Audi Sport Head of DTM Dieter Gass believe that the participation of a domestic manufacturer is vital if the series proposed for 2017 is to happen.  Marquardt said that persuading a US manufacturer to get involved was the most significant hurdle to be cleared on the road to a North American series running for cars conforming to the rules of the DTM and Super GT in Japan. READ MORE:  Harvey: chasing the Indy dream  &amp;quot;The main task is to see if we can get an American manufacturer to buy into the idea,&amp;quot; he told AUTOSPORT. &amp;quot;To come and race in America for one or two races is one thing, but if you want a series that runs to 10 or so races and you want it to be appreciated by the fans, you need a US manufacturer to be involved.&amp;quot;  Gass added: &amp;quot;We, at very least need the Japanese manufacturers, but it would be better to have a domestic manufacturer. A series with only German manufacturers would be very difficult to imagine.&amp;quot;  None of the US &amp;#039;Big Three&amp;#039; marques\u2014General Motors, Ford or Chrysler\u2014have come out in support of DTM America.  GM Racing boss Mark Kent questioned whether his company needed an additional program at a time when it is racing in two fronts in the new United SportsCar Championship. READ MORE:  Honda reveals first images of WTCC Civic  &amp;quot;We keep watching it to see how it develops, but right now we are quite happy with our Corvette Racing program and our Corvette DPs,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;We have a great marketing platform in the USC, so there would have to be compelling reasons to add some kind of DTM program to that.&amp;quot;  DTM boss Hans Werner Aufrecht believes that the moves toward the creation of an international rulebook for DTM-style cars would offer a persuasive case for a US carmaker.  &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s no doubt that the concept behind the technical regulations and the option to use a car built according to these regulations in Europe, Japan, and the USA against other globally-renowned car manufacturers will be attractive for American companies,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;The product must convince the manufacturers that getting involved pays off, and I&amp;#039;m confident that this is going to happen.&amp;quot; This article originally appeared at AUTOSPORT. For more news and analysis, subscribe here.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/news/a7023/dtm-needs-american-competitors-per-audi-bmw/>