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South African youngster Jonathan Aberdein will race in the DTM German Touring Car Championship in 2019. Cape Town lad Aberdein was Thursday evening confirmed as the lead driver of the new WRT team in an Audi RS5 in Europe's premier tin-top championship.

DTM has always been my dream,” Jonathan admitted. “I have watched the series since I was a little boy on TV and now here I am — this is a massive dream come true. "DTM has always been my goal through karting to single seaters, Formula 4 and Formula 3 and the DTM Young Drivers Test and now here I am, so special thanks to Vincent Vosse and the team for this incredible opportunity.

"Coming from single seaters with similar lap times and similar downforce is an advantage over say a driver who comes from a GT background, so I am really looking forward to the challenge. “I am also proud to follow in my dad’s footsteps to be an Audi driver and I am really excited for the year ahead in the world’s leading tin-top series.” Jonathan’s dad Chris was a factory driver for Audi South Africa in the heady days of the WesBank quattros.

The DTM will run new Class 1 cars for the first time in 2019 — the 2-litre turbo machines are expected to lap 2-3 seconds quicker than the outgoing V8s. The 2019 season starts at Hockenheim May 5 with a 9 race calendar taking in five races in Germany as well as rounds in Italy, Belgium, Holland and England through the year. 

Aberdein will be one of two South Africans to be the first to race in the DTM alongside Sheldon van der Linde in a BMW.