1995: The DTM goes international.

Two championships were raced; the DTM and the ITC, short for International Touring car Championship. During races abroad (the ITC races), guest drivers like Gache and Couceiro raced with an Alfa 155.

'The Stig' Amthor traded his AMG-Mercedes 190E for a 1994 specs Alfa Romeo 155 V6 ti. Alfa Romeo improved the 1995 car with a new front suspension, a sequential gearbox, electronic diffs and a lighter engine. BMW left the DTM and the Ford Mustangs also retired, leaving only AMG Mercedes, Opel and Alfa Romeo fighting for the championship.

Although the Alfa Romeo's were competitive, non of the Alfa drivers was able to dominate which lead to AMG Mercedes easily winning both titles.

DTM and ITC racing calendar 1995

Nicola Larini Team Alfa Corse 6th in DTM drivers championship 1995 71 points 4th in ITC drivers championship 1995 59 points
Alessandro Nannini Team Alfa Corse 11th in DTM drivers championship 1995 44 points 15th in ITC drivers championship 1995 17 points
Stefano Modena Team EuroTeam 16th in DTM drivers championship 1995 26 points 7th in ITC drivers championship 1995 49 points
Giancarlo Fisichella Team Alfa Corse 2 15th in DTM drivers championship 1995 30 points 10th in ITC drivers championship 1995 37 points
Michele Alboreto Team Schübel Engineering 22nd in DTM drivers championship 1995 4 points 0 points in ITC drivers championship 1995
Christian Danner Team Schübel Engineering 9th in DTM drivers championship 1995 48 points 13th in ITC drivers championship 1995 22 points
Fabrizio Giovanardi Team Alfa Corse 2
Gabriele Tarquini Team Alfa Corse 2
Giampiero Simoni Team Alfa Corse 2
Michael Bartels Team EuroTeam 10th in DTM drivers championship 1995 47 points 0 points in ITC drivers championship 1995
Markku Alen Team Alfa Corse 2 0 points in DTM drivers championship 1995 21st in ITC drivers championship 1995 1 point
Stig Amthor Team Alfa Corse 2 24th in DTM drivers championship 1995 1 point 21th in ITC drivers championship 1995 1 points
Gianni Giudici Team Alfa Corse 2 0 points in DTM drivers championship 1995 18th in ITC drivers championship 1995 9 points

23rd April 1995, Hockenheim Germany

Alfa's new drivers Fisichella and Alboreto scored some DTM championship points. Although Nicola Larini started from pole position, he only finished in 10th position in race 1. AMG Mercedes and Opel were more succesful.

Race 1: 38 laps, total racing distance 100,244 km

Race 2: 38 laps, total racing distance 100,244 km

7th May 1995, AVUS Berlin Germany

In a chaotic race the Alfa's didn't win but managed to score points for the DTM championship. In the second race, Nannini and Fisichella hit eachother causing a restart. The restart ended with a massive crash after which the race was not started again and no points were scored.

Race 1:  35 laps, total race distance 92,400 km.

Race 2:  13 laps, total race distance 34,320 km.

21th May 1995, Mugello Italy

Mugello was the first race for the ITC championship. AMG Mercedes won both races but Fisichella took his first podium in the second race.

Race 1:  20 laps, total race distance 104,900 km.

Race 2:  20 laps, total race distance 104,900 km.

4th June 1995, Helsinki Finland

The C1 Thunder race was held in the streets of Helsinki. ITC point could be scored. Alfa won both races. Danner won race 1 after Bartels got a stop-and-go penalty, Larini had tyre problems, Modena got a time penalty and Franchitti hit the wall.

Race 1:  31 laps, total race distance 102,300 km.

Race 2:  31 laps, total race distance 102,300 km.

25th June 1995, Nürnberg Germany

The 200 Meilen von Nürnberg were race at the Norisring. DTM point could be scored. Fisichella ruined his car during practice.

Danner chose the slick tyres and gambled right for race 1. No rain during the race meant victory for Christian Danner.

Race 1:  44 laps, total race distance 101,200 km.

Race 2:  44 laps, total race distance 101,200 km.

9th July 1995, Donington Park UK

The Donington Gold Cup was a race to quickly forget. ITC point could be scored but  Alfa left the points to AMG Mercedes and Opel.

Race 1:  25 laps, total race distance 100,575 km.

Race 2:  25 laps, total race distance 100,575 km.

23rd July 1995, Diepholz Germany

Michael Bartels won his first ever DTM race at the Flugplatzrennen at Diepholz after starting from pole position. He also won race 2 with a bit of help from Dario Franchitti wo fell back with a broken clutch while leading the race.

Race 1:  37 laps, total race distance 100,640 km.

Race 2:  37 laps, total race distance 100,640 km.

6th August 1995, Estoril Portugal

Nicola Larini qualified for pole position and drove the fastest race lap, but finished 3rd in race 1. In race 2 the Alfa's couldn't keep up with the AMG's. Local hero Pedro Couceiro appeared as guest driver.

Race 1:  23 laps, total race distance 100,280 km.

Race 2:  23 laps, total race distance 100,280 km.

20th August 1995, Nürburgring Germany

Nicola Larini scored a second place in race 1 and thrird place in race 2. All other Alfa's were no match for the AMG Mercedes drivers.

Race 1:  23 laps, total race distance 104,788 km.

Race 2:  23 laps, total race distance 104,788 km.

17th September 1995, Alemannenring Germany

While driving the fastest qualifying lap, Michael Bartels crashed his car, ruining his chances of a good race result. Larini had a strong first race but the AMG's outclassed all other Alfa's and Opels.

Race 1:  36 laps, total race distance 100,800 km.

Race 2:  28 laps, total race distance 78,400 km.

8th October 1995, Magny-Cours France

Bernd Schneider took the DTM title in the previous race, but the ITC championship was still undecided. Schneider however, won the first race eventhough Larini started from pole position and won the ITC title.

Race 1:  22 laps, total race distance 93,500 km.

Race 2:  24 laps, total race distance 102,000 km.

16th October 1995, Hockenheimring Germany

Nothing left to win in this last race of the season, so the Alfa Romeo drivers already had their minds set on a nice vacation. Opel won their first ever DTM race.

Race 1:  15 laps, total race distance 102,225 km.

Race 2:  15 laps, total race distance 102,225 km.

NEXT: The 1996 ITC season