Mercedes-Benz Late '80s and early '90s Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) racing is one of the most legendary chapters in professional motorsports. BMW, AMG Mercedes, Audi, Opel, and more sliced and diced all over European race tracks, giving fans thrilling, spark-throwing action and displaying serious driver talent throughout the grid. There are so many moments to highlight, but one in particular went down in 1992 and hasn't been repeated since. That was when Ellen Lohr drove an AMG Mercedes to become the first woman to win a DTM race, a peak moment of the 141 races she started between 1991 and 1996. It took place at the Hockenheimring, and the wheeling she had to do to outdrive former F1 champion — and one of the best racers ever, ranked by facial hair – Keke Rosberg was something to behold. Back in '92, Lohr and Rosberg were teammates racing factory W201 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution IIs emblazoned with the iconic Berlin 2000 livery. Thanks to Cosworth ingenuity, then-fancy variable camshaft control, racing-spec internals, and Bosch Motronic handling ignition and fueling, these beasts produced around 360 horsepower from their naturally aspirated 2.5 liters of displacement and could rev to 10,000 RPM. Awesome hardware for an awesome chapter of touring car racing, and one of the greatest touring cars of all time. Lohr has a few near-wins on her racing resume, and has raced in a myriad of series since. Let's take a look at what happened back in '92. Tire strategy matters Bongarts/Getty Images Lohr came close to victory in 1987 at the helm of a BMW, as well as in '91 at Zolder, where an oil slick on track cost her the win. The 1992 stop at the Hockenheimring had potential, mainly due to Rosberg running a softer tire compound — Lohr knew that toward the end of the race she had a chance if she could just keep tire wear under control. With just a few laps to go, she got past him and held position until the checkered flag flew. Rosberg was less than pleased. Lohr ran in DTM for the following four seasons. Over her career, she also dove into other series, including Indy Lights, Formula 3000, F3, V8 Star, the NASCAR Euro Series, those cool-as-hell circuit racing trucks, and many more. She even got a chance to test for Sauber F1 through her Mercedes connection, but that sadly didn't come to fruition. Throughout it all, she climbed the podium quite a few times. She also faced sexism along the way over whether women could race without power steering — and based on her F3 and other solid performances, she very clearly could. To this day, Lohr is the only woman to have won a DTM race. Other women raced in DTM before and after her, including Beate Nodes, Lella Lombardi, Traudl Klink, Vanina Ickx, Katherine Legge, and Esmee Hawkey, but none have climbed to the very top. And remember, Lohr piloted her AMG Mercedes to a win in DTM all the way back in '92, 34 years ago. The next time a woman beats out the field will definitely be something to celebrate.
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