Nicolas Baert entered the new DTM season with a clearer structure, stronger preparation, and a rewarded sense of direction alongside new Comtoyou Racing teammate Nicki Thiim. In an exclusive interview with Pit Debrief, he reflected on both his personal development and the team’s progress heading into the year.
Baert highlighted the value of experience and collaboration, particularly the opportunity to learn alongside a more established teammate. At the same time, he pointed to a more refined and better-prepared project within Comtoyou Racing, with improved structure and a clearer long-term vision.
Focusing on steady progress rather than immediate results, Baert explained how both the individual growth and collective effort could play a key role in shaping their performance over the course of the season.
Shared experience at the core with Thiim guiding Baert’s early steps
Baert emphasised the importance of a shared experience when reflecting on his dynamic with Thiim, describing the Dane as both approachable and generous with his knowledge. He explained that, whenever he had approached Thiim in the past, he had “always helped” and consistently shared “advice and some experience he got.” One moment stood out in particular. Ahead of his first appearance at the Norisring, Thiim had offered to complete the track walk together, explaining the track to the Belgian driver that was still a rookie.
“I think Nicki [Thiim] is someone that shares a lot of things. Every time I went to him in the past, he always was there and always helped me and shared some advice and some experience he got. I have one example.”
“It was last year in Norisring, which was my first time being there. Of course, in Norisring, you can never drive there except for the race weekend. I remember him asking me, do you want to do the track walk together so I can explain you?”
Thiim’s support goes beyond rivalry as experience and character make the difference
Baert noted that this gesture proved especially valuable given the circuit’s unique characteristics, highlighting that “you can never drive there expect for the race weekend” and that “you have a lot of bumps there, and you have to know them.” Despite competing against each other in DTM at that time, Thiim had still taken the time to ensure he could “improve quickly and be there.” For Baert, this willingness to support a rival underlined Thiim’s character, describing him as a “very kind guy” who “never hesitates to just help you and give you advice on how to improve.”
“Because it’s a very specific track. You have a lot of bumps there, and you have to know them. Even though we were driving against each other, he was already there to help me improve quickly and be there. I think he wanted us also to perform last year because he was an Aston Martin racing driver, but he couldn’t sit too low because he was driving a Lamborghini.”
“He’s a very kind guy. Even though he looks like a viking, he’s a very nice guy on that side. He never hesitates to just help you and give you advice on how to improve.”
A more structured approach puts Baert and Comtoyou Racing in a stronger position for the new DTM season
The Belgian outlined a clear shift in preparation heading into the new DTM season, stressing how much more structure the approach had become compared to the previous year. Baert explained that Comtoyou Racing had entered the championship late last DTM season, with key decisions only finalised at the start of the year, which limited their ability to prepare in depth.
In contrast, this year’s DTM programme had been in place far earlier, giving both Baert and Comtoyou Racing the time to reflect and build on previous experience. Baert noted that the team had analysed their entire campaign in detail, using those lessons to improve and arrive better prepared for the opening round. The aim, he suggested, was to be ready “straight for race one” and avoid the slow start they had faced before.
Despite the team’s close-knit and friendly atmosphere, describing it as a “family team”, Baert made clear that their ambitions remained firmly performance-driven. While the environment may appear relaxed from the outside, the objective was still to deliver results.
“Especially because I can compare it from last season. Last season, we entered the championship quite late, and the project has been decided. The decision has been made very late in the beginning of the year.”
“Now, this year it’s different on a lot of different sides because we knew that this season was coming since last year basically. I think the team has learned a lot and has been analysing everything we’ve done during the entire season to just grow and improve for this season and be ready straight for race one, for the first race weekend basically. Because even though we say it’s a family team, and we look like the kind guys, we still want to perform, which is obviously why you do racing.”
A shared effort and long term focus driving Comtoyou Racing’s development
Baert highlighted the collective effort behind Comtoyou Racing’s preparation ahead of the new DTM season, pointing to a strong focus on development across all areas. He explained that everyone had contributed to building the project, underlining the shared responsibility within the team.
The Belgian suggested that, regardless of immediate results, there was a sense of pride in the work already completed, noting that they would “still be able to be proud of what [they] did” even if outcomes did not go their way. He emphasised that the long-term perspective remained key, with the team aiming to build on the experience gained throughout the season. By continuing to learn and improve step by step, Baert expressed confidence that they would eventually reach their full potential and become as competitive as possible.
“Everyone, from the engineer to the mechanics to the driver, we’ve been, I think, working a lot on developing this project. That’s something, even though this season will not be… If we get bad results, we will still be able to be proud of what we did.”
“For sure, we can just keep the experience we get to keep improving and at some point we will be at the best possible.”
