Paul Jeffrey
Premium
In a massive blow for the German DTM category, long time participants Audi have confirmed they will leave the championship at the end of 2020 - leaving just BMW as the sole manufacturer in series.
With Covid-19 still causing calendar havoc that has prevented the DTM from starting their 2020 championship campaign, organiser ITR have been hit with another major headache for the future of the category, as Audi have today confirmed they will no-longer be participating in the series from the end of this year.
With Covid-19 still causing calendar havoc that has prevented the DTM from starting their 2020 championship campaign, organiser ITR have been hit with another major headache for the future of the category, as Audi have today confirmed they will no-longer be participating in the series from the end of this year.
“Audi has shaped the DTM and the DTM has shaped Audi. This demonstrates what power lies in motorsport – technologically and emotionally,” says Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. “With this energy, we’re going to drive our transformation into a provider of sporty, sustainable electric mobility forward. That’s why we’re also focusing our efforts on the race track and systematically competing for tomorrow’s ‘Vorsprung.’” Formula E offers a very attractive platform for this. To complement it, we’re investigating other progressive motorsport formats for the future.”
“We’re hoping that this currently difficult situation will improve soon and that we’ll still be able to contest a few DTM races this year,” says Member of the Board for Development Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler. “The fans would deserve this, and so would the ITR, our drivers as well as our teams and partners, who will now have adequate advance notice to reposition themselves for the time after 2020. Successful motorsport is – and will continue to be – an important element of Audi’s DNA.”
Having switched to the new Class One regulations in line with the Japanese Super GT Series, and following the recent departures of both Mercedes and the semi-works Aston Martin outfit, it remains to be seen what the future of the DTM will look like come 2021.
