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Audi to depart DTM, focus on Formula E

Audi AG has signalled its intention to thoroughly realign its motorsport strategy, with a shock departure from DTM touring cars announced following the 2020 season.

May 4, 2020

Audi has been a mainstay of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series since 1990. During the past 30 years the German manufacturer has scored 23 championship titles, including eleven driver titles, plus 114 victories and 345 podium finishes.

Audi states Formula E and its customer racing program will take center stage in Audi’s future motorsport activities, beginning next year. “Successful motorsport is – and will continue to be – an important element of Audi’s DNA,” says spokesperson.

Audi to Depart DTM Line Up

The popular Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series will be a very different looking category going forward, as Audi AG has announced a realignment of its motorsport interests to focus more heavily on Formula E from 2021 onward. The mainstay DTM factory team will withdraw from competing in the series at the end of this year. 

Audi has been a force to reckon with in DTM, with race stats that prove the carmaker’s prime spot at the centre of the category. Audi has scored 23 championship titles, including eleven driver titles, plus 114 victories, 345 podium finishes, 106 pole positions and 112 fastest laps. 

Audi shaped DTM from 1990 to 1992 and from 2000 onwards. With three of three possible championship titles, numerous podiums and many other records, 2019 was the most successful DTM season in the company’s history. 

Over the last 30 years, Audi has used its success in the DTM series to cement the Audi Sport brand to customers and race enthusiasts around the world. 

Audi to Depart DTM

Looking forward, Audi AG’s successful involvement in Formula E and in customer racing will form the future of the manufacturer’s motorsport activities.  

The brand has been represented in Formula E since the popular electric racing series debuted in 2014. With 41 trophies, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler has been the most successful Formula E team over the years. Away from the racetrack, Audi is planning to generate approximately 40 percent of its sales through mainstream electric passenger cars and plug-in-hybrids by 2025. 

“Audi has shaped the DTM and the DTM has shaped Audi,” said Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG. 

“This demonstrates what power lies in motorsport – technologically and emotionally. 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 racetrack and systematically competing for tomorrow’s ‘Vorsprung’ [head start]. 

“Formula E offers an attractive platform for this. To complement it, we are investigating other progressive motorsport formats for the future,” Duesmann said. 

Audi to Depart DTM Line Up