Audi to quit DTM after 2020, focus shifts to Formula E

Reports in several motorsport publications confirm that Audi will bow out of the German Touring Car (DTM) series at the end of the 2020 season.  

Autosport reported on Monday (April 27) that the Ingolstadt-based carmaker has been mulling over its decision to exit DTM prior to the coronavirus crisis. Audi's focus will turn to Formula E, the electric racing car series and customer racing projects.

"Audi has shaped the DTM and the DTM has shaped Audi," commented Markus Duesmann, Audi's Chairman of the Board of Management in a statement. "This demonstrates what power lies in motorsport – technologically and emotionally. 

"Formula E offers a very attractive platform for this. To complement it, we’re investigating other progressive motorsport formats for the future.”

Sole factory team

BMW are the sole factory team left in DTM after R Motorsport Aston Martin pulled out of the series after one season, Motorsport.com reported. 

Gerhard Berger, chairman of DTM promoter ITR, said Audi's exit was a bitter pill to swallow and urged for a more 'united approach' after Monday's announcement. 

South Africa's Kelvin van der Linde, an Audi Sport driver, conveyed his disappointment via social media, tweeting: