Audi announced on April 27 that it is leaving the German Touring Car series (DTM) at the end of 2020 to focus on Formula E and customer race cars. The move, following Mercedes’ exit from the series at the end of 2018 and Aston Martin’s decision not to return after running a single season with customer cars in 2019, leaves BMW as DTM’s only manufacturer following the end of the current season.
The series has not begun its 2020 season because of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is slated to begin on July 10–12 at the Norisring, but the ban on large events in Germany this summer has left the date in question. Autosport indicates that DTM principal Gerhard Berger is considering running the Norisring event without spectators.
Audi’s exit leaves the future of the series in doubt. DTM has been a key element of BMW’s motorsport strategy since it returned to the series in 2012, but it is unlikely to stay the course as the sole marque. Neither BMW nor DTM have issued any formal press releases on the future and direction of the series since Audi’s announcement.—Brian Morgan
[Photo courtesy BMW Motorsport.]
